1
Utopia/Dystopia
Utopia is the name commonly given to an imaginary land where everything is
supposed to be perfect. The name utopia refers particularly to a society with ideal economic
and social conditions. It is a land where all men are equal, prosperous, educated, wise, and
happy. In utopia there is no poverty, crime, tragedy, etc.. The name utopia comes from the
Greek words meaning no place. People often apply the word utopian to plans of reform that
they consider impractical and visionary.
The word utopia was used as the title of a famous book by Saint Thomas More. The
book Utopia gives More’s views on the ideal government. But, like most writings on utopias,
it also criticizes social and economic conditions of More’s times.
Several other books have presented an imaginary ideal state of society. One of the
first books describing a utopia was Plato’s Republic (375 B.C.?). More recent utopias are
described in Samuel Butler’s Erewhon, which almost spells nowhere backwards (1872), and
Edward Bellamy’s Looking Backward (1888).
There are five basic elements common to the idea of Utopia. These elements are:

Everlasting life;

All good and no evil;

All needs and wants are provided without any required effort to obtain them;

A perfect balance between the individual and society; and

Complete knowledge.
To sum it up ... A Utopia is a perfect place where nothing bad happens.
The adjective utopian is often used to refer to good but (physically, socially,
economically, or politically) impossible situations, or at least ones that are very difficult to
implement. The term has come to mean something that is optimistic, idealistic--impossible
perfection.
The theme of utopia has given rise to another literature genre known as anti-utopian
fiction. A dystopia (anti-utopia) is a fictional society, usually existing in a future time
period, in which the condition of life is extremely bad due to deprivation, oppression, or
terror. In most dystopian fiction, a corrupt government creates or sustains the poor quality of
life, often conditioning the people to believe the society is proper and just, even perfect.
Most dystopian fiction takes place in the future but often purposely incorporates
contemporary social trends taken to horrendous extremes. Dystopias are frequently written
as warnings showing current trends exaggerated to a nightmarish conclusion.
Characteristics of a Dystopian Society
• 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.
2
•
•
•
•
Citizens live in a dehumanized state.
The natural world is banished and distrusted.
Citizens conform to uniform expectations. Individuality and dissent are bad.
The society is an illusion of a perfect utopian world. Citizens are lead to
believe that they live in a perfect world.
Types of Dystopian Controls
Most dystopian works present a world in which oppressive societal control and
the illusion of a perfect society are maintained through one or more of the
following types of controls:
• Corporate control: One or more large corporations control society through
products, advertising, and/or the media. Examples include Minority Report
and Running Man.
• Bureaucratic control: Society is controlled by a mindless bureaucracy
through a tangle of red tape, relentless regulations, and incompetent
government officials. Examples in film include Brazil.
• Technological control: Society is controlled by technology—through
computers, robots, and/or scientific means. Examples include The Matrix,
The Terminator, and I, Robot.
• Philosophical/religious control: Society is controlled by philosophical or
religious ideology often enforced through a dictatorship or theocratic
government. Examples include Animal Farm and A Brave New World.
The Dystopian Protagonist
• often feels trapped and is struggling to escape.
• questions the existing social and political systems.
• believes or feels that something is terribly wrong with the society in which
he or she lives.
• helps the audience recognize the negative aspects of the dystopian world
through his or her perspective.
This kind of fiction shows man at the mercy of a purpose over which he has no
control. It shows not man perfected, but man perverted. Dystopian fiction seems to rise
from the certainty that man can now destroy not only himself as an individual, but all
mankind—that governments can bend people to any kind of purpose whatsoever. Often
anti-utopian novels are intended as a criticism of the time in which the author lives.