Dystopia

Dystopia

An artistic genre

Totalitarian regimes

too much authority

dictatorship

a lot of restrictions

everything seems perfect but isn’t.

Gattaca

could be present as a Utopia

No freedom of thought/speech

You are deprived of your rights.

Use of Propaganda

Use of fear to scare people and keep them undercontrol.

- Fear of atomic bombs & nuclear weapons during the cold war (the USSR vs the USA).

- Fear of communism.

In the ‘sos, senator Joseph Mccarthy made a speech. He alleged he had a list of 205 people who were working in the state department and who were communist. That speech triggered a huge paranoia and hysteria in the U.S. That period of time was a dark chapter in American History.

The list was a sham.

Many works of art are cautionary tales ( warn about hot button issues and how the world may turn).

1984 → George Orwell’s book.

Farenheit 451 → RarBradbury.

During the McCarthy era/ Red scare, people were charged with being Communist & then were convicted on mere suspicion.

Utopia: A place, state, or condition that is ideally perfect in respect of politics,

laws, customs, and conditions.

Dystopia: A futuristic, imagined universe in which oppressive societal control and

the illusion of a perfect society are maintained through corporate, bureaucratic,

technological, moral, or totalitarian control. Dystopias, through an exaggerated

worst-case scenario, make a criticism about a current trend, societal norm, or

political system.

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.

• 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

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