DYSTOPIA IN POPLUAR FILM CULTURE

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Dystopian Societies In Film, Popular Culture

Anthony Holliday

Lamar University

I hereby confirm that I have written the following paper. I utilized sources in

forming my thoughts and opinions, and I have cited those sources where I used

them, and the resulting paper is my own work. Anthony Holliday January 11 2015

Dystopia in Popular Film Culture

Everyone wishes to live in a perfect world, a utopia of some sort where there

is no such thing as disease, war, and oppression. Living in a world of normalcy where

there is a balance of fortunate and unfortunate events in an imperfect society, people

find it perfect that way because it is the nature of human existence and control.

Normalcy is the middle ground between a utopian and dystopian society. Dystopian

societies were thoughts and theories at one point in time to counter argue against

the belief of utopias. Dystopias are more common in films and books, like utopian

ideas, dystopia is the belief that a society is a certain way, and that one way is that

society is oppressed, diseased ridden and controlled by a dictator. In order to

understand the origins of dystopia, one must study Thomas More’s book entitled

Utopia, completed in 1516. To understand dystopia as a whole presented with

examples and facts, George Orwell’s 1984 novel, which was written in 1949 after

World War II during the fall of Nazi Germany under Hitler and the rise of the Soviet

union under Stalin. The book explains dystopia in the real world and the potential

dangers of it. The rise of totalitarian states contributed to this belief of dystopia in

the real world because these oppressed societies were under complete individual

control, even the people’s thoughts were controlled in these societies. These

characteristics are present in movies like: I am Legend, Metropolis, Robocop, Planet

of the Apes and The Matrix just to name a few. The Theories we have learned in class,

from people such as Karl Marxs and many others have given birth to a pleather of

different forms of popular culture.

Before going into depth about the following films, it is best to understand the

dystopia and the definition of the word. Many may say that it simply the opposite of

utopia, which means a perfect world. Though that is correct if you were to wish to

keep it short, but there is more to the concept of dystopia, as well as the ideology.

The word “dystopia” comes from ancient Greek meaning “bad place”. According to Yu

Lan, dystopia is identified by the following characteristics:

“A hierarchical society where divisions

between the upper, middle and lower

clasess are definitive and unbreakable

(Caste system).

The propaganda and the educational

system have the purpose of preserving the

Caste system

The cancellation of individuality

The presence of symbols presented as

commandments of a religious faith, that

at the same time summarize and hide the

aims of the state

The constant surveillance by state police

agencies

Back story of a disaster that justifies the

dramatic social changes

A protagonist that doubts of the society

More advanced technologies”. (Yu Lan)

The following characteristics describe the word dystopia in depth to the factual meaning

of it rather then depriving its meaning from the word utopia.

In the movie I am Legend, Will Smith’s character, Robert Neville is the last

healthy human being in New York. A doctor by the name of Dr. Alice, created a form of

the measles virus hopes for a cure for cancer, but the disease unfortunately mutated into

something deadly. The disease killed more than 90 percent of humanity. The people that

were immune to the disease become under attacked from the people who were infected

with the disease. To stop the virus, Robert Neville experiments on infected rats to find a

cure for the disease in the dying city of Manhattan. Through his isolation with the