UTOPIA

• A place, a state, or condition that is ideally perfect in respect of politics, laws, customs and conditions.
• The term comes from Thomas More’s famous 16^th century work, Utopia, where it is used to mean both an ideal society and also one that doesn’t exist anywhere. Later, utopia also came to be used to refer to a society that did not exist because it could not exist; it depicted an impossible dream. 

DYSTOPIA

• Dystopias are a way in which authors share their concerns about society and humanity. They also serve to warn members of a society to pay attention to the society in which they live and to be aware of how things can go from bad to worse without anyone realizing what has happened.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:

• What factors/situations combine to create dystopia?

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• What happens to the individual/the group in a dystopia? Is the disappearance of the individual a bad thing?

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• When is it best to conform to the wishes or rules of others?

• What problems are avoided when people conform? What new problems does conformity create?

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• How important is it for people to have choices?

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Think of our current society – what aspects of utopia/dystopia do we have?

WHAT KIND OF WORLD DO WE LIVE IN?

Dystopian Literature

All in all, we’re just another brick in the wall…

Characteristics of Dystopian Society

• Propaganda is used to control citizens

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• Information, independent thought, and freedom are restricted

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• Figurehead or concept is worshipped by the citizens of the society

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• Citizens are under constant surveillance and have a fear of the outside world

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• Citizens live in a dehumanized state

Propaganda is the spreading of information in support of a cause. ... The word propaganda is often used in a negative sense, especially for politicians who make false claims to get elected or spread rumors to get their way. In fact, any campaign that is used to persuade can be called propaganda.

Characteristics of Dystopian Society

• The natural world is banished and distrusted

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• Citizens conform to uniform expectations

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• Individuality and dissent are bad

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• Society is an illusion of a perfect utopian world

Types of Dystopian Controls

• Corporate control:

One of more of the large corporations control society through products, advertising, and the media

oligarchy, comes to English from the Greek with its meaning intact — a form of government run by a small number of people such as wealthy landowners or corporations

Bureaucratic Control

Society is controlled by a mindless bureaucracy through a tangle of red tape, relentless regulations, and incompetent government officials

A bureaucracy is a way of administratively organizing large numbers of people who need to work together. Organizations in the public and private sector, including universities and governments, rely on bureaucracies to function.

Technological Control

• Society is controlled by technology—through computers, robots, and/or scientific means

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Examples: The Matrix, The Terminator, and I, Robot

Philosophical/Religious Control

Society is controlled by a philosophical or religious ideology often enforced through a dictatorship or theocratic government

Theocracy, government by divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided. In many theocracies, government leaders are members of the clergy, and the state's legal system is based on religious law.

Dystopian Protagonist

• Often feels trapped and is struggling to escape

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• Questions the existing society and political systems

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• Believes or feels that something is terribly wrong with society in which he or she lives

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• Helps the audience recognize the negative aspects of the dystopian world through his or her perspective