WHAT’S A DYSTOPIA?
utopia n. a place or state of ideal perfection, the opposite of dystopia
dystopia n. an imaginary wretched place, the opposite of utopia
A DEFINITION OF DYSTOPIA
What is a dystopia? Well, that question is not as easily answered as one might think. To
put it as simply as possible, a dystopian depiction can be described as a dark vision of the
future. That is hardly a satisfactory definition, though.
Unfortunately, the different definitions that are available are not as congruent as one
might wish. A few examples:
"An imaginary, wretched place, the opposite of Utopia." (Cassel's Consice English
Dictionary)
"An imaginary place where people lead dehumanised and often fearful lives." (MerriamWebster's On-line)
"The word 'dystopia' is the commonly used antonym of 'eutopia' [i.e. utopia] and denotes
that class of hypothetical societies containing images of worlds worse than our own. [...]
Dystopian images are almost invariably images of future society, pointing fearfully at the
way the world is supposedly going in order to provide urgent propaganda for a change in
direction." (Grolier's Multimedia Encyclopedia of Science Fiction)
"[...] dystopian fiction looks at totalitarian dictatorship as its prototype, a society that puts
its whole population continuously on trial, a society that finds its essence in concentration
camps, that is, in disenfranchising and enslaving entire classes of its own citizens, a
society that, by glorifying and justifying violence by law, preys upon itself. [...] dystopian
society is what we would today call dysfunctional; it reveals the lack of the very qualities
that traditionally justify or set the raison d'être for a community." (Erika Gottlieb's
Dystopian Fiction East and West: Universe of Terror and Trial)
"A dystopia is any society considered to be undesirable, for any of a number of reasons.
The term was coined as a converse to a Utopia, and is most usually used to refer to a
fictional (often near-future) society where current social trends are taken to nightmarish
extremes. […] Often, the difference between a Utopia and a Dystopia is in the author's
point of view. […] Dystopias are frequently written as warnings, or as satires, showing
current trends extrapolated to a nightmarish conclusion. […] A dystopia is all too closely
connected to current-day society." (Wikipedia On-line Dictionary)
Dystopian societies are undesirable or even horrifying, usually futuristic and
fictional, can be regarded as warnings, are both about today and tomorrow, and
comment on our own society. Think of it as a “negative utopia,” where the goal is to
create a perfect society, but a nightmare society is created instead.
Create Your own Sci-Fi Dystopia!
Remember: DYSTOPIA = NEGATIVE UTOPIA… They try to make everything “perfect”
and end up with a nightmare…
With a partner, write several paragraphs and create a detailed illustration to portray a
science fiction dystopia. Bradbury uses ideas of conformity, the death of independent
thought, and media addiction to create the world of Fahrenheit 451. You and your partner
will determine your own features for your dystopia. Some deal with physical qualities,
others with the mindset of the population.
Requirements: ( 3+ paragraphs, illustration)
-Create a type of society that results from an exaggeration of something in our
own, something we see in modern society that could get out of control.
Remember, dystopian science fiction uses fantasy/futuristic elements to make a
comment on our own present society from a “what if?” perspective.
-World must be futuristic
-Feature some advanced technology
-Describe appearance/landscape (doesn’t necessarily need to be Earth)
-Describe leadership/threats
-Who lives there and what are they like? Describe the people’s daily lives and
social expectations.
-What makes this society a dystopia?
You may write this piece in the form of a non-fiction description (like a Wikipedia entry)
or a narrative (like a short story).