Dreams and Nightmares: Utopias and Dystopias in the Twentieth Century Presented by the New York Public Library

What to do… View and read about the images Taking notes on your impressions. –What kinds of “ideal worlds” do they represent? –On the whole, do the images seem to be inspirational or disturbing?

The history of twentieth-century utopias in the Western world is a history of extremes. Never before had the world witnessed such large-scale attempts to improve society, and, when some of those experiments failed, never before had it beheld such devastating consequences. Most of these experiments, particularly in the first half of the century, were carried out in the name of progress, whose potential was seen almost everywhere. No element or aspect of human life and society — human genes, bodies, minds, families, houses, neighborhoods, cities, the workplace, political structures, the earth, the atmosphere, outer space — was considered too large or too small to benefit from an unending faith in progress. And while many benefits were in fact achieved, no element or aspect was left entirely unaffected by negative results. During the 1960s and 1970s, the previous generation’s blind faith in progress became subject to intense examination and reevaluation. People looked back at the promises of the revolutions of the eighteenth century and asked themselves whether the guarantees of equal rights for all had indeed been fulfilled. "Dropping out" and heading "back to the land" were two of the actions that called into question the benefits of a society based on technology, industry, and competition. The utopian literature of the period reflects the many dialogues that resonated throughout the century. Within the realm of fiction, proposed utopias could be carried to their most imaginative extremes. The concept of the dystopia was introduced, revealing the dangerous consequences of a utopia turning against itself. In the ongoing search for the ideal society, the Internet has been proposed as a "place" in which an ideal society could exist. What do you think?

Karel Capek R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots). A Fantastic Melodrama, translated by Paul Selver

An Industrial City. A Study for the Construction of Cities Tony Garnier designed a city that was partially adopted in the French city of Lyons. Une Cite Industrielle was designed as a utopian form of living. The plan allowed schools and vocational-type schools to be near the industries they were related to so that people could be be more easily educated. There were no churches or law enforcement buildings, in hope that man could rule himself.

Henry Street, Looking West from Market Street, November 29, 1935

Aerial view of the World’s Fair Pavilion in 1964, designed by Buckminster Fuller Buckminster Fuller, a multi-talented man who focused on the question: "Does humanity have a chance to survive lastingly and successfully on planet Earth, and if so, how?"

U.S.S.R. in Construction. A monthly illustrated magazine published in Russian, English, German and French From 1931

Labor camp prisoners at work,

Translates to: It was the Jews who invented Marxism. It is the Jews who, for decades, have used Marxism to endeavor to revolutionize the world. — Dr. Goebbels, head of propaganda for the Nazi party

Martin Luther King, Jr., speaking at the March on Washington, D.C., 1963

Cream Disraeli Gears Atco, 1967 Cover design by Martin Sharp When interviewed on the episode of the VH1 show, Classic Albums, which featured Disraeli Gears, the writer stated that when writing the song "Take it Back", he had been inspired by the contemporary media images of American students burning their draft cards and wrote the song in that spirit of rejecting militarism.