Essay Sample on Dystopian Literature

The term “dystopia” means an imagined society in which there is severe suffering and injustice. A dystopia is typically an unappealing idea that one would never want to associate with, so why is it that the public is so fascinated with the dystopian genre? Movies and books such as The Hunger Games, Divergent, The Handmaid’s Tale, and even the most recent Netflix show “Squid Game” are all extremely successful dystopian films and novels. People connect on a deeper level to shows, movies, and books that seem more personal to them. Current events that cause fear in the public could play a role in inspiring these stories. Based on this, the public’s fascination with the dystopian genre may be due to the fact that they feel these stories they are reading or watching are extremely probable based on the current time period. Could this fascination of a dystopia be due to fear?

The Hunger Games is one of the most popular dystopian novels. It has also been transformed into a successful film series. This story is about a society that once tried to overthrow its capital. As a result, the government punished the public by forcing them to participate in the annual “Hunger Games” in which a group of people had to fight to their death. It is safe to say that the public took a liking to the Hunger Games series when it came to theaters. In fact,“‘The Hunger Games’ hit the box-office bull’s-eye... taking in a record $155 million in North America.” (Barnes, 1). There is a constant tension between the public and the government, not only within the United States but worldwide as well. Therefore, people can relate to the idea of a government overthrow. In September of 2008, the first Hunger Games novel was published. During this time, there was a lot of tension and fear within America. Not only were we in the middle of the 2008 financial crisis, but we were also just coming off of the trauma of 9/11. The financial crisis of 2008 was the most severe economic downfall since The Great Depression. This caused a lot of strain and stress whenever it came to the public and the government. Along with this, there were conflicting beliefs whenever it came to the decisions being made after the September 11th attack. According to J. Baxter Oliphant, “Nearly half (48%) of Americans say the decision to use military force was wrong, while slightly fewer (43%) say it was the right decision” (Oliphant,1). This divide is huge. As if there was not enough tension over the government, 2008 was also the year of a new presidential election. With a combination of all of these factors, there is no doubt that the public was fearful for the future. This could play a huge role in why the idea of a fallen society was so appealing to the United States during that time period. 

Another popular dystopian series is the Divergent novels. Veronica Roth wrote Divergent in 2011, just around the time The Hunger Games was becoming popular. In the story, people were divided into factions in order to reduce violence towards one another. The government hoped that this separation into groups would help everyone feel equal and at peace. The early 2000s was definitely a time of violence and fear. As stated previously, the 9/11 attack in New York City happened in 2001. This created a lot of tension and fear throughout The United States. Four years prior to Divergent being published, there was a mass shooting at a college in Virginia. This tragedy was later referred to as the Virginia Tech University Shooting. This resulted in 23 students being injured and 32 killed. To further expand on this, in 2008 there was yet another shooting at a university in Northern Illinois. This massacre caused 21 students to be injured and 5 killed. As one can perceive, there was a lot of fear in the United States at this time due to all the violence. It is no wonder that people became fascinated with this idea of peace that the Divergent novels portrayed. According to Gregory Claeys, a professor at Royal Holloway University, “there is a sense of psychological release that people get from watching dark fantasies portrayed in fiction and on-screen” (Biscossi, 1). This is somewhat like exposure therapy for the public and their fears about the future. Whenever a person can confront their fears head-on, it can help reduce anxiety and stress over that specific fear. 

One of the older dystopian novels is The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. This novel portrayed a post-war society where women were only useful for breeding purposes. Abortions were illegal and women who were unable to conceive a child were punished severely. The controversial Roe V. Wade trials of 1973 allowed for legal abortions for all women. The Handmaid’s Tale became published in 1985, just twelve years later. Many of the aspects within the novel seemed very probable in the 1970s. For instance, The Cold War was taking place around this time. People greatly feared a nuclear disaster and what effects it would have on society. In fact during this time period, “the world was learning of the birth defects suffered by the children of the atomic bomb survivors, who had been exposed…” (Ropeik, 1). This closely correlates with aspects in The Handmaid’s Tale. Within the novel, women were becoming infertile due to the nuclear war. This is what caused the usage of women to be solely for breeding purposes. Overall, The Handmaid’s Tale is probably one of the best examples of how current events and fears can be reflected in novels. 

Dystopian novels and shows are still extremely popular today. For example, the most recent dystopian show on Netflix is The Squid Game. This show is about a group of people that are selected to play numerous children’s games in order to win an abundance of money at the end. However, these people did not get selected at random. The chosen group for the game are all people that are struggling with debt and money. This show has been released in 2021, just one year after the Covid-19 pandemic. It is quite obvious that the virus has affected numerous people and businesses financially. With the closing of businesses and people getting laid off from their jobs, it is no doubt that society was struggling with money. Irina Ivanova states, “about half of all adults who are not retired say the pandemic has made it harder for them to reach their financial goals. This rises to 58% for lower-income people.” (Ivanova, 1). Since the public can relate to the idea of going to extremes to maintain their financial status, Squid Game became a huge hit. Shortly after its release, Squid Game became number one on Netflix within the United States. Along with this, it is now on its way to being the most-watched show on Netflix of all time. 

A dystopian society appears terrifying and undesirable, yet the public continues their fascination with the idea. The Hunger Games, Divergent, The Handmaid’s Tale, and Squid Game are all great examples of this. This fascination is most likely due to the public’s current fears for the future. Whenever one is able to confront these fears and see them play out on either the page in front of them or on a screen, it gives a sense of mental relief. People also become more interested in stories they feel they can relate to. This begs the question: Are these stories really fiction or could they possibly be our future?