History Main / Utopia

* In Creator/DanAbnett's ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' Literature/HorusHeresy novel ''Legion'', members of the Alpha Legion describe the Emperor's plan as Utopian and therefore impractical -- although stating they will support him fully.

Subtropes include:

* CrystalSpiresAndTogas - an Utopia brought about through technological advancement.

* L. Neil Smith's ''The Probability Broach'' has his protagonist accidentally crossing over from a dystopian United States collapsing under a BigBrother government to an AlternateUniverse where North American is a highly-advanced libertarian society.

* The galaxy-spanning civilization, enabled by [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien sufficiently advanced technology]], known only as TheCulture which appears in [[Creator/IainBanks Iain M. Banks]]'s novels is very Utopian, at least internally. The majority of the novels are set on the fringes, concerning the Culture's covert operations within other societies, which are portrayed as very morally ambiguous, but mostly considered justified, as their aim is to [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans make all civilizations as Utopian as their own]].

* The culture of the good guys in the first ChroniclesOfThomasCovenant is a utopian one-with-nature form of Communism. This works, because everyone has a "health-sense" that makes them sensitive to their environment so that it actively hurts them if a neighbor/rock/potted plant is starving, ill, or mentally disturbed.

* Gradually subverted in Creator/StrugatskyBrothers's NoonUniverse. While the early installments portrayed the world of the 22nd Century as a more-or-less straight-forward Communist utopia, later novels began to subtly undermine this picture. Characters found themselves facing problems that clashed with their utopian mindset, the supposedly just government was revealed to be increasingly ruthless and duplicitous and the 22nd century scarcity-free society was shown to breed a class of bored intellectuals who went to extreme lengths to make themselves feel useful.

* Deconstructed by AldousHuxley's ''Literature/BraveNewWorld''. Ironically, Aldous Huxley changed a few things about it that suddenly turned it into a utopia; that book is called ''Island''.

* ''[[LookingBackward Looking Backward: 2000-1887]]'' by Edward Bellamy (1888), one of the first American utopian novels, which described a socialist US in the year 2000. ''News From Nowhere'' by Willam Morris was a direct response, as he deemed it overly sterile and bureaucratic. Naturally, both works have their detractors.
* ''[[Literature/TheOnesWhoWalkAwayFromOmelas The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas]]'', a short story by UrsulaKLeGuin, paints an image of a utopia whose survival and prosperity is dependent on an {{Aesoptinum}} ([[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans the city's happiness and perfection is]] [[spoiler:PoweredByAForsakenChild forced to live in perpetual misery]] for intentionally unexplained reasons), perhaps as an allegory for Christ's sacrifice or utilitarianism. This might count as a {{Dystopia}} instead, or as well. Since [=LeGuin=] is a Taoist, there may be no intended Christian theme - she has stated it to be based on the theme of the {{scapegoat}} (although that also bears some resemblance to the Christ story).
* Le Guin's novel ''[[Literature/TheDispossessed The Dispossessed]]'' is subtitled ''An Ambiguous Utopia'', which nicely summarizes the setting - Anarres is presented as a much less flawed world than ours, but it is still far from perfect. Le Guin puts down much of this to an [[ObstructiveBureaucrat obstructive bureaucracy]] and decay of the idealism that led to Anarres' founding in the first place.
* The galaxy-spanning civilization, enabled by [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien sufficiently advanced technology]], known only as TheCulture which appears in IainMBanks' novels is very Utopian, at least internally. The majority of the novels are set on the fringes, concerning the Culture's covert operations within other societies, which are portrayed as very morally ambiguous, but mostly considered justified, as their aim is to [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans make all civilizations as Utopian as their own]].

* In the RobertSheckley short story ''A Ticket to Tranai'', the Earth-based protagonist has heard that the titular planet has no crime and no taxation. He finds out when he arrives that this is technically true, but only because there are no laws and the government employs muggers to take what it wants.

* Le Guin's novel [[Literature/The Dispossessed]] is subtitled ''An Ambiguous Utopia'', which nicely summarizes the setting - Anarres is presented as a much less flawed world than ours, but it is still far from perfect. Le Guin puts down much of this to an [[ObstructiveBureaucrat obstructive bureaucracy]] and decay of the idealism that led to Anarres' founding in the first place.

** Strangely enough, there never seem to be problems with these planets ''already'' being inhabited, and subsequent clashes of natives versus the settlers. Instead, they always seem to be conveniently free of sapient life.

* Le Guin's novel ''Literature/The Dispossessed'' is subtitled ''An Ambiguous Utopia'', which nicely summarizes the setting - Anarres is presented as a much less flawed world than ours, but it is still far from perfect. Le Guin puts down much of this to an [[ObstructiveBureaucrat obstructive bureaucracy]] and decay of the idealism that led to Anarres' founding in the first place.

* Le Guin's novel ''[[Literature/The Dispossessed The Dispossessed]]'' is subtitled ''An Ambiguous Utopia'', which nicely summarizes the setting - Anarres is presented as a much less flawed world than ours, but it is still far from perfect. Le Guin puts down much of this to an [[ObstructiveBureaucrat obstructive bureaucracy]] and decay of the idealism that led to Anarres' founding in the first place.

* CoryDoctorow's ''Literature/DownAndOutInTheMagicKingdom'' is set in a [[TheSingularity postsingular]] utopia called "The Bitchin Society".

* DoctorSteel's stated goal is to remake the world into a Utopian Playland where having fun is the first priority.
* Deconstructed in "Nothing But Flowers" by TalkingHeads, where the singer describes an idyllic world... and is clearly bored.

* "[[Literature/TheOnesWhoWalkAwayFromOmelas The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas]]", a short story by UrsulaKLeGuin, paints an image of a utopia whose survival and prosperity is dependent on an {{Aesoptinum}} ([[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans the city's happiness and perfection is]] [[spoiler:PoweredByAForsakenChild forced to live in perpetual misery]] for intentionally unexplained reasons), perhaps as an allegory for Christ's sacrifice or utilitarianism. This might count as a {{Dystopia}} instead, or as well. Since [=LeGuin=] is a Taoist, there may be no intended Christian theme - she has stated it to be based on the theme of the {{scapegoat}} (although that also bears some resemblance to the Christ story).
* Le Guin's novel ''The Dispossessed'' is subtitled ''An Ambiguous Utopia'', which nicely summarizes the setting - Anarres is presented as a much less flawed world than ours, but it is still far from perfect. Le Guin puts down much of this to an [[ObstructiveBureaucrat obstructive bureaucracy]] and decay of the idealism that led to Anarres' founding in the first place.

* [[TropeNamer The name comes from]] Thomas More's book ''Utopia'', [[OlderThanSteam published in 1516]], which described a communal, agrarian state. However, More [[LampshadeHanging hung a lampshade]] on the entire idea with the title -- "Outopia," in Greek, means roughly "nowhere land" ("Ou," "not," and "topos," "place") while "Eutopia" translates into "good place", thus the common meaning for More's title. The pun was almost certainly intentional. The extent to which More's Utopia is actually [[{{Dystopia}} utopian]] is a matter of some debate -- More actually made a point that [[BigBrotherIsWatching there is no privacy or private property]], slavery still exists ([[DisproportionateRetribution as a way of punishing adultery]]), and though there are four different religions that are tolerated, [[HollywoodAtheist atheists are not, as "obviously" without belief in a god or afterlife they have no reason to be moral]] ([[FairForItsDay the fact that they aren't actually killed or otherwise punished, however, but merely sent to speak with the priests to change their minds, is very progressive for the era]]).

* [[TropeNamer The name comes from]] Thomas More's book ''Utopia'', [[OlderThanSteam published in 1516]], which described a communal, agrarian state. However, More [[LampshadeHanging hung a lampshade]] on the entire idea with the title -- "Outopia," in Greek, means roughly "nowhere land" ("Ou," "not," and "topos," "place") while "Eutopia" translates into "good place", thus the common meaning for More's title. The pun was almost certainly intentional. The extent to which More's Utopia is actually [[{{Dystopia}} utopian]] is a matter of some debate -- More actually made a point that [[BigBrotherIsWatching there is no privacy]] or [[DirtyCommunists private property]], slavery still exists ([[DisproportionateRetribution as a way of punishing adultery]]), and though there are four different religions that are tolerated, [[HollywoodAtheist atheists are not, as "obviously" without belief in a god or afterlife they have no reason to be moral]] ([[FairForItsDay the fact that they aren't actually killed or otherwise punished, however, but merely sent to speak with the priests to change their minds, is very progressive for the era]]).

* [[TropeNamer The name comes from]] Thomas More's book ''Utopia'', [[OlderThanSteam published in 1516]], which described a communal, agrarian state. However, More [[LampshadeHanging hung a lampshade]] on the entire idea with the title -- "Utopia," in Greek, means roughly "nowhere land" ("Ou," "not," and "topos," "place.") "Eutopia" translates into "good place", thus the common meaning for More's title. The pun was almost certainly intentional. The extent to which More's Utopia is actually [[{{Dystopia}} utopian]] is a matter of some debate -- More actually made a point that [[BigBrotherIsWatching there is no privacy]] or [[DirtyCommunists private property]], slavery still exists ([[DisproportionateRetribution as a way of punishing adultery]]), and though there are four different religions that are tolerated, [[HollywoodAtheist atheists are not, as "obviously" without belief in a god or afterlife they have no reason to be moral]] ([[FairForItsDay the fact that they aren't actually killed or otherwise punished, however, but merely sent to speak with the priests to change their minds, is very progressive for the era]]).

* ''[[LookingBackward Looking Backward: 2000-1887]]'' by Edward Bellamy (1888), one of the first American utopian novels, which described a socialist US in the year 2000.

* Le Guin's novel ''The Dispossessed'' is subtitled ''An Ambiguous Utopia'', which nicely summarizes the setting - Anarres is presented as a much less flawed world than ours, but it is still far from perfect. Le Guin puts down much of this to bureaucracy and the decay of the idealism that led to Anarres' founding in the first place.

* Heinlein was actually fond of [[{{Deconstruction}} deconstructing]] utopias. None of the societies he described are really utopian and the one in ''Literature/StarshipTroopers'' is accepted by the masses in it because it works satisfactorily. Literature/StarshipTroopers effectively deconstructs the utopia largely because of this and that the other methods of governing worked as well, though badly, and it is indicated that the society in the novel is just as faulty and came about largely because of the collapse of the previously existing systems leaving no apparent better alternative.

* [[TropeNamer The name comes from]] Thomas More's book ''Utopia'', [[OlderThanSteam published in 1516]], which described a communal, agrarian state. However, More [[LampshadeHanging hung a lampshade]] on the entire idea with the title -- "Utopia," in Greek, means roughly "nowhere land" ("Ou," "not," and "topos," "place.") "Eutopia" translates into "good place", thus the common meaning for More's title. The pun was almost certainly intentional. The extent to which More's Utopia is actually [[{{Dystopia}} utopian]] is a matter of some debate -- More actually made a point that [[BigBrotherIsWatching there is no privacy]] or [[DirtyCommunists private property]], slavery still exists ([[DisproportionateRetribution as a way of punishing adultery]]), and though there are four different religions that are tolerated, [[HollywoodAtheist atheists are not, as "obviously" without belief in a god or afterlife they have no reason to be moral]] ([[FairForItsDay The fact that they aren't actually killed or otherwise punished, however, but merely sent to speak with the priests to change their minds, is very progressive for the era]]).

Now get someone to agree with you.

* [[TropeNamer The name comes from]] Thomas More's book ''Utopia'', [[OlderThanSteam published in 1516]], which described a communal, agrarian state. However, More [[LampshadeHanging hung a lampshade]] on the entire idea with the title -- "Utopia," in Greek, means roughly "nowhere land" ("Ou," "not," and "topos," "place.") "Eutopia" translates into "good place", thus the common meaning for More's title. The pun was almost certainly intentional. The extent to which More's Utopia is actually [[{{Dystopia}} utopian]] is a matter of some debate -- More actually made a point that [[BigBrotherIsWatching there is no private property]], slavery still exists ([[DisproportionateRetribution as a way of punishing adultery]]), and [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans rabble-rousers and atheists are killed to prevent the contamination of public with dangerous ideas.]]

* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' has an often overlooked utopia in the form of "The Shire". The simple agrarian hobbits manage to live a leisurely lifestyle while remaining prosperous, and undoubtedly well fed. They have average lifespans in excess of 100 years. They enjoy frequent celebrations and gift exchange. Their only armed force, Sheriffs, deal more with lost livestock then any real criminal behavior, and in fact in the whole history of the Shire there have been only four instances where the hobbits needed to muster any sort of military force, all were due to external threats. Apparently the Numenorians and their descendants found the hobbit's society particularly endearing as they've gone out of their way to defend the Shire from foreign invasion even after the fall of their own empire. According to Frodo, as of the events of the "Scouring of the Shire" chapter, [[ApeShallNeverKillApe no hobbit has ever killed another hobbit on purpose in the Shire]].
* ''[[LookingBackward Looking Backward: 2000-1887]]'' by Edward Bellamy (1888), one of the first American utopian novels.
* "[[Literature/TheOnesWhoWalkAwayFromOmelas The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas]]", a short story by UrsulaKLeGuin, paints an image of a utopia whose survival and prosperity is dependent on an {{Aesoptinum}} ([[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans the city's happiness and perfection is]] [[spoiler:PoweredByAForsakenChild forced to live in perpetual misery]] for intentionally unexplained reasons), perhaps as an allegory for Christ's sacrifice or utilitarianism. This might count as a {{Dystopia}} instead, or as well. Since [=LeGuin=] is a Taoist, there may be no intended Christian theme - she has stated it to be based on the theme of the {{scapegoat}}.
* Le Guin's novel ''The Dispossessed'' is subtitled ''An Ambiguous Utopia'', which nicely summarises the setting - Anarres is presented as a much less flawed world than ours, but it is still far from perfect. Le Guin puts down much of this to bureaucracy and the decay of the idealism that led to Anarres' founding in the first place.

* An idea mercilessly spoofed in the Creator/StanislawLem short story "Altruizine" (from ''Literature/TheCyberiad''). An idealistic alien robot clandestinely alters the human inhabitants of a planet to possess such a sense. After the ensuing carnage, the robot is found out and the humans show it their "gratitude" by crushing it into a cube and shooting it into space.
* Heinlein was actually fond of [[{{Deconstruction}} deconstructing]] utopias. None of the societies he really portrays are utopian and the one in ''Literature/StarshipTroopers'' is accepted by the masses in it because it works satisfactorily. Literature/StarshipTroopers effectively deconstructs the utopia largely because of this and that the other methods of governing worked as well, though badly, and it is indicated that the society in the novel is just as faulty and came about largely because of the collapse of the previously existing systems leaving no apparent better alternative.

* A more straight example is in works of I. Efremov: the "Andromeda Nebula", "Heart of Serpent" and "Hour of the Bull" all show us three consecutive times of a communist utopia. However there is a FridgeLogic subversion once you realize parallels between Earth' society and that of Tormance, the {{Dystopia}} society introduced in the third book.

** The preceding was broadcast by a seditious commie mutant traitor who has been executed. Alpha Complex is a perfect utopia kept in clockwork perfection way by Friend Computer.

* The second movie, "The Beast with a Billion Backs" [[spoiler:almost ends with all of the universe living in a Utopian setting on a galaxy-sized tentacled alien that loves everyone (romantically), renders them immortal, and looks like the ThemePark version of [[FluffyCloudHeaven Heaven]]. Then a [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic jealous Bender and his robotic Army of the Damned invade "Heaven" and end up getting everyone exiled]], because [[FamilyUnfriendlyAesop True Love is Jealous and Needy]].]]

* The world of the future in ''Film/BillAndTedsExcellentAdventure'' is a utopia built on the music od Wyld Stallyns. George Carlin explains that right down the mini-golf scores, everything's just great. "Even the dirt... it's clean!"

Easy enough. Let's write one! First, you come up with a socially perfect place with a flawless political process. A "little" difficult, [[BlatantLies but you'll get there]]. Now [[ContemplateOurNavels figure out what "moral" means]] well enough to [[ImpossibleTask refine it to an absolute]]. Hey, it was tough, but you came through in the end.

In fact, it is so much easier to get people to agree with what is wrong with a place that most social-commentary settings fall into the {{Dystopia}} category. When a brave author does attempt a Utopian setting it seems to [[AuthorFilibuster come from a need to grind a particular axe]]. Thus we get libertarian/conservative/progressive utopias, religious utopias, communal utopias, and other philosophic one-note offerings, each with its own collection of people attesting they would rather die than live there. [[{{Irony}} It helps that the word itself was created to mean such a place can't possibly exist because it's that good.]]

The downfall of a utopia in the main character's eyes will most likely be seeing the inevitable, thorough suppression of all individuality. How else could everybody get along all the time? Even in individualistic utopias, the supposedly rugged individualists who compose the perfect society have a suspicious tendency to agree on everything (or at least everything ''political'') and act in similar ways. The end of violent conflict seems to require uniformity. Unless RousseauWasRight but even then they need to have a similar morality. And now we're back where we started at the top of the article.

Obviously, when it comes to a television series, none of the main characters are going to be able to stay very long. It's hard to bring in conflict to drive a plot in a perfect world.

* Deconstructed by AldousHuxley's ''Literature/BraveNewWorld''.
** Ironically, Aldous Huxley changed a few things about it that suddenly turned it into a utopia; that book is called ''Island''.
** Aldous Huxley wrote ''Brave New World'' as an interpretive utopia to show the problem with the concept of a utopia. The book arguably portrays a true utopia.
* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' has an often overlooked utopia in the form of "The Shire". The simple agrarian hobbits manage to live a leisurely lifestyle while remaining prosperous, and undoubtedly well fed. They have average lifespans in excess of 100 years. They enjoy frequent celebrations and gift exchange. Their only armed force, Sheriffs, deal more with lost livestock then any real criminal behavior, and in fact in the whole history of the Shire there have been only four instances where the hobbits needed to muster any sort of military force, all were due to external threats. Apparently the Numenorians and their descendants found the hobbit's society particularly endearing as they've gone out of their way to defend the Shire from foreign invasion even after the fall of their own empire.
** According to Frodo, as of the events of the "Scouring of the Shire" chapter, [[ApeShallNeverKillApe no hobbit has ever killed another hobbit on purpose in the Shire]].

** Le Guin's novel ''The Dispossessed'' is subtitled ''An Ambiguous Utopia'', which nicely summarises the setting - Anarres is presented as a much less flawed world than ours, but it is still far from perfect. Le Guin puts down much of this to bureaucracy and the decay of the idealism that led to Anarres' founding in the first place.

** An idea mercilessly spoofed in the Creator/StanislawLem short story "Altruizine" (from ''Literature/TheCyberiad''). An idealistic alien robot clandestinely alters the human inhabitants of a planet to possess such a sense. After the ensuing carnage, the robot is found out and the humans show it their "gratitude" by crushing it into a cube and shooting it into space.
* Heinlein sometimes sets his novels in utopias, to show how perfect life would be if we all followed his ideals. The moon society in ''The Moon is a Harsh Mistress'' is a Utopia based on brutality and easiness of death (which leads them to be all very polite to each other, and no one lacks food or shelter, there is no government to speak of...), and Starship Troopers' world is a Utopia in which only those who have completed a term of public service (including everything from medical testing to infrastructure maintenance to, oh yes, military service) can vote (their problems come from fighting aliens, and this is hinted that, eventually, it would be integrated into their society - the skinnies, not the bugs). The obvious problems with either of those societies are hand waved away.
** In bizarre news, at least one actual nation had a member of Parliament introduce a bill to strip voting rights from those who don't complete national (mainly military) service. The measure was introduced (but not passed) because the place in question was extremely far from a utopia, and the MP putting the bill forward thought that since only a few special interest groups didn't already complete a form of national service, the Heinlein-thing would be a good way to limit the influence of those groups on politics.
** Heinlein doesn't handwave the problems in either society. The anarchist utopia of ''Moon'' is plainly shown to be unstable in the long term. The protagonists consider it ''pleasant'' and ''desirable'', but don't see it as ''sustainable''. As for ''Literature/StarshipTroopers'', the internal problems and conflicts in the culture get a lot more mention than those of, say, TheFederation in ''Franchise/StarTrek'' -- but the focus of the book is on (slightly naive) Johnny Rico's military service.
*** ''The Moon is a Harsh Mistress'' gets revisited a couple of generations later in the juvenile novel ''The Rolling Stones'', where the moon now has a government and one of the protagonists is a smat mouthed, gun toting [[{{BadassGrandma}} grandmother]] by the name of Hazel Stone, who's only concession to civilization is to load her sidearm with coughdrops (it's heavily implied that she keeps ammunition on her, though).
** Heinlein was actually fond of [[{{Deconstruction}} deconstructing]] utopias. None of the societies he really portrays are utopian and the one in ''Literature/StarshipTroopers'' is accepted by the masses in it because it works satisfactorily. Literature/StarshipTroopers effectively deconstructs the utopia largely because of this and that the other methods of governing worked as well, though badly, and it is indicated that the society in the novel is just as faulty and came about largely because of the collapse of the previously existing systems leaving no apparent better alternative.

** In Efremov's case it's again more of a subversion. It is ''[[{{Anvilicious}} very heavily]]'' implied that this is the world AfterTheEnd, and, just like in the ''Stellvia'' case, the people ''had'' to unite to have a chance to survive. In one of the AsYouKnow historical lectures in the first novel a character describes ''centuries'' of coordinated effort to make Earth livable again. And still their society is full of [[WillfullyWeak conscious self-limitations]] and often seems surgically cold and somewhat hollow, as the emotional trauma still lingers almost a millennium past the cataclysm.

* The titular setting of ''Dinotopia'' is based around a peaceful coexistence between dinosaurs and humans. You know, except for the carnosaurs in the Rainy Basin. And that one guy nobody likes who rants about how Dinotopia doesn't mean dinosaur utopia - it really means "terrible place". He gets points for his Greek knowledge, but he's still a dork.
** But he does have a NiceHat.

** In his ''Observation on the Spot'', another [[AuthorAvatar Ijon Tichy]] vehicle, Tichy visits Lusania -- a country on the planet mentioned in one of his earlier adventures, where everyone lives in a seemingly perfect Utopia brought in by hypertech {{nanomachines}}. Half of the book is devoted to {{deconstruction}} of the folly of its creators -- from the [[FishOutOfWater Tichy's standpoint]] he couldn't help to not notice glaring holes in the logic and workings of their society. And ''vice versa''.

*** Given the replicator along with other high technologies (such as in medicine), there is some justification for the end of poverty and disease, but war obviously is still around. It would also make sense for humans to pull together after the Third World War and first contact with the Vulcans. Still, there are clear problems - for one, the implications of many technologies are barely touched upon - and it hardly justifies the PlanetOfHats thing.
*** War does not exist internally within the Federation, it is a problem that the Federation tends to have with neighboring powers. Given the Federation's expansion and the availability of entire new planets for colonization, it is not surprising that many social issues are simply gone. No Federation race has to cram their entire population onto just one world if they do not want to. Thus common problems in future settings, such as over-populated [[MegaCity mega-cities]] are just not present because anybody that wants more open space can move to a less densely populated colony.

** The second movie, "The Beast with a Billion Backs" [[spoiler:almost ends with all of the universe living in a Utopian setting on a galaxy-sized tentacled alien that loves everyone (romantically), renders them immortal, and looks like the ThemePark version of [[FluffyCloudHeaven Heaven]]. Then a [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic jealous Bender and his robotic Army of the Damned invade "Heaven" and end up getting everyone exiled]], because [[FamilyUnfriendlyAesop True Love is Jealous and Needy]].]]

** Ironically, the spaceship they live on and which they use to travel to the past is remarkably dystopic, as well as dark, outdated, and mostly unclean.

%% This Troper would rather have not see an image attached to this article, due to the sheer subjectivity of the trope as described below.

!!Examples:

[[folder:Comics]]
* The original depictions of the SilverSurfer's homeworld of Zenna-La (the name being a variation on ShamgriLa) were decidedly utopian. Zenn-La was a very old, very high tech society that had long ago achieved world peace, where crime was virtually unknown, everyone was peaceful and learned, and where most human physical wants were easily met with technology. Its people had long ago explored great swathes of the universe... and having thus explored, they had come home again and stayed there. Norrin Radd, who would become the Surfer, found his world horribly ''boring,'' and resented the current generation (himself included) for reaping the benefits of their ancestors' labors which they themselves did nothing to earn. The 1990's animated series depicted a less isolated and introspective version of Zenn-La. In this version, the planet is famed throughout space for its spiritually enlightenment, and pilgrims come there to study the ways of peace. Even dissident Kree and Skrulls who want to find a way to end their millenia-long war. In both versions, they're defenseless when Galactus comes, until Norrin offers himself to the PlanetEater.

[[folder: Fan Works]]

[[folder:Film]]
* The fictional African country of Zamunda in ''ComingToAmerica''.
* The City of Domes in the movie and [[Series/LogansRun TV series]] (and [[Literature/LogansRun book]]) ''Film/LogansRun'' is a utopia for its inhabitants, but has a [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans nasty stinger in its tail]] as far as ''our'' sensibilities are concerned.
* The world of the future in ''Film/BillAndTedsExcellentAdventure'' is a utopia built on the music od Wyld Stallyns. George Carlin explains that right down the mini-golf scores, everything's just great. "Even the dirt... it's clean!"

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* In Creator/DanAbnett's TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} Literature/HorusHeresy novel ''Legion'', members of the Alpha Legion describe the Emperor's plan as Utopian and therefore impractical -- although stating they will support him fully.

* Life on the Axiom in ''WesternAnimation/{{WALL-E}}'' is seemingly perfect, with everything done by robots, if you overlook the fact that humanity has devolved into fat, infantile couch potatoes.
** What with the weight problem and the fact that everyone communicates via computer screens, you wonder how anyone on that ship managed to have babies. Unless the babies are genetically engineered or something.

* LadyLand in ''{{Gandahar}}'' is in perfect harmony with nature and is a borderline MarySueTopia until destruction comes.

Easy enough. Let's write one! First, you come up with a socially perfect place with a flawless political process. A "little" difficult, [[BlatantLies but you'll get there]]. Now [[LogicBomb figure out what "moral" means]] well enough to [[ImpossibleTask refine it to an absolute]]. Hey, it was tough, but you came through in the end.

* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' has an often overlooked utopia in the form of "The Shire". The simple agrarian hobbits manage to live a leisurely lifestyle while remaining prosperous, and undoubtedly well fed. They have average lifespans well in excess of 100 years. They enjoy frequent celebrations and gift exchange. Their only armed force, Sheriffs, deal more with lost livestock then any real criminal behavior, and in fact in the whole history of the Shire there have been only four instances where the hobbits needed to muster any sort of military force, all were due to external threats. Apparently the Numenorians and their descendants found the hobbit's society particularly endearing as they've gone out of their way to defend the Shire from foreign invasion even after the fall of their own empire.