Utopia vs Dystopia Lesson

Dystopian Literature

​Credit to "Someone Might Be Watching" by Shelby Ostergaard and Read Write Think

• A futuristic, imagined universe that maintains the illusion of a perfect society through some form of control

• An exaggerated worse case scenario​

​Dystopia:

• A place, concept, or idea that is ideally perfect in politics, law, customs and conditions.

• The perfect society

Utopia:​

Utopia vs. Dystopia

Multiple Choice

True or False: Utopias and Dystopias are the same.

• True

• False

History of Dystopias

• Utopia originates from Greek meaning "no place"

• 1516: Thomas More writes Utopia

  • Thomas More was a philosopher

  • He titled the book to demonstrate that he was referring to a made-up place​ that he considered perfect.

  • The perfection that he wrote about did not exist in relaity and was never intended to be real.

History of Dystopias (1900s)

• By the 1900s, the idea of a utopia in our society seemed like a possibility.

• Technological advances spearheaded the Industrial Revolution.

• Ideas about automation made physical labor no longer a necessity.

• ​People began to picture of world of class equality.

• ​The belief was that a constant progression of technology and its advancements would ultimately lead to a prefect society.

• The Reality: More war, famine, poverty, and chaos​

Multiple Choice

True or False: Thomas More and other philosophers of his time believed that a utopia could happen in our world.

• True

• False

Open Ended

What was the big movement in the 1900s that encouraged people that a perfect society could exist?

The Start of Dystopian Literature

• In Greek, dystopia translates to "bad place"

• Looking at the state of the world in the 1900s, writers began to write dystopian fiction.

• Their g​oal was to show people that this pursuit of perfection would actually lead to this "bad place" because of all the flaws that existed within society.

​Characteristics of a Dystopian Society

1. Propaganda is used to control the citizens in society

2. ​Independent thinking, information, and freedom are restricted

3. ​Society worships a figure-head or core concept

4. ​Constant Surveillance

5. ​Fear of the outside world

6. Citizens live in a dehumanized state

7. ​Natural world is banished and mistrusted

8. ​Citizens must conform to societies expectations

9. Individuality and dissent are bad and punishable

10. ​The society is an illusion to a perfect world

Open Ended

Which characteristic of dystopian literature is most concerning or worrisome to you?

• Incompetent government officials along with regulations and red tape control society.​

​Bureaucratic Control:

• Corporations control society through advertising and the media.

​Corporate Control:

Types of Dystopian Controls

Technological Control:

Philosophical Control:

• Computers, robots, scientific mean and the use of technology control society.

• Often a dictatorship or theocratic government that controls with one ideology or religious belief.

Multiple Choice

What types of dystopian control is used in this example: The androids did not believe humans knew how to keep themselves safe. They took over society and set up guidelines that they believed would keep their human counterparts safer.

• Corporate Control

• Bureaucratic Control

• Technological Control

• Philosophical Control

Multiple Choice

What types of dystopian control is used in this example: The Oompa Loompa's were told that orange was an inferior color. In order to blend into society they needed to hide their orange skin.

• Corporate Control

• Bureaucratic Control

• Technological Control

• Philosophical Control

​The Dystopian Protagonist

• Feels trapped and struggles to escape

• ​Questions society especially the social and political rules that are set up

• ​Believes that there is something wrong with the society they exist in

• ​Through their struggle, they reveal to the audience the flaws in their dystopian society

​

​Themes of Dystopian Literature

1. Surveillance erodes freedom

2. ​Humans should not intervene in health and genetics

3. Misinformation leads to inefficiency and unfair systems

4. ​Lack of individuality

Open Ended

Name a dystopian novel that you have read: What was its theme?