Utopia and Dystopia in literature and film

Utopia Perfect community or society Greek for “good place” or “no place.” A perfect place for all people

Dystopia When an attempt to create a perfect society goes wrong Usually post- apocalyptic Possible causes: War or revolution Natural disaster Overpopulation

Characteristics of a dystopia Few or no individual freedoms State of constant warfare or violence Repression of education or knowledge, especially in the media Strict caste system

The Dystopian Hero The main character who questions society Has a “gut feeling” that something is wrong Must escape or overthrow society Outcome not always clear Will he / she change anything? Did he / she escape?

Examples of dystopian movies & books The Terminator movies Demolition Man I, Robot WALL-E The Book of Eli Children of Men Animal Farm Blade Runner Hunger Games The Lego Movie Mad Max Divergent Series V for Vendetta The Giver 1984 Fahrenheit 451 Logan’s Run A Clockwork Orange Death Race Idiocracy Avatar The Purge Planet of the Apes series Elysium