It might just be me, but it seems the dystopian current in popular entertainment of the past decade or so shows no sign of abating. (Even after a three-year global pandemic.) Perhaps it’s just my perception, and we’re producing no more dystopia than usual. But I read books for money now (doing book reviews); I can’t just avoid entertainments not to my taste. So I’ve read a lot of novels about global disruption and destruction of late. Stew all that in with a gumbo of filmed stories, documentaries, and news features, and your girl here is sorely tempted to crawl under a rock.
What is Dystopia?
In case you also live under a rock, dystopia is genre of fiction, a subset of science fiction with a long and popular history. Here’s an excellent analysis, with lots of examples from film and books. As the article explains, “The dystopian genre imagines worlds or societies where life is extremely bad because of deprivation or oppression or terror and human society is characterized by human misery, such as squalor, oppression, disease, overcrowding, environmental destruction, or war.”
Popular Dystopia
On the surface, this genre might not sound so very entertaining. A couple of features explain its power, however.
- The fiction consumer can regard the story with some comforting self-satisfaction: as bad as things in real life might seem to be, they aren’t as bad as what’s going on in the story. “Life is pretty good for me and the people I know,” the viewer says. “This dystopian story is fiction, and it makes me appreciate my life.”
- The protagonist of a dystopian story may incite change in the dysfunctional society, thus providing hope, not just for the fictionally downtrodden, but also for the viewer.
- A dystopian story feels like prophecy. Both fascinating and terrifying, a story of a prophecy fulfilled allows the viewer say, “See, I told you so.” Sometimes a belief that we know what is going to happen conflates into a belief that we can control or avoid an outcome through that knowledge. It’s empowering on some level.
- Catharsis. Like other forms of horror, through identification with a dystopian protagonist’s struggles the audience explore difficult aspects of life and gains an emotional release.
Future Shock
So, I mentioned not liking this genre. You might think, but what’s not to love? The dystopian reader can feel both superior and forewarned.
I think my reluctance boils down to anxiety. The bane of my existence, navigating the deleterious effects of worry is an exhausting routine. I don’t come away from dystopia entertainment, no matter how well done, feeling better off than the story characters, smugly in control, or purged. Taking on imaginary (I would like to think) problems of future people is simply not fun. I’m shallow like that.
Writing Dystopia
However, writing (as opposed to reading or viewing) is a therapeutic space for me. Creating dystopian settings and navigating some characters through it could well provide positive mental health effects. And perhaps that’s why I feel like every ARC book I receive is dystopian. That’s what authors need to create right now. I do writing exercises (prompts) frequently, and I’ve noticed so many of those stories have turned out dystopian. Perhaps I need to give the bomb another chance.
What Do You Think?
How about you? Do you like dystopian entertainment? Do you have thoughts on zombies, Nazis, rising oceans, and meteors? I’d love to hear your ideas. Comment on the blog. Navigate to my website, click blog title, and complete dialogue box that will open at the end of the post.
If you enjoyed this journal entry, you might like to read about Face Your Fears.
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