Science Fiction Dystopian Governments
Would you be willing to live in a futuristic society that violently forces you to conform by forcing you to fight other people, in order to win your family food, and penalizes you with ostracization or even death? The genre of sci-fi and theme of dystopian fiction can be portrayed through various mediums, such as television, film, and novels in order to portray important themes. Novels such as Huxley’s Brave New World urge the readerto value individualism and resist unrelenting conformity, even when it is presented as a utopia. Additionally, science fiction television shows such as The Twilight Zone provide serialized episodes with shorter runtimes for repeated viewings and its episode “The Obsolete Man” …show more content…
The format of the story complies with its theme as it does not focus on a singularly unique protagonist, but instead portrays characters like Bernard, Helmoltz, John, and Linda dynamically reacting to different societal pressures. These characters all are subjected to the paradigm that happiness is forced, conditioning corrects thought, and introspective outcasts are rejected. The premise of the story is that this dystopian government controls every aspect of society to mandate only persistently happy human interaction. Because the government claims to be infallible and the society does not allow time to reflect upon negative thoughts, citizens fall victim to excessive nationalism and ethnocentrism. Consequently, this excessive groupthink further hinders their ability to think as an individual. John ends up being called “The Savage” by society because he desires to not partake in the conformity and would rather be an individual. Individualism in Brave New World is a long forgotten right that has been systematically destroyed by the World State. Society accepts this because they are dependent on a psychologically addictive drug called “soma”. Characters like Bernard, who have the ability to abstain from taking the drug and introspect, discover they are not content with their lack of …show more content…
Katniss Everdeen is the central protagonist in The Hunger Games trilogy set in a post-apocalyptic America with a totalitarian government similar to The Obsolete Man and Brave New World. Each district (similar concept to states - each has its own boundaries and is overall controlled by the government, in this case “The Capital”) holds an annual reaping to determine a male and female competitor in their “Hunger Games.” Katniss is picked and inevitably turns her fear of the government into leading a rebellion to overthrow the corruption. The story is similar to “The Obsolete Man” because both protagonists are low-status citizens (Wordsworth is an obsolete librarian and Katniss is from the poorest district). Also, they both have their pivotal rebellious moments screened on the television for all of society to see; Wordsworth reveals that the Chancellor will die while Katniss reveals that her dress resembles her rebellious symbol of the mockingjay in the second movie Catching Fire. In both The Hunger Games and Brave New World’s universes, their society is ruled by a single ruler and a police force that retaliates to rebellion in a negative and sadistic way. In the former The Capital uses violence and weapons against their citizens while in Brave New World the government removes people out of society and places them into a human waste land. The Hunger Games
Would you be willing to live in a futuristic society that violently forces you to conform by forcing you to fight other people, in order to win your family food, and penalizes you with ostracization or even death? The genre of sci-fi and theme of dystopian fiction can be portrayed through various mediums, such as television, film, and novels in order to portray important themes. Novels such as Huxley’s Brave New World urge the readerto value individualism and resist unrelenting conformity, even when it is presented as a utopia. Additionally, science fiction television shows such as The Twilight Zone provide serialized episodes with shorter runtimes for repeated viewings and its episode “The Obsolete Man” …show more content…
The format of the story complies with its theme as it does not focus on a singularly unique protagonist, but instead portrays characters like Bernard, Helmoltz, John, and Linda dynamically reacting to different societal pressures. These characters all are subjected to the paradigm that happiness is forced, conditioning corrects thought, and introspective outcasts are rejected. The premise of the story is that this dystopian government controls every aspect of society to mandate only persistently happy human interaction. Because the government claims to be infallible and the society does not allow time to reflect upon negative thoughts, citizens fall victim to excessive nationalism and ethnocentrism. Consequently, this excessive groupthink further hinders their ability to think as an individual. John ends up being called “The Savage” by society because he desires to not partake in the conformity and would rather be an individual. Individualism in Brave New World is a long forgotten right that has been systematically destroyed by the World State. Society accepts this because they are dependent on a psychologically addictive drug called “soma”. Characters like Bernard, who have the ability to abstain from taking the drug and introspect, discover they are not content with their lack of …show more content…
Katniss Everdeen is the central protagonist in The Hunger Games trilogy set in a post-apocalyptic America with a totalitarian government similar to The Obsolete Man and Brave New World. Each district (similar concept to states - each has its own boundaries and is overall controlled by the government, in this case “The Capital”) holds an annual reaping to determine a male and female competitor in their “Hunger Games.” Katniss is picked and inevitably turns her fear of the government into leading a rebellion to overthrow the corruption. The story is similar to “The Obsolete Man” because both protagonists are low-status citizens (Wordsworth is an obsolete librarian and Katniss is from the poorest district). Also, they both have their pivotal rebellious moments screened on the television for all of society to see; Wordsworth reveals that the Chancellor will die while Katniss reveals that her dress resembles her rebellious symbol of the mockingjay in the second movie Catching Fire. In both The Hunger Games and Brave New World’s universes, their society is ruled by a single ruler and a police force that retaliates to rebellion in a negative and sadistic way. In the former The Capital uses violence and weapons against their citizens while in Brave New World the government removes people out of society and places them into a human waste land. The Hunger Games