DRIVING QUESTION: Are dystopias avoidable or inevitable?
". . . we admire dystopian novels because, by giving us worst-case scenarios of the future, maybe our current society can be jolted enough to avoid those scenarios eventually happening in real life. Like some of the characters in dystopian novels, we might feel a little against-all-odds hope. Then again, maybe not . . ."
--Dave Astor, Huffington Post columnist
WHAT IS A DYSTOPIA?
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 dangerous. • The society is an illusion of a perfect utopian world. |
Types of
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The Dystopian
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WHY SHOULD WE READ THEM?
Recent trends in both literature and Hollywood illustrate a growing interest in dystopian fiction. After the incredible success of The Hunger Games, not only have new dystopian novels been hitting the shelves (Divergent, The Maze Runner, Cinder), but there has also been a renewed interest in the classics (The Giver, Brave New World, 1984). While this literature offers captivating, realistic, and often terrifying depictions of the modern world, it also invites opportunities to compare our contemporary experience to those characterized by (and predicted in?) these novels.
The primary purpose of this unit is to understand and analyze the concept of dystopia as it relates to our current societal trends. In order to understand what a dystopia is, how it works, and how it is relevant to our current social climate, we will read fictional accounts of dystopias and consider how human nature, government, and politics work together to create such a cataclysmic decline in society. Perhaps more importantly, however, my goal is for this unit to leave a lasting impression on you. Years from now, I hope you remember how these fictional dystopian worlds came into being and thus, you might resist them by all means necessary in whatever way you can. In this way, I see the unit as creating active consumers and global citizens who might be encouraged one day into social action. Literature, in all its forms, has this power, and I hope to pass that power on to you.
The primary purpose of this unit is to understand and analyze the concept of dystopia as it relates to our current societal trends. In order to understand what a dystopia is, how it works, and how it is relevant to our current social climate, we will read fictional accounts of dystopias and consider how human nature, government, and politics work together to create such a cataclysmic decline in society. Perhaps more importantly, however, my goal is for this unit to leave a lasting impression on you. Years from now, I hope you remember how these fictional dystopian worlds came into being and thus, you might resist them by all means necessary in whatever way you can. In this way, I see the unit as creating active consumers and global citizens who might be encouraged one day into social action. Literature, in all its forms, has this power, and I hope to pass that power on to you.
BOOKS
video games | virtual reality | 80s pop culture | Easter Eggs | puzzles
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classic | Big Brother is watching you | deception | totalitarian state
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science fiction | inspired Blade Runner | nuclear global war | bounty hunter
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theocracy | complete control of women | gender stereotyping and discrimination
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cyborg | lunar people | plague | loosely based on "Cinderella" | Asian setting and protagonist
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Second Civil War | reproductive rights | kids ages 13-18 can be unwound
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each citizen has a twin | must eliminate your Alt by age 20 | strikers
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Project and website created by Melody Casey / @melody_casey / [email protected]