Dystopia: The multifaceted genre

      In the penguin English dictionary, a dystopia is defined as a wretched place. Definition of Dystopia. Dystopia has been more or less incorporated as a genre of its own in literature. As a literary genre, dystopia can be said to be "a subgenre of science fiction or speculative fiction, it depicts a narrative environment in which society has all but broken down and extreme forms of governmental, societal or environmental disorder have taken over" Dystopian Fiction by Oxford.

      In dystopian fiction, most of the story is set several years into the future, and as a result there is evidence of technological advancement. Science fiction deals with technology and there is a wide range of technology in dystopian fiction. Perhaps this is why it is seen as a subset of science fiction.

      A theme in dystopian environments is the assumption that it is a utopia. A utopia is meant to be a perfect place where the government and the people are working perfectly and everything is alright. However, underneath it all is a very fragile system. This is why dystopian environments are volatile and prone to disruption. It is because human nature is based on change and trying to live in a perfect world is quite impossible.

     Dystopia is also related to the post-apocalyptic era because it is assumed that a dystopian world is as a result of an apocalypse that wipes out the majority of the human race Therefore in order to restore balance, a dystopia is inadvertently created. It doesn't mean all dystopian worlds are a result of an apocalypse, some could be due to climate change destroying the environment as in the novel, Ready Player One. The basic theme is that humanity is threatened by an external force and in order to combat the effects of that force, a dystopian world emerges.

      Although I have read a limited amount of dystopian fiction, one thing I've noticed in all is the presence of a hegemony. In the Hunger Games, the Capitol led by President Snow was the hegemony. In Divergent, the hegemony was the Erudite faction led by the Erudite leader Jeanine Matthews who tried to control the other factions because she believed the Erudite were superior to the others due to their high intelligence.

President Snow from the Hunger Games

    Also there is this policy of divide and conquer that is common is dystopian environments. Looking at hunger games, the people were divided into 12 districts with each district providing a specific service or material for the capitol. In divergent. there are 5 factions and each faction has a specific characteristic that makes them unique. This goes to show that dystopian worlds are based on the division or separation of people into groups. It seems so because the best way for the hegemony to gain control is if the people were broken up rather than united.

An Image of the 5 factions in Divergent

An Image of the 12 districts of Panem from Hunger Games.

     

      

     
      Dystopian fiction is more popular than ever despite it being around for more than 50 years. Some earlier works include George Orwell's 1984 and Margaret Atwood's Handmaid's Tale. However recently there's been a resurgence of dystopian fiction especially among teenagers and young adults. The Unexpected Popularity of Dystopian Literature. Perhaps the reason why there is an increase in the popularity of dystopian fiction is the similarity between our current world and the one that is portrayed in dystopian worlds. With climate change, wars, and deadly diseases happening currently, it's no surprise that people turn to dystopian fiction. It could be because they are able to relate with the situation of the characters in the dystopian novels.

      From what I see, dystopian fiction is going to remain a part of our reading culture. As long as curiosity exists, there will always be an interest in dystopian fiction. Humans have this innate desire to know what the future holds and dystopian fiction is the closest we can get to achieving that. 

Works Cited

"dystopia." The Penguin English Dictionary, edited by R. E. Allen, Penguin, 3rd edition, 2007. Credo Reference, 

"dystopian fiction." The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature, edited by Daniel Hahn, Oxford University Press, Inc., 2nd edition, 2015. Credo Reference, http://ezproxy.lynchburg.edu/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/oupocl/dystopian_fiction/0?institutionId=3447. Accessed 24 Jan. 2020.

Darcy, Julian. "The Unexpected Popularity of Dystopian ." (2016)Web.