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Utopia* • Definition: • A perfect society • An ideally perfect place, especially in its social, political, and moral aspects • Impractical • Opposite of a dystopia
Utopia - Dystopia 1 Utopia: an ideal society possessing a perfect social and political system (Sir Thomas More) Dystopia: a society where the condition of life is extremely bad, as from deprivation, oppression, or terror • Often futuristic • Often under the guise of being a utopia • Often totalitarian
Types of Utopian Societies • Religious Utopia-Peace, Harmony, Understanding, Enlightenment • Science and Technology Utopia-Set in the future. An absence of death and suffering; changes in human nature and the human condition.
Dystopia • Definition*: • An imaginary place or state in which the condition of life is extremely bad, as from deprivation, oppression, or terror. • “dys”=Greek for bad, • “topos” = Greek for place • Opposite of a utopia
Dystopia • Often describes a society that starts off as a utopia or thinks it is a utopia but turns into an oppressive, miserable, dysfunctional state. • Can serve as a cautionary tale or warning to modern day society
Popular Dystopias 3 20th century popularity Attempts to put utopian ideals into place resulted in real-life dystopias: IDEOLOGIES • Soviet Communism • German Nazism • Western Consumerism • Modernism • Technological mass production
Elements of dystopian society • A Totalitarian government • Propaganda is used to control the citizens of society. • Information, independent thought, and freedom are restricted. • A figurehead or concept is worshipped by the citizens of the society. • Citizens are perceived to be under constant surveillance. • Citizens have a fear of the outside world. • Citizens live in a dehumanized state. • The natural world is banished and distrusted. • Citizens conform to uniform expectations. • Individuality is bad. • The society is an illusion of a perfect utopian world.
“topias” • Speculative Fiction explores social and political structures • Utopia • an ideal world • S.F. – shows author’s view of how we can achieve the world people want • Dystopia • a nightmare world (utopian attempt gone wrong) • Choices/trends (often related to technology) have led to a undesirable future • FalseUtopia • Bait and switch tactic in which everything seems perfect on the surface, but is actually not
Science versus Scientism • Science: empirical, quantitative, mechanical, self-correcting, falsifiable. • Scientism (or scientolatry) • Science alone gives truth and this truth is absolute • Matter is the primary reality (materialism) • Behavior is determined by impersonal forces • All values are merely social conventions • The coming ideal society is guaranteed • Technocrats rule (either with an iron fist or subtly)
Modernism A group of movements in the 20th century that sought to break with the past To eliminate traditions To live without dependence on the family, the Church, and the community Only novel and innovative ideas were considered worthy Technological advancement was worshiped without questioning the possible ill consequences
Mass Production Product of the Industrial Revolution Production of large amounts of standardized products, including and especially on assembly lines Contributed to consumerism Henry Ford’s Model T was the first Mass produced car.
Metropolis, the Movie • German silent film, 1927 • Credited as the first dystopian movie. • Depicting a mechanized, rigid society with a mindless, self-indulgent upper class benefiting from the brutal exploitation of the working-class masses. • (Ironically, the screenwriter of this hymn to equality and love, Thea von Harbou, went on to work with the Nazis.)
Basic Points of a Dystopia* • A hierarchical society where divisions between the upper, middle and lower classes are definitive and unbreakable (Caste system). • The propaganda and the educational system have the purpose of preserving the order of system/society. • The cancellation of individuality.
Basic Points of a Dystopia* • The constant surveillance by state police agencies • More advanced technologies • Back story of a disaster that justifies the dramatic social changes • A protagonist that doubts the society
Society • Class System • People referred to as numbers rather than names People are cloned so there are several of the same people, they are uniform and lose individuality • People required to “not excel” and lose their competence
Social Groups • Concept of Religion under attack or the twisting of religion • Concept of families no longer exists
Suggestions for Approaching a Dystopian Novel as a Reader • Know that focus on setting and world-building is often as important if not more important than character. • Most dystopian novels are exercises in asking “what if,” and authors use contemporary fears and concerns to build the societies in which their stories take place. Notice how individuals relate to their societies, and how the authors use current issues (such as the relationship between religion and government, or advancements in genetics and biology). • Critic Thomas Moylan suggests that an experience reader of dystopian literature (or science fiction in general) “moves through the text like a traveler in a foreign culture or a detective seeking clues to unravel the mystery at hand.”
Apocalyptic Fiction • Apocalyptic fiction is a sub-genre of science fiction that is concerned with the end of civilization either through nuclear war, plague, or some other general disaster. • Post-apocalyptic fiction is set in a world or civilization after such a disaster. The time frame may be immediately after the catastrophe, focusing on the travails or psychology of survivors, or considerably later, often including the theme that the existence of pre-catastrophe civilization has been forgotten (or mythologized). • Post-apocalyptic stories often take place in an agrarian, non-technological future world, or a world where only scattered elements of technology remain. There is a considerable degree of blurring between this form of science fiction and that which deals with false utopias or dystopic societies. • Wikipedia:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocalyptic_and_post-apocalyptic_fiction
Definitions: • Dystopian fiction: a work of fiction describing an imaginary place where life is extremely bad because of deprivation or oppression or terror • Post-Apocalyptic fiction: a work of fiction set in a world or civilization after a potentially existential catastrophe or disaster
Relationships • the heart of dystopian / post-apocalyptic visions of the future • the human element • ways of commenting on the past whilst presenting a view of the future (memories and flashbacks are common narrative devices) • our relationships juxtaposed with, and placed onto, new landscapes- how do we (humans) cope?- what has changed?- what boundaries have been blurred/crossed?
questions • How are the concepts of Utopia, Dystopia and a False Utopia related? • Define post-apocalyptic fiction. • Identify and discuss some of the signs of a Dystopian society. • How is science different from “scientism”? • What role does technology typically play in Utopian and Dystopian stories?
