Ready Player One by Ernest Cline is a novel set in the year 2045 where almost everyone engages in a virtual reality called the OASIS. Cline’s novel published in 2011 can be compared to The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins and the Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth. Collins’ first book was published in 2008 and Roth’s published in 2011. These three novels written and published during the same time period share many similar ideas and concerns of our culture. The appalling future society, the budding romance, the teenage protagonist are all found in novels like Cline’s. A Cultural Criticism of Ready Player One examines the similarities it shares with other dystopian novels of the twenty-first century and possibilities as to why the genre has been thriving. …show more content…
The cause of Collins’ world is unknown, but the savage competitions, the Hunger Games, are the outcome of war as is the world of Divergent. Our culture has influenced these novels in that which they reflect the state our society is experiencing. We are constantly being reminded of the environmental impact we are causing with global warming resulting in climate change and the supply of nonrenewable resources shrinking every day. These books have morphed the fears of society into a possible prediction of our future. Another worry of our culture is that the world will be wrecked for our children and future generations, like exhibited in the novels. The age of the main characters place them on the edge of adulthood and having grown up in these dystopian worlds makes them an embodiment of the somber outlook we have for the future
Wade Watts is a geeky orphan who whose determination may shift depending on the situation. Wade started out living in his aunt's trailer at the Stacks, with very little money and his only access to OASIS was on a school-issued laptop. He then learned of the hunt for Halliday’s egg, a hunt which the winner would receive the late James Halliday’s fortune and unlimited power in OASIS. Wade becomes obsessed with the hunt and abandons school altogether trying to win. Yet, this is not the only sidetrack he faces. In Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One, Wade’s main adversity and how he overcomes it shows that no matter how much you get distracted if you have the drive you can pull yourself back together.
The authors both making sweeping statements about the political nature of the United States, but Ames addresses a more concentrated demographic of American society than Hedges. The latter points the finger at the venal egotism of celebrity culture for entrancing the public into complacency, and at America’s political leaders for orchestrating the fact, but he also places substantial blame on the people at-large for allowing themselves to be captivated by the entertainment industry. Ames discusses an issue in which the Millennial generation stands as the focal point, but she speaks directly to the teachers of these adolescents due to their position of influence. Although today’s youth are proven to possess a spark of political energy through their own volition—displayed through their generation-wide interest in dystopian literature—an environment of learning and in-depth analysis provides the best opportunity for the novels’ underlying calls-to-action to strike a chord with their young
Collins has embedded a very strong moral behind her writings, which she has made quite clear through the morals of Panem and its Capitol. The Hunger Games could be described as a massive, national television show with a little – well, big – twist. Like reality television in our day and age, it is extremely popular with plenty of drama; except, perhaps the drama is a little too dramatic, involving the brutal murder of tributes and the literal back-stabbing of fellow ‘allies’. Essentially, the Hunger Games is a large sport and source of entertainment, where the tributes must face atrocious perils such as fireballs, mutated, dogs, along with tracker-jackers – wasps genetically modified to create hallucinations and kill with merely a few painful stings. Although this is a bit too extreme for our reality television, there are still many similarities.
Fahrenheit 451 and the Hunger Games are both intertwined with a futuristic version of human entertainment and a society absent of religion. Both societies are subjected to gruesome and brutal activities as a form of enjoyment. The desire for a thrill and an adrenaline rush dominates the minds of most people. In Fahrenheit 451, it’s very likely that many people succumb to their deaths from accidents but can easily replaced by members of the parlor family who they accept as their own. In the same way, The Hunger Games consists of exactly what the title suggests. They are annual games, which include starving and murder and serve as society’s primary source of entertainment. Most people don’t enjoy watching the games but, the Capitol forces the districts to watch for it believes they are a good source of entertainment. Seeing how the Hunger Games are basically murdering each other until the last child is standing, it relates closely with the kind of entertainment that the society of Fahrenheit 451 provides with the adrenaline and thrill of the same kind. The people in Fahrenheit 451 like their source of entertainment in the way they approach it but the instances of conformity remains the same. This is unlike that of the people of the districts in The Hunger Games. There is indeed a difference between the two societies yet, in the Hunger Games there is less time for many because so many people are working toward survival, while in Fahrenheit 451, entertainment is something that people do daily. The existence of adrenaline entertainment is similar in both societies. Yet they differ in whether or not the people actually like the entertainment.
Science fiction writers create a particular setting not only to entertain readers but to give clues on lessons they believe human beings are struggling to understand. In both books, The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark are introduced as the main characters to project the criticisms made by the author. Susan Collins creates a Dystopian society ruled by the Capital. Different areas of their country, named Panem, are separated into different districts. Two kids from each of the twelve districts are chosen at random to fight in an arena until 1 tribute is left, this is called The Hunger Games Both Peeta and Katniss fight together during the hunger games as a team from District 12. Between the two books, Collins portrays the idea that humans tend to be disrespectful and insulting, depending on another's wealth and/or authority and power. Both The Hunger Games and Catching Fire connect with readers but also indicated the problem with certain human behaviors that most people don't notice or fail to
The Hunger Games was a critically acclaimed movie when it came out; however, some critics would argue that the movie can be sometimes too violent for its intended audience. In this essay I would dissert Brian Bethune’s essay “Dystopia Now” in order to find its weaknesses and compare the movie Battle Royale with his essay.
Suzanne Collin’s novel The Hunger Games, explores the blurring boundary between private and public life, a process amplified by the entertainment industry, and draws a commentary upon the parallels existing in our society.
In the article “Why we need violent video games,” Gilsdorf draws attention to the fact that violent video games are not the reason for aggressive behavior amongst youths; rather he suggests that they are an outlet for people’s aggression (Gilsdorf, 2013). Ethan Gilsdorf started out in journalism as a Paris-based travel writer and he is the author of the travel memoir investigation Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks: An Epic Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms. He is known to be a writer, journalist and a critic (“About Ethan Gilsdorf”, n.d.). The author’s purpose in this article is to inform the readers that violent video games are not always related to the violence in reality. This is a timely argument as the article assesses the relation between violence and video games
The idea of our country being separated into different districts and being forced to pick random children and have them fight to the death is very farfetched. But the concept of poverty, war, separation, and famine are so very easy to grasp. The Hunger Games presents each of these things in the movie and makes its audience understand and start thinking that this story line could possibly happen in reality. The idea that people are struggling on many different levels, both the people of Panem and the ones living in America. Panem and our society today have many similarities. There are many differences and similarities in survival, punishment, physical appearance, and control in Panem that is also seen in today's world. Although The Hunger Games and Panem are not real, the ideas and things presented in the movie could possibly happen. That idea is what draws the viewer in and has people really thinking about where our society is headed.
The book The Hunger Games, portrays a society where people are treated unfairly based on factors that they cannot control. The people are born into one of 13 districts. There lives vary drastically based on where they are born. Someone born in the Capitol has a completely different life than someone born in district 12. A person born in the Capitol lives a wealthy life and is always treated with respect. On the other hand someone born in district 12 has a life of constant back breaking work. They live in poverty and struggle to survive.
Ready Player One is a dystopian science-fiction novel written by Ernest Cline in 2011. It was a New York Times bestseller, won an Alex Award from the American Library Association, and won the 2012 Prometheus Award. There is currently a film adaptation directed by Steven Spielberg, set to be released in spring of 2018. The novel includes notable themes such as multiple versions of reality, identity, competition, immortality, and the underdog versus “The Man.” Ready Player One is packed with pop culture references, including literature, video games, movies, music, and more.
The Hunger Games that follows, the term that defines a dystopian fiction. One main belief that defines Dystopian society is the development into a “hierarchical society” (“Dystopia”). A hierarchical society plays a big part in the story that outline the whole plot. For example, Capitol is wealthier than all the districts. Some districts are more privileged than others. The Careers, being tributes from districts one to three, are prepared and trained for years before the games. However, this is illegal, but because of the support towards District two from the Capitol, they are let off, along with District one and District four, the other richer districts. In this cas...
The Hunger Games, a film based off of a novel written by Susan Collins, was released in March of 2012. The film, and the book it was based on, chronicles the struggles of a girl named Katniss Everdeen, a girl who lives in a poverty stricken province or “District”, until untimely circumstances forces her to play in the Hunger Games, a gladiatorial like contest where children between the ages of 12 and 18 are forced to fight to the death. A contest that was set up by an oppressive and authoritarian government, and has thus far been sustained via the forced obedience of the rebellious Districts, the brainwashing and conditioning of Districts 1 and 2, and the conditioning of the residents of its Capitol. The movie has a variety of messages, most especially in regards toward social control and social conditioning. With these ideas in mind, a case could very well be made that The Hunger Games, throughout its two hour long run time, shows a very realistic look at a socially conditioned society and what humanity can become with the right amount of conditioning and control by an authoritarian force.
Appearance and fashion are important factors that drive our societies today. We live in a world where people are judged by the way they look, dress and carry themselves. This phenomenon is display by Suzanne Collins in her New York Times bestseller trilogy the “Hunger Games”. In this book, Collins presents a dystopian world, a world that is awful and terrible. The different themes used in this book are violence, corruption, obsession, inequality and physical appearance and they somehow related to our world. She compared Panem with our world. The goal of the book is to warn people that if we don’t used resources efficiently, if we don’t help each other, if we still obsessed with money we will end up killing each other. During the games, look and appearance were surprisingly one way to win. Like the Hunger Games, people nowadays are giving too much importance in their look because society has leaded them to. It may seems unexpected to compare the Hunger games to our world but unfortunately, look became an important factor of decisions. Suzanne Collins does an amazing job in her book by warning us of how the future could be if we do not change our behavior, but what are the links and signs to our actual world and how is that a danger for societies?.
3. “Video Games” by Chris Jozefowics. Published by Gareth Stevens Publishing 2010. Pleasantville, NY 10570-70000 USA. Produced by Editorials Directions Inc.