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What is dystopian about this society
Dystopian Society
Dystopian Society
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Set in a dystopian future society where everything is organized by faction, Divergent conveys many significant themes even when the fictional work is imagined for the future, the film depicts messages about the present. With a brewing war between Abnegation and Erudite, the film reflects our own societal power struggles. Factions set up with the ultimate goal of eliminating war and violence where it is believed that, “the future belongs to those who know where they belong,” demonstrates that nonconformity is a threat to peace and any who is different can be viewed as inferior. Those who are unable to conform can be illustrated by the factionless in the film. The film also depicts how it is difficult to achieve peace in a society that is separated
...es of individuals can be used to explore a broader social wrong, in this case the injustice of a totalitarian government. Both authors use their protagonists to depict how a dictatorial state can destroy all sense of individuality, Orwell by presenting Winston in his fight against “The Party” and Niccol by depicting Vincent in his battle against society. Both authors also use individuals, who must isolate themselves in order to survive to expose how an unjust authoritative government can manufacture isolation. Orwell and Niccol also present conflicting views on the possibility of individual rebellion in an oppressive society, reflected by the success of Vincent and failure of Winston. In their prophetic dystopian texts both George Orwell and Andrew Niccol use the experiences of their protagonists to explore the broad social wrong of a totalitarian government.
It is commonplace for individuals to envision a perfect world; a utopian reality in which the world is a paradise, with equality, happiness and ideal perfection. Unfortunately, we live in a dystopian society and our world today is far from perfection. John Savage, from Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, V, from V for Vendetta by James McTeigue and Offred, from The Handmaid’s Tale by Margret Attwood, are all characters in a dystopian society. A dystopia is the vision of a society in which conditions of life are miserable and are characterized by oppression, corruption of government, and abridgement of human rights.
Rollo May, a psychologist, once said that, “in the utopian aim of removing all power and aggression from human behavior, we run the risk of removing self-assertion, self-affirmation, and even the power to be”. As a contemporary population, daily life has advanced from a comprehension; introducing utopian qualities would have domino effects on different human rights of a hindsight apparistic nation. Modern societies similar to a utopia has a larger entity that undermines the community within different aspects but nevertheless runs the risk of becoming a society with dystopian features by illusions of authoritarian rule.
Throughout 1984 and Divergent, conformity and obedience force the characters to go to great lengths in order to follow the basics and rules of the government. Throughout Orwell’s 1984, the individuals of the society hang onto every word, law, and thought of Big Brother. The citizens focus primarily on the Ministries and Party, not forming connections or relationships with others. Each member of a party have certain jobs and clothing assigned to them, separating them for others to easily detect. The same concept lies within the factions of Divergent. Each faction has a different job, and different colors to wear in order to display their role in society. The leaders of each Faction also hold the phrase “faction before blood,” depicting the same messege Big Brother enforces in 1984. Both governments want the individuals to stay within their parties, and do the jobs assigned to them. However, both novels include characters refusing to conform and obey to government rules. In 1984, Winston Smith resents Big Brother, using his knowledge from the Minitrue to reveal the lies the government spreads. Because of the disatisfaction Winston shows towards his government, O’Brien follows him, tortures him, and brainwashes him into conforming like the others. In Divergent, the government leaders label Beatrice Prior as a “divergent,” or one who possesses more than one
Dystopian America What exactly is dystopia, and how is it relevant today? E.M. Forster’s The Machine Stops uses a dystopian society to show how one lives effortlessly, lacking knowledge of other places, in order to show that the world will never be perfect, even if it may seem so. A society whose citizens are kept ignorant and lazy, unknowing that they are being controlled, unfit to act if they did, all hidden under the guise of a perfect utopian haven, just as the one seen in The Machine Stops, could become a very real possibility. There is a rational concern about this happening in today’s world that is shared by many, and with good reason.
Carrie Vaughn’s Amaryllis and Joe Mastroianni’s Jordon’s Waterhammer reflect the stereotypical characteristics associated with Dystopian Literature through their setting, characterisation and plot development.
Veronica Roth’s bestseller Divergent is the first book in her three part series about the world during a time when the government divides citizens up into five factions. Abnegation, Candor, Erudite, Amity, and Dauntless make up these factions and each one consists of different character traits that define it. Through the plot, characters, and themes, Roth tells a beautiful love story while keeping readers on the edge of their seat throughout the whole book.
A Clockwork Orange is an anti-utopian novel, describing an imminent future in a stately supervised country. The hero Alex revolts against the state using violence and is therefore locked up. Later he is turned into a harmless subject without free will, incapable of committing any crime.
In the book The Stranger, Camus characterizes Meursault as an atheist, an unemotional robot, and an outcast to demonstrate how he threatens society. The way Camus characterizes Meursault impacts the book in views to which he threatens society, like when he seems useless, shows no compassion or feelings, and when he does nothing to help society, making him seem like society’s worst enemy. How he characterizes Meursault proves how he becomes a threat to society through the use of syntax by displaying insensitivity, and diction to prove his atheism. He also only focuses on physical objects, and the way he sees life causes him to resemble a stranger. Meursault can be a threat to society by just not fitting in with everyone else and preventing everyone from uniting, so he continues to threat society.
In the movies Divergent and Insurgent the society was created in a post-apocalyptic Chicago. The survivors of Chicago were divided into five factions: Candor, Amity, Dauntless, Abnegation, and Erudite. At the age of 16 all teenagers are forced to take an aptitude test that in return places them in a faction. When they are children they grow up living in the factions that their parents have resided in for years, therefore, they already have developed and learned morals and ethics pertaining to this specific faction. Most of the time they are placed back into the factions which they have always resided, but for some they are placed in brand new factions and forced to lose all current morals to obtain their new factions morals. If they test positive for all factions then they are what the book calls Divergent. To be Divergent means you have all the morals and beliefs for all the factions; you are a well-rounded individual. If you don’t test positive for any faction or for all of them, then by default you are Faction less. Being factionless means you don’t obtain any set of morals or positive ethical attributes to contribute positively to the society, therefore you are viewed just as dangerous as the Divergent.
Dystopian novels are written to reflect the fears a population has about its government and they are successful because they capture that fright and display what can happen if it is ignored. George Orwell wrote 1984 with this fear of government in mind and used it to portray his opinion of the current government discretely. Along with fear, dystopian novels have many other elements that make them characteristic of their genre. The dystopian society in Orwell’s novel became an achievement because he utilized a large devastated city, a shattered family system, life in fear, a theme of oppression, and a lone hero.
Divergent, the 2014, action, sci-fi film directed by Neil Burger presents viewers with a futuristic dystopia set in Chicago. After a large war, society has been divided into five groups of people called “factions”. Each faction has their own specialty they are responsible for in order for their society to function properly. Abnegation is the selfless, Dauntless are the brave, Amity are the peacemakers, Candor are honest, and the Erudite are the Intelligent. When a member of society turns sixteen, they are required to take an aptitude test that will tell them what faction they are best suited for. After the test, they are free to choose to stay in the faction they have been in since birth or join any faction of their choosing, but once the choice has been made, there is no going back. After we are introduced to the main character, Beatrice Prior, we follow her into the testing room where she is told that her test was inconclusive, meaning that she does not fall into one specific group in the faction system. She is classified as Abnegation, Erudite, and Dauntless, making her divergent. Because of this, she is faced with the problem of hiding her true identity and blending in with the faction she has chosen to live as, so that she is not killed as a threat to society and the faction system. After she is given her test results, Beatrice makes the difficult decision to leave her family who are Abnegation, and join Dauntless. After she makes the choice to become Dauntless, she is faced with unexpected physical and psychological challenges to be fully initiated into the faction, as well as learning of Erudite’s plot to kill all divergents and overthrow Abnegation in order to take over as head of the government. Although viewers are prese...
According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, a dystopia is defined as “an imaginary place where people lead dehumanized and often fearful lives” or an “anti-utopia”. The word “utopia” was first coined by Plato and later used by Sir Thomas More in 1516 in his book Utopia. The book features a fictional island named Utopia and all its customs. This book prompted and generated more innovative genres, including that of dystopian novels. Dystopian novels, like any other well-written novel, contain a strongly developed protagonist and a mysterious, controlling antagonist. Often, the author labels the government or leader of the corrupt society as the antagonist. The authors have a propensity to use the ignored social injustices in modern society and embellish them in a future society where they eventually lead to mankind’s demise. Frequently, the protagonist of the dystopian novel is the point of view from which the narrative is told. The protagonists tend to be characterized as rebels as they attempt to stay ethical and honorable in a depraved society. However, when the main character in some of the most well known dystopian novels revolts, he or she is less successful at staying moral than a more passive character.
Throughout human history, matters not which civilization; humanity has endeavored to attain a sociality in which one can live with freedom, enjoyment, justice, and happiness. It is human nature to see oneself in a place where it is flourishing and enjoyable, and unfortunately that is often elsewhere then where one is; after all isn't "the grass always greener on the other side" (Eng. Proverb).
The popularity of speculative fiction has spiked in recent years because of the increasing number of books being written in this genre. A huge wave of dystopian style novels have been released, and they are becoming more and more popular with young adults. These books are often in a futuristic setting that follows some sort of tragedy. The Divergent and Darkest Minds series are two of the popular series that have emerged from this wave of dystopian novels. Books like these allow readers to step into another society, and that is part of what is so appealing about them.