What exactly is the Dystopia genre? It’s a genre which manifests
a world in the future which focuses on society and how they have challenged
ways in politics, science, religion or technology. It’s the complete opposite
of Utopia, which is an ideal world we see as to live in.
I,
as a young reader have become enlightened to this futuristic genre that has set
aside from Science Fiction. I believe that dystopia is the perfect setting and
lifestyle that we as a generation are happily walking into without the
acknowledgement. It may seem like the little things first, from the invention
of the internet and little message groups you joined so often on forums, or sources
like MySpace (2003) checking out bands and sharing your profiles. Our social
media insight has risen over the past 10 years, to create this way of connecting;
sharing, viewing and searching become easier and well-known interaction among
young people. We take it for granted these days, it’s just a way of sharing our
weekends, searching through others profiles, who’s with whom and what they look
like. Thanks to Facebook (2004) and Twitter (2006) which our most used social
media applications and sites to date.
The writers of the dystopian genre have manifested worlds which
mirror our own. ‘Uglies by Scott
Westerfeld (2005)’ creates this community which believes you are only
pretty when you turn 16 and under-go cosmetic surgery, this shows how social
media creates a version of yourself that you want to be. In their society they
believe their ranks are everything, what their feeds are, what stories they
have revealed and how high they can get. It’s much like how many views you can
gather on YouTube (2005) or how many likes on a post on Facebook. It creates a
world where everyone is someone else, their ideal person with no emotions over
anything that they can do.
‘The
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (2008)’ a well-known adaptation has an
incredible social media platform. By using TV as a source of entertainment
creating a death-ring as an arena and placing 24 children ‘tributes’ into the
arena to fight for survival. The world Collins has created is set within the
future, in Panem. Within’ the Games the tributes must connect with the audience
in order to grab the sponsor’s attention to send them medication, food or
survival tools to help them survive the games. It uses so many ways to create a
new world which uses social media, the main aspect being playing a game in
order to win over society to help them survive.
‘Delirium by Lauren
Oliver (2011)’ is another dystopian novel which is a world created around
the idea that love is a disease which can only be found in people who have not
had the procedure to remove ‘the deliria’. Society is sectioned off by the idea
of love where partners are created by a test which chooses for you depending on
your own results. However, would that actually ever work? Love happens to
anyone, it’s a journey around society coming against fears which they are
blocked from. Where the internet is watched, sites are blocked and they are
sheltered from the real meaning of what love is.
There are many more clear examples out
there in the world, from books to television shows to films. Like Doctor Who
(1963), The Twilight Zone (1959) and Falling Skies (2011) to well-known blockbuster
films such as The Island (2005), Elysium (2013) and The Matrix (1999). We live
in a generation where everything is centred on technology. Who say’s we won’t
turn into that society who can click their fingers and their profiles show up
in front of their eyes, or touching walls to check your daily feed? We have
progressed immensely over the past decade through technology and we will enter
many more decades to even brighter and scarier society driven sources. We will
look back in years to come and realize what was and what now is.
Lydia S Jones
