The Meaning Of Dystopia

A dystopia is a fictional story depicting an imaginary society organized in such a way that it prevents its members from achieving happiness. I will develop the subject in three parts. We will discover dystopias in films while moving on to social networks and end with my point of view.

First of all, some films anticipate future pessimists, perfectly highlighting the possible excesses of human society, as well as the consequences they may have on its environment. This is called dystopia. A fictional genre that is particularly in vogue today, dystopia can be seen as the fundamental opposite of utopia: it is about creating a black fictional world, where the search for happiness is generally the focus of the film’s plot. Examples of dystopian films include the Hunger Games, V for Vendetta, but also series such as Black Mirror or The Handmaid’s Tale. On the other hand, and even if they are generally fewer in number, other films can show a future where humanity succeeds in going beyond the borders it knows today and can reach its dreams. For example, Star Wars and Avatar for the conquest of space, or Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets for the establishment of an interplanetary democratic government.

Secondly, social networks contribute to open-mindedness and the development of critical thinking among young people. Indeed, the user is constantly exposed to various opinions and perspectives on a certain topic. This gives rise to new ideas and agreements as well as disagreements. Social networks such as Facebook and Twitter encourage debate in our society. You could say it’s a utopia, but in my opinion, it’s a false utopia. Being able to disconnect from social networks is therefore becoming a luxury today. This hyper-connectivity is often due to a form of social pressure: to be available, quickly, in order to meet the expectations of those around us. But also, fighting against downtime, being the first to see information… Technology and our mobiles are not problems in themselves, because each application, site and interface is a service to us, it is in fact the way we use them and our relationship with them that can be problematic.

Finally, for me, dystopia is first and foremost a warning. Unfortunately, not everything is utopian, but that shouldn’t stop us from trying to think about a better future. Dystopia’s ambition is above all to be a warning against human unconsciousness and selfishness, an alarming vision of the future of our planet if we do not change our behaviour and continue our destructive path.

In conclusion, dystopia concerns a very large part of our society today. As I said before, not everything is utopian, but that shouldn’t stop us from trying to think about a better future. We need to change.