Kendra Brea Cooper
There is a rise in dystopian storytelling in popular culture with the Hunger Games, Divergent, and now The Giver being made into films. Before you see the flicks, get to know some of the classics.
If you’ve ever heard the term “big brother” in reference to fascism, police states, or even the government spying on the internet, it came from Orwell’s “1984”. The book is cemented in our culture as a loose manual for sniffing out power.
Like 1984’s “newspeak” this novel also discusses language as something that shapes reality. In this story, women are reduced to their fertility and made “subhuman”. Much of this is part of the political discussion about women's rights we hear today.
At first glance, the society in “The Giver” seems utopian. Further into the story the reader notices all is not as wonderful as it seems. So what is the problem? Getting rid of suffering moves the human experience into very shallow waters.
This is one for the digital age. Gibson actually coined the term “cyberspace” in his work. Any dystopian storytelling should include discussion of the internet if it hopes to carve a possible future scenario. Cyber-punk hackers unite!
The themes explored in this are relevant to our possible future. Themes such as state control over technology, mass consumption, and superficial happiness all have to do with the consent we give to power. In what ways does it gain our consent?
Pop culture and all that ideology sitting in the blind spot. Also crafts.
