A perfect world with no negative aspects can be defined as a utopia. A utopia consists of having all the required or desirable elements of life that one has in mind. Everyone has an altered perception on what a utopia is, but in order for the world to be a utopia a universal definition is vital. Some elements to be considered in a utopia include a society that is stable socially, morally, politically, and economically. The more a world is in deficient to these key elements of a utopia, the farther the world travels from the parameters of a utopia. Through the analysis of the novel “Lord of the Flies”, the movies “Lord of the Flies”, “V for Vendetta”, and “Gattaca” and the song “Green Destroyed”, it is evident that a utopia is very difficult to create and even tougher to sustain. Though having a complete utopia or certain elements of it takes hard endeavour, there remains a great deal of value in the attempt.
In the novel “Lord of the Flies”, one can get an understanding of just how difficult it is for the foundation of a utopia. Ralph was the leader of his utopia in which the system of ruling was considered to be very democratic. Ralph had been voted in by the majority of the group which gave society a voice. The idea of democracy was farther demonstrated through the representation of the conch which said that whoever had it was to be the one speaking. Ralph had declared this when he said “I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking (Golding.31).” The utopia of Ralph had some positive essentials of a perfect world, such as it was peaceful; there was freedom, equality and the thought of morality. *INCLUDE EXAMPLES* But even with those key elements it was too intricate to sustain, which led...
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.../Common Cause Records.1994.Lyrics 007.November 15th2011. http://www.lyrics007.com/Dystopia%20Lyrics/Green%20Destroyed%20Lyrics.html.
Gattaca. Dir. Andrew Niccol. Perf. Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, and Jude Law. Columbia Pictures Corporation, 1997. IMDb. Web. 11 Nov. 2011. .
Gattaca. Dir. Andrew Niccol. Perf. Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, and Jude Law. Columbia Pictures Corporation, 1997. IMDb. Web. 11 Nov. 2011. .
V for Vendetta. Dir. James McTeigue. Perf. Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving. Warner Bros.Pictures, 2006. IMDb. Web. 13 Nov. 2011. .
V for Vendetta. Dir. James McTeigue. Perf. Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving. Warner Bros.Pictures, 2006. Rotten Tomatoes. Web. 13 Nov. 2011. .
Pulp Fiction. Dir. Tarantino Quentin. Perf. John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, Tim Roth
The Crucible. Dir. Nicholas Hytner. Perf. Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder and Paul Scofield. 20th Century Fox, 1996. DVD.
LA Confidential. Dir. Curtis Hanson. Perf. Kevin Spacey, Russel Crowe, Guy Pierce, Kim Bassinger, Danny DeVito. Regency, 1997.
American Psycho. Dir. Mary Harron. Perf. Christian Bale, Justin Theroux, and Josh Lucas. Lions Gate Films, 2000. Film.
Rebel Without a Cause. Dir. Nicholas Ray. Perf. James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, and Jim
Andrew Adamson, Ann Peacock, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely, Liam Neeson, Ray Winstone, and Dawn French. Prod. Mark Johnson and Philip Steuer. Perf. William Mosley, Anna Popplewell, Georgie Henley, and Skandar Keynes. Buena Vista Pictures, 2005. DVD.
Natural Born Killers. Dir. Oliver Stone. With Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Tommy Lee Jones, and Robert Downy Jr. Warner Bros., 1994.
The Patriot. Dir. Roland Emmerich. Perf. Mel Gibson,Heath Ledger,and Johnny Issacs. DVD. Columbia Tristar , 2000.
Inglourious Bastards. Dir. Quentin Tarantino. Perf. Brad Pitt and Christoph Waltz. The Weinstein Company, 2009. DVD.
Van Sant, G. and Bender, L. (1997). Good Will Hunting. New York City: Miramax Films.
“The vision of one century is often the reality of the next…” (Nelson 108). Throughout time, great minds have constructed their own visions of utopia. Through the study of utopias, one finds that these “perfect” societies have many flaws. For example, most utopias tend to have an authoritarian nature (Manuel 3). Also, another obvious imperfection found in the majority of utopias is that of a faulty social class system (Thomas 94). But one must realized that the flaws found in utopian societies serve a specific purpose. These faults are used to indicate problems in contemporary society (Eurich 5, Targowski 1). Over the years, utopian societies have been beneficial in setting improved standards for society. By pointing out the faults of society, improvement is the most likely next step. Citizens should take advantage of utopian literature in order to better future societal conditions (Nelson 104). Because it is impossible to create a perfect society in which everyone’s needs can be met, society must analyze utopias in order to improve their existing environment.
Life is a very valuable asset, but when lived on someone else’s terms its nothing but a compromise. The seemingly perfect image of Utopia which combines happiness and honesty with purity, very often leads in forming a dystopian environment. The shrewd discrepancy of Utopia is presented in both the novel ‘The Giver’ by Lois Lowry and the film ‘The Truman Show’ directed by Peter Weir. Both stories depict a perfect community, perfect people, perfect life, perfect world, and a perfect lie. These perfect worlds may appear to shield its inhabitants from evil and on the other hand appear to give individuals no rights of their own. By comparing and contrasting the novel ‘The Giver’ and the film ‘The Truman Show’, it can be derived that both the main characters become anti-utopian to expose the seedy underbelly of their Utopian environment which constructs a delusional image of reality, seizes the pleasures in their lives and portrays a loss of freedom.
The Hunger Games. Dir. Gary Ross. Perf. Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson. Lionsgate, 2012. DVD.
Dir. Steven Spielberg. By Brian Aldiss. Perf. Haley, Joel Osment and Jude Law.
The Pianist. Dir. Roman Polanski. Perf. Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Emilia Fox. 2001. DVD. Universal Studios, 2003.