Are dystopias getting closer to reality?
My personal file broaches the axis called “Fictions and Realities” and the theme
of utopias and dystopias. It addresses the subject of dystopias. First of all, the
dystopia is a fictional genre with which the author depicts an imagined state or
society in which there is great suffering or injustice, typically one that is
totalitarian or post-apocalyptic. It is the opposite of utopia: in a utopian novel, we
are plunged into a perfect world. To illustrate this theme I will use 5 documents.
The novel “1984” by George Orwell, published in 1949. The book “The
Handmaid's Tale” by Margaret Atwood in 1985. A second novel of George Orwell,
“Animal Farm” released in 1945. The book “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury and
finally an article called “In Alabama, The Handmaid's Tale Is a Haunting
Metaphor” written by Jason Parham in 2019. I'm going to ask myself : Are
dystopias getting closer to reality ? We will see that dystopias are fiction and
partly disconnected from our world. Then dystopias most often echo reality and
warn us about danger.
I.
(Intro) There are many types of dystopian stories like about environmental ruin,
technological control, or government oppression, and they broach many themes
like anarchism, oppression, or mass poverty. We can find dystopias in literature,
movies, series, paintings, and many forms of art.
1) In art, Artists use colors, symbols, emotions, that is why I chose 2 book covers
in my file, one of the book “Animal farm” by George Orwell. Every detail makes
sense, for example here, the red color symbolizes communism and the shadow
of a pig which is bigger than the farm, that shows the control of the pig on the
farm. And one of the book cover of “1984” with only the picture, we can
understand many things about the story like the government pressure,
recognizable with the aggressive look of the man who is higher than all men who
are following each other with their heads down. The aggressive man is looking at
the only man in the middle who doesn't follow others.
2) Artists intentionally use a pessimistic vision and exaggerated phenomenon or
events like in Margaret Atwood’s novel in which everything is pushed to the
extreme overnight, like in the excerpt that i chose, women aren’t allowed to have
a job anymore, to have rights anymore overnight. The main character is fired with
all women in their company and all women lose their bank accounts.
(Transition) Dystopias are imaginary stories created by authors but sometimes
we ask ourselves if these dystopian artworks have a part of reality and if there is
a possibility that they could be fulfilled today in our society.
My personal file broaches the axis called “Fictions and Realities” and the theme
of utopias and dystopias. It addresses the subject of dystopias. First of all, the
dystopia is a fictional genre with which the author depicts an imagined state or
society in which there is great suffering or injustice, typically one that is
totalitarian or post-apocalyptic. It is the opposite of utopia: in a utopian novel, we
are plunged into a perfect world. To illustrate this theme I will use 5 documents.
The novel “1984” by George Orwell, published in 1949. The book “The
Handmaid's Tale” by Margaret Atwood in 1985. A second novel of George Orwell,
“Animal Farm” released in 1945. The book “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury and
finally an article called “In Alabama, The Handmaid's Tale Is a Haunting
Metaphor” written by Jason Parham in 2019. I'm going to ask myself : Are
dystopias getting closer to reality ? We will see that dystopias are fiction and
partly disconnected from our world. Then dystopias most often echo reality and
warn us about danger.
I.
(Intro) There are many types of dystopian stories like about environmental ruin,
technological control, or government oppression, and they broach many themes
like anarchism, oppression, or mass poverty. We can find dystopias in literature,
movies, series, paintings, and many forms of art.
1) In art, Artists use colors, symbols, emotions, that is why I chose 2 book covers
in my file, one of the book “Animal farm” by George Orwell. Every detail makes
sense, for example here, the red color symbolizes communism and the shadow
of a pig which is bigger than the farm, that shows the control of the pig on the
farm. And one of the book cover of “1984” with only the picture, we can
understand many things about the story like the government pressure,
recognizable with the aggressive look of the man who is higher than all men who
are following each other with their heads down. The aggressive man is looking at
the only man in the middle who doesn't follow others.
2) Artists intentionally use a pessimistic vision and exaggerated phenomenon or
events like in Margaret Atwood’s novel in which everything is pushed to the
extreme overnight, like in the excerpt that i chose, women aren’t allowed to have
a job anymore, to have rights anymore overnight. The main character is fired with
all women in their company and all women lose their bank accounts.
(Transition) Dystopias are imaginary stories created by authors but sometimes
we ask ourselves if these dystopian artworks have a part of reality and if there is
a possibility that they could be fulfilled today in our society.
