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Dystopia in Reality 🔜

noun. an imagined state or society in which there is great suffering or injustice, typically one that is totalitarian or post-apocalyptic.

Now, you’re all familiar with the concept of this blog, if you haven’t been before.

Dystopia has always been one of my favorite genres, along with science-fiction and fantasy. Even before knowing its definition or the word itself, I’ve always been fascinated by it, in the form of both movies and books, because it’s interesting to get to know many new worlds and also imagine what I’d do if I lived in that state. Throughout the years I started to realize, that dystopia isn’t really something “imaginary” or “fictional“. The more I became acquainted with new works in this genre, the more I saw similarities in those worlds and our reality. Of course there’s a big portion of hyperbole in them, but it’s made for a great purpose, so that people would understand life better through these exaggerations. But mostly people don’t see any connections, they read or watch these and refer to them as just fantasy. While what is going on in our lives, especially nowadays, could be another great dystopian novel or film.

When the quarantine just started, and I went out for some groceries for the first time, it was literally like a post-apocalyptic movie, something I always loved watching and always thought, “what if our world looks like this one day“. And it actually did for a while. Of course there were no zombies, or cyborg killers, but imagine this scenery: a gloomy weather and fog, empty streets, almost no cars and people around, the few people, that were quickly rushing somewhere, were all in masks, all the shops were closed, and there was a deadly silence in the air, just the sound of wind. Not gonna lie, it looked cool. For the first time I actually felt the presence of my favorite genre in real life and I felt like a protagonist in my own movie. And I think that was the turning point, when many people started to realize, that our world looks like a movie, and, to be fair, not a good and light one. I saw many people discussing and comparing what’s going on in our lives with a movie or book, and it felt relatable.

Now, when I watch the news, or read some conspiracy theories with solid proofs, that could in fact be true, I kind of don’t believe that it all happens in our world, because it doesn’t feel real at all. I thought that quarantine, and spending more time alone, will help people self-develop, understand life and themselves better, that people will be reborn like a phoenix and change for the better. Some did (bananas: a huge shoutout to everyone who understood that reference). However the rest of the world seems to go mad. All the protests, all the violence, which most of the time are truly pointless, like people destroying statues of famous people in “BLM” movements, writing “racist fish” on the statue of Little Mermaid in Denmark, falsely accusing others, getting offended from a single word or syllable, and so much more. I already talked about many of these topics in the previous blogs, so I won’t address them again. What happens in my country is a whole other kind of “divine comedy“: number of cases going up, instead of decreasing, the government doing absolutely nothing about it, making up new stupid rules, telling lies and false statements… Then you turn the channel to international news: people building up 5G towers, which is harmful, and it already killed about 300 elephants and many other animals even without being activated (no, I’m not conservative or uneducated, as people think of those, who believe in this kind of things. I just see and understand the actual consequences of it), creating vaccines, God knows how dangerous, the rumors of possible chip implants, increase of violence, possible wars in different countries, an upcoming meteor, new wave of corona, new unknown types of viruses… You watch all this and don’t know whether to laugh or to cry. And yes, I do believe in most of these conspiracies, because what happens in our world isn’t just “random” or “accidental“. There’s so much that we don’t know about. I also don’t know what’s true and what’s not, but I strongly assume that each and every one of these theories has the actual possibility of being true, and my mind is open for any kind of new information or possibility. Because you never know what can happen, nothing is permanent and secure in this world. If a year ago someone told you, that in six months all institutions, organizations and borders would be closed, people’d have to stay home for months, wear a mask, have and id and a permission paper to go for groceries or take out the trash, would you believe in it? I know I wouldn’t. So now, I believe that people might get chip implanted or something else, even if it sounds unrealistic and stupid for now. And if all those theories turn out to be true, we’re really screwed up.

So, do you still think that dystopia is purely fictional? Next time you watch a movie, instead of admiring the good acting or special effects, try to dive deeper into the hidden meaning of it. Try to see it as a metaphor for the things that happen in real life. I always said, that fantasy and science fiction show us the reality way better, than any other dramas based on true stories. When we want to see something well, we use a magnifying glass, and dystopia is that glass. Whenever I discuss the situation and conditions of our world, I always quote and bring examples from those works, because if you pay more attention, you’ll start to notice the similarities. For example people exchanging real life interactions with virtual one, tv-s becoming a constant member of families, the dictatorship of governments in disguise of freedom and equality, minorities taking over the world, and making everyone bow to them, people being separated more and more and being taught to hate each other and fight with each other, just because someone has decided that they belong to different groups, totally unnecessary violence and abuse, people being afraid of stating their opinions or protesting if it doesn’t coincide with the majority, some people acting like actual hypnotized zombies: you talk to them, and they look blankly at you and seem not to understand a single word you say…I can list these things for hours, and you wouldn’t know, if I’m talking about a specific book/movie or our reality. That’s how bad things are in the world, that you can’t differentiate between a fictional and real one.

I won’t say, that looking differently at dystopia will somehow help you survive or change the world. Maybe it will to some extent, because now at least you’ll have an idea of what’s going on, and how everything works. Forewarned is forearmed. You’ll be more beware and attentive, especially before considering something important like being vaccinated or chip implanted. Never underestimate the true meaning of any fantasy, science fiction or dystopian work. Maybe they are some kind of a guide for us, to be prepared or at least be aware of things that might happen or already happen.

So, if you’re a fan of the genre, or want to see our world in its true colors, here’s a small list of literature, of some of the good dystopian books. I especially value the ones, written many years ago, in early 90s. How could writers describe something they’d never seen or even heard before so perfectly? I think these authors have surpassed the fortune tellers or psychics with their truthful predictions of future. Some of these novels also have movie adaptations, so you can check those out as well. And let’s hope that the dystopian genre will stay where it was initially supposed to be, in the fictional world and stop spreading to ours.

1. R. Bradbury-Fahrenheit 451

2. R. Bradbury-Martian Chronicles

3. R. Bradbury- The Pedestrian

4. G. Orwell-1984

5. G. Orwell-Animal Farm

6. S. Collins- Hunger Games (trilogy)

7. V. Roth-Divergent (trilogy)

8. J. Dashner-Maze Runner (trilogy)

9. L. Lowry- The Giver

10. J. DuPrau- The City of Ember (series)

32 comments

  1. Good one 🔙
    As you explain different conditions & you including what thinking or what not ,what’s going or what’s not. You wrote this in two different place ( means mindly ) when you seen outdoor people ( your Window) and after hearing some things ( but your views right ). Now about as you mentioning lists 1-10 I will.. Thank you for sharing your views. One more thing, yesterday I posted short story about Jessica Combs please check it (reply if possible).
    Your follower!

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  2. I’ve heard the suggestion that the genre of dystopia has been promoted by people in power (through their support of certain books, films, etc) just so that when the reality happens we are more likely to accept it without resistance.

    You’re a great writer.

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    • thanks a lot ☺️ I’ve never thought about it in that perspective, and it’s quite an interesting suggestion, that again may be right! the sad thing is that we may never know what was the truth after all…

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  4. We are living in troubled and complex times. We have an uncertainty in not knowing what can happen after the pandemic. Right now, nothing can be planned because nothing seems perennial. In addition, we have broken the coexistence as you well say in your writing. There have always been viruses and we don’t need it. But it turns out that they do need us to live. So we will continue to be exposed. Right now so many political and economic theories are woven around this pandemic that one no longer knows what to do. The truth is that you have developed a masterfully well-written topic and we have perfectly understood your point of view. A great contribution to the ignorance that we have of what happens around us. My greetings
    Manuel

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  5. Nothing new actually happen. Infection diseases existed and it is not the first pandemic to occur. There are two differences though, population is much more mobile, so the spread of the infection is instant, and news streams from everywhere deliver information at all times. Developed world was taken by surprise for everyone to witness total lack of preparedness in governments and population at large. I am sure that empty streets and orders to stay at home are not that unfamiliar and dramatic to at least half of the world. Good and secure life does not produce instant surviving skills, that were so characteristic for people just a century ago. What has happened and hardships continuing for some time to come will provide another perspective for real life and people as population will learn new skills and new ways of life. It is sad, but there is a lesson to be learned by everyone. May be the paradigm that we are on this earth to fulfil our individual desires, that we all deserve everything instantly, that life is about being happy and enjoy it, taught to young for several generations! were completely misleading and did not prepare for real life with everything it can throw at individual and society?

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    • I see your point, and agree with it. Life isn’t always about rainbows and unicorns, there are many hardships in everyone’s lives, which become our greatest teachers and lessons to learn, and help us grow, become wiser and better. Of course it’d be easier if everything was constantly good and positive, but sadly life isn’t like that, but it doesn’t mean that we should lose our hope and optimism even in hard times likes this. Things like pandemic or different orders etc. have indeed happened before, we learned about them from history, but it just always feels different when you’re actually living through that time. Thank you for your opinion!

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      • Agree with you, hope and positive outlook keep everything in perspective. Things will get better. Living through situations like this allows to see things differently and some things become more clear.

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    • I think the same for all science fiction, fantasy and even mythological creatures, I don’t believe people could just imagine those things many years, even centuries ago

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  7. Dystopia in art: I have to admit I am not a big fan. However, I do appreciate films and books of this genre if they are notable pieces of art. It just so happens that I’ve watched two really good films recently which I would class as dystopian: Joker and Monos. To the book list I would add Lord of the Flies.

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    • I haven’t seen those movies, but I’ll definitely check them out! As for the Lord of flies, I totally forgot about that one, but it’s also really good! 👍🏻

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  9. Nice one. It indeed is heart wrenching how the dystopias are coming true, and I guess its the human race to blame. I actually like this post a lot. A few months back, I had done a paper about the relevance of dystopias today and although I kinda supported them, I read this and have to think once again. So a great job indeed.
    The reality apart, I have to accept that the dystopian genre happens to be my favourite. Be it movies or novels, it finds a way into me.

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  10. Thank you for sharing your thoughtful words. We must look at things through a critical lens and examine the evidence for ourselves. We may not be the best person to understand if something is true, but we bring our perspective and ideas to a topic, just as you have here, so as long as we are thoughtful we can engage in useful and productive discussion. To use a simple example: Before MP3’s there were CD’s. Before CD’s there were cassette tapes. Before cassette tapes there were vinyl records. (Of course there were other mediums to listen to music in between and alongside.) Each may have seemed far-fetched when the idea was originally pitched. How weird might the first iPod have seemed? We must be carefully critical and be open to listening to facts when they are presented.

    Thank you for encouraging healthy discussion. 🙂

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