Dystopias, and why they don't work.

We've all familiarized ourself with dystopian fiction all too well, whether it be the popular dystopian phase in the early 2010s, or the classics we are forced to study in lit class. Upon my recent reading of Brave New World, I looked back at how many dystopian novels are there, and asked myself why does this saturation even exist? And upon exploring that context, I came to several interesting, unrelated points, which caused me to re-evaluate dystopian genre as a whole, from storytelling, and thematic perspective.

1. Lasting dystopias, like the ones depicted in BNW or 1984 are surprisingly difficult to achieve, not only due to the resources needed, but due to the fact that there will always be opposition to anything, which can overturn the entire effort to begin with. Every dystopian novel I've read has an issue with the backstory being incredibly vague, and relying on contrivances, like people consenting to oppressive/misguided policies, where there should realistically be enough opposition for such oppressive world orders to never form to begin with. There is a reason why Dystopia Is Hard.

2. Based on the above statement, if pushback is near-always guaranteed, do we even meed dystopian novels anymore? Wouldn't be a much better idea to promote positive outlook on the world, and not how horrible things have the potential to be? Granted, there is no story without conflict, but I believe literature used in schools leans a bit too much towards Cynicism, and too little towards Idealism.

These are some interesting things to consider, and I would like to hear your thoughts.

Edited by AoeAbility on Mar 23rd 2022 at 11:23:26 AM

I mean, I'm not sure what you mean by "don't work." One could very argue the majority of human history from the Bronze Age today was a pretty awful dystopia for everyone that wasn't a member of the elite.

From a literary standpoint, they're gangbusters in terms of merit and sales.

From a social merit standpoint?

I feel that's an incredibly privileged statement to the people who presently live in horrific conditions globally from a social point. Its, after all, the authoritarian dictatorships and Far Right who love saying, "Everything is fine."

Edited by CharlesPhipps on Mar 23rd 2022 at 11:59:28 AM

Maybe I really am just misguided, and need some help with that. Then again, it can be a bit tiring to have the idea of "You think the world couldn't POSSIBLY get worse than it already is? THINK AGAIN!" drilled into your head.

I admit, I am not probably the guy to really be having this conversation with since one of my most popular series is CTHULHU ARMAGEDDON and that is a post-apocalypse story about how the protagonists are living in a Fallout-esque world + monsters where humanity is going extinct. I also write cyberpunk.

For me, the kind of stories I enjoy are man vs. extreme moral and physical civilization and how those change them.

However, there's nothing wrong with not wanting to read those kinds of books either. One of my most recent reads was Legends & Lattes where the protagonist is an orc barbarian trying to open a coffee shop. It was fantastically optimistic and heartwarming like a literary hug. Taste is something that is determined by mood, feeling, and a number of other factors.

Nothing is wrong with wanting some happy entertaining fantasy or scifi. Star Trek survives because it is NOT grimdark and about us getting our shit together.

Edited by CharlesPhipps on Mar 23rd 2022 at 2:02:21 AM

I have nothing against dystopian novels, per se. I just have trouble with high lit's commonly-acknowledged tendency of being needlessly dark, considering that many of these cautionary tales aren't even realistic, considering the first point. But, again, I just felt like venting for today. These two thoughts seemed interesting.