Year 9 Dystopia Summer Project

Finchley Catholic High School

2017
From September, you will be studying a unit on dystopian fiction.
2. Making Journal
Entries
You will write your own dystopian story or opening to a dystopian
novel. Your writing will be greatly enhanced if you have read a For each text:
range of dystopian texts.
Explain the key
elements of the text, or
the key facts
communicated in relation
1. Choosing your texts You to your selected theme:
should read three texts: two written texts and How do the characters
two visual texts. You should keep a log on react to life in a
your text- either in a notebook or typed. The dystopia?
texts should include: How do the setting and
plot expand your
1-2 dystopian novels understanding of
1 dystopian film dystopia?
1 non-fiction text about a dysfunctional society What facts add to your
(if you are only reading one novel) understanding of
dystopia?
You could choose your texts from the lists below, or:
What is similar or
go to the library and ask Mrs Gallagher to help
different in key aspects of
you find the right book
the treatment of dystopia,
ask your friends for recommendations compared to other texts?
ask your English or History teacher for
recommendations Support your explanation
go to a book shop and ask them for advice in every journal entry with
look online for texts on the theme of dystopia at least two specific
details from the text.

You could give your

reaction to the authors
perspective, the events
that occurred or the things
you learned. To get
3. Presentation thinking about the
authors attitude, develop
In September, you will be asked to make a presentation some statements which
to your class where you introduce the class to how the you think the author might
texts you read allowed you to expand your agree or disagree with.
understanding of dystopia. You might wish to
concentrate on one text, or you can discuss more than
one text, especially if you make links between them.

Feel free to be creative about the methods you use to

present your response to the text(s), and incorporate
multi-media elements or involve the class in the
process. You could:
4. Awards Every
Film yourself discussing the texts so you can student who presents to the
play it to the class class, and whose
Present directly to the class presentation is judged to be
Write a report on your text(s) of sufficient quality will
receive a Dystopian
Expert certificate.
 Dystopian Novels
Title Author Notes
The Hunger Games* Suzanne Collins Teenagers murdering each other on live TV. What
more could you want? Read the sequels too!
The Knife of Never Patrick Ness The first in the Chaos Walking Trilogy. In this world,
Letting Go all living creatures can hear each other's thoughts in
a stream of images, words, and sounds called Noise
Legend Marie Lu Set in an imaginary future USA that has split into two
warring nations
The Maze Runner* James Dashner 50 boys are trapped in a maze. They remember
nothing about their previous lives except their names
Uglies Scott Westerfield Set in a society where ugliness is not tolerated
The Giver L.S.Lowry There is no more pain or suffering in the world. But
what has been lost?
Never Let me Go* Kazuo Ishiguro Three students in a mysterious boarding school have
a dark secret
The Death of Grass John Christopher Global crop failure causes society to break down due
to mass famine.
Fatherland Robert Harris Part of a subgenre called Alternative History, this is
set in an imaginary 1960s Germany after Hitler won
WW2.
The Machine Stops E.M. Forster More of a short story than a novel. Good to read in
conjunction with The Matrix
Flatland Edwin Abbott Abbott One for Maths fans! Set in a 2-dimensional universe.
The central character is a square, who is punished for
having visions of other dimensions.
Fahrenheit 451* Ray Bradbury The central character is a fireman. But his job is to set
fires, not put them out
We Evgenii Zamiatin Written in Soviet Russia, so the author witnessed a
real-life dystopia
One Day in the Life of Alexander Solzhenitsyn was sent to a gulag (Russian
Ivan Denisovitch Solzhenitsyn concentration camp) for his political beliefs. This is a
fictionalised version of his experiences.
1984* George Orwell You read the opening of this in a Lets Think Lesson
this year
A Clockwork Orange* Anthony Burgess Very violent! You might want to find an edition with a
glossary at the back, as Burgess invents his own
youth dialect
The Trial* Franz Kafka Josef K is on trial, but he doesnt know what for, and
no-one will tell him.
Brave New World Aldous Huxley The first few chapters are a little confusing, but it is
worth the effort.
There is also a (very) long list of dystopian novels here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dystopian_literature

*Film versions of these novels are also available

Dystopian Films
Title Director Notes
Blade Runner Ridley Scott Try to watch the directors cut.
Alphaville Jean-Luc Godard Classic French film shot on a minimal budget

Brazil Terry Gilliam Gilliam is a crazy genius director

Gattaca Andrew Niccol Set in a world where
Soylent Green Richard Fleischer Overpopulation has created an environmental
disaster.
Metropolis Fritz Lang The original dystopian film! An evil robot, a totalitarian
state, a stunning modernist cityscape: this 1920s
classic inspired hundreds of others.
The Matrix The Wachowski sisters This is interesting to compare with the story The
Machine Stops by HG Wells
12 Monkeys Terry Gilliam Another one by Gilliam: a deadly virus wipes out
nearly all of humanity; the survivors live underground.
THX 1138 George Lucas Lucas first film, before he made Star Wars
Children of Men Alphonse Cuaron Mass infertility and demonisation of refugees has
created global instability.
Akira Katsuhiro Ohtomo Japanese Anime film. Possibly the greatest animated
film ever

Non-Fiction texts about real-life dystopias

Title Author Notes
Ivans War: Life and Catherine Merridale A brutal account of life as a soldier in the Soviet
Death in the Red Army Union
Nothing to Envy: Barbara Demick There are also several survivor stories by men,
Ordinary Lives in North women and teenagers who have escaped from this
Korea brutal dictatorship

Wild Swans: Three Jung Chang The true story of a family caught up in the devastation
Daughters of China of the Chinese revolution
Stalin: The Court of the Simon Sebag- A window into pure evil
Red Tsar Monetfiore
I Will Bear Witness Victor Klemperer A fascinating account of the lives of ordinary
1933-1941: A Diary of Germans in Hitlers Third Reich. Volume 2 covers
the Nazi Years (1) 1942-45

The Diary of a Young Anne Frank Franks diaries are rightly world-famous. She spent
Girl her teenage years hiding from the Nazis with her
family before her murder by Nazis at Bergen-Belsen.
First They Killed My Loung Ung Written by a survivor of the murderous Khmer Rouge
Father regime in Cambodia in the 1970s and 1980s.
You may also choose to research a particular dictatorship, for example the disappearances in Argentina
and Chile, or the rule of Idi Amin in Uganda.

You may even wish to explore some examples of dystopias in music:

Crime of the Century (1974) by the British band Supertramp depicted and evoked the personal, social and
institutional causes and effects of alienation and mental illness in contemporary society.
Time (1981) by ELO features tracks that may be considered dystopian or utopian depending on your point of
view.
OK Computer (1997) by the British band Radiohead.
British band Pink Floyd and its film adaptation are considered by many to be the epitome of dystopian music.
Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon (1973) and many of their other recordings also explore dystopian themes.
The Pleasure Principle (1979) by Gary Numan, ex-leader of the Tubeway Army, continued his narratives of a
robotic world in songs like Met