Article Analysis #1 - On Dystopia

A dystopian society, at it's core, is the opposite of a utopia. How this imagined and undesirable future is configured, or what had caused it's frightening conditions, is completely up to the creative control of writer. The article, "On Dystopia", points out that these hypothetical futures are born out of multiple different scenarios. Of course there is the ever-present desire to imitate success, and with movies displaying a dystopian future seeming to thrive at the box office, the public has most certainly taken an interest in it. The argument here is that building a movie around a dystopian future not only creates many interesting avenues to explore on film, but that these types of ideas are created as a response to real life situations and events. In modern society, there are countless portions of every day life from which to pull inspiration, from the recent NSA scandal, to failing economies, or deadly conflicts worldwide. The idea of painting a dystopian future is far from new, however. The article states how the great thinkers of the past, like Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud, also used this method to provide a warning of a dark future, each in their own unique way. Whether spawned from crisis, created as a warning, or a way to make a great film, the dystopian future is an undoubtedly powerful tool.