I was reading the news recently, a story about a judge ruling that children being forcibly separated from their parents and locked in cages deserved blankets and toothpaste, and wondered to myself if we weren’t living in some version of a real-life dystopian.
Don’t believe me? Well, let’s take a look at dystopias–first by definition, and then by example. Merriam-Webster is pretty clear; it defines dystopia as “an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives.”
The idea was a faint one at first, but the more I thought about it, it occurred to me that we are living in a dystopian nightmare, and we have been for quite some time.
Since we’re talking about “real-life” dystopia, we shall get rid of the imagined part and move onto the crux of that definition. “A society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives.”
Unfortunately, “people” is not as clear as is necessary. Is it all people, some people, a large swath of people, or some other more specific version? That’s important to know because that really can help us decide if we are living in a real-life dystopia or not. I mean, if it’s all people, then, sitting here in Maryland, we are not a dystopia. If it’s some people, then those people sitting in cages, or hiding out from bombs, terrorists, and gunmen in Syria would surely argue they are living in a dystopia.
And frankly, that is where I fall on the spectrum. A dystopian society is one where a large group of people are leading wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives. If you look at dystopian literature, in much of it, they are a place in that world where people seek to escape, a place in the world where the horror isn’t happening. So, while I may not personally be experiencing the dystopia lifestyle that some three-year-old in a cage is living, I am still in that world. I am living that life they hope to escape to. They are living the wretched, dehumanized, fearful existence. Yet, we all inhabit the same world, so we are all in this dystopia.
But, you don’t have to take my word on it. Let’s look at some dystopian literature.
1984
Let’s start with 1984, the granddaddy of the genre, so to speak. The dystopian novel is set in Oceania, which includes the Americas and Great Britain. Those in Oceania are told to love Big Brother and that they must obey. They are told there is constant war outside, yet, it’s unclear if that is true or not. They know only that they are told there is nothing for them beyond the hellish (I mean, wonderful Big Brother) world they live in. This dystopia clearly shows that people are told there is nothing more and the world they live in is totalitarian, and we see–based on our own understandings of what life should be–that it is wretched, dehumanized and fearful. Yet, there is hope–an underground who wants to overcome Big Brother. Because the book is set squarely in Winston’s POV, we don’t really know what’s going on on the outside. Is there a better world out there that doesn’t give a damn about what is happening in Oceania, or is the world as bleak as Big Brother tells its citizens it is? Constant war, rationing, and turmoil. For a real-world comparison, we need look no further than the concentration camps of the Holocaust. Those inside had no access to the outside world. They knew only what their Nazi oppressors told them. They may have felt forgotten and abandoned by the world. Had their captors told them the world was at perpetual war, with the Fuhrer winning, they would have no way to know otherwise. While we have the historical data to show us both sides of the Holocaust, we have only Winston’s view, so we’ll never really know if things in that world were as Winston believed (due to his lack of access to information) or if there was some part of the world eating dinner, and lamenting how awful it must be to live Oceania, and how thankful they are they don’t live there.
The Handmaid’s Tale
Let’s move on to Gilead, from Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. This novel presents the wretched, dehumanized and fearful existence of the handmaid Offred. Her name the first hint of the dehumanization. She doesn’t get a name of her own. She is essentially owned by Fred, or Of Fred, making her Offred. But in this dystopia, we have explicit knowledge of a place where things are better: Canada. Offred, as she recounts her story, tells of her attempt to escape to Canada, to get to a country that has not descended into the dystopia of the former United States, much of which is now Gilead. Again, we have the world these people live in as being hell. The women who can procreate are forced to have sex with strange men they’ve been given to. And there is a place that they can escape to, if they can just get there. We have seen this before in history, very easily and cleary in U.S. history. Let me quote from a piece in Medium on slave breeding farms: “The slave population of the breeding farm was mostly women and children not old enough to be sold, and a limited number of men whose job was to impregnate as many slave women as possible. The slaves were often given hoods or bags over their heads to keep them from knowing who they were having forced sex with. It could be someone they know, perhaps a niece, aunt, sister, or their own mother. The breeders only wanted a child that could be sold.” For those slaves, they lived in dystopia in Richmond, Virginia, but just down the street, white people lived as if nothing bad was happening. Even in Gilead, the handmaids were oppressed, while the men lived as if life was golden for them. A two-fold world, where some had all they desired and others experienced “wretched, dehumanized, fearful” lives.
The Hunger Games
Let’s look at the popular Hunger Games novel, set in Panem, where 12 districts send their children to compete to the death in the Hunger Games. For those living in the 12 districts, there seems to be an uneven dystopia. None of the districts have great lives, but some districts seem to be less oppressed than others. It’s like a caste system that seems to allow some districts to see themselves better than others –with those closest in number seeming to fare better. However, they are all oppressed because it is they who send their children to the games, not the residents of the capital. And this is the interesting thing here. There seem to be two places of respite here. There is the capital, where people enjoy food, wine, and merriment to their heart’s desire, with little thought to the trouble of those in the districts, those who provided them their food. This has parallels in most Western societies. From U.S. slavery to the peasants of France who beheaded the monarchs indifferent to their suffering, we have seen what happens when some enjoy lives of feast while ignoring the masses experiencing wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives. And while the capital is a place that has a better life, it does not seem you can simply escape to the Capital, blend in and live their life. Still, the main character, Katniss, and her friend Gale imagine escaping into unincorporated parts of Panem and living off the woods. While it’s not clear how real this hope is, it is still a hope they hold out. That there is a place outside of their wretched, dehumanized, fearful existence.
So, do we live in a dystopia? Yes. In all dystopia’s the world is a wretched, dehumanizing, fearful place for the main characters, but there are those who are not living that existence. There are those who are enjoying a world of what we would view as normalcy and peace. Just like in the dystopian novels, there are people living on both sides. There are those living wretched, dehumanized fearful lives out there. If you’re not one of them, be thankful first, and then set your sights on helping those who are living the wretched, dehumanizing, fearful life. I do not know if it is possible to create a world where no one is suffering a dystopian existence, but I do believe it’s worth trying to help stop any dystopias that we know on.
In both literature and politics, the future has almost always worn a dystopian cloak. The novels you mention here are only a smattering of the fiction that depicts future societies as bleak, dismal and ominously perverted. For centuries, political figures have warned of a chaotic aftermath if certain groups of people are allowed any degree of freedom – from the supposed perils of the abolitionist movement to modern GLBT rights. The prognosticators are often proved wrong and left to shrink into their wells of vapid theology.
For once, I’d like to see futuristic fiction portray a happier world; a society that somehow defies the predicted odds of doom and evil. But, for now, people seem obliged to let themselves be frightened by uncertainty.
Sadly, I have to admit I think we do, as well. And I believe the polarization will continue to increase until it is no longer sustainable. Then, necessity will move us in the direction of positive change. I don’t know how close we are to that breaking point but I think many of us will see it in our lifetimes.
Well, it’s unfortunate that things have to get to a “breaking point” before there is change. 🙁 I think you’re right that the high level of polarization makes it hard to change. But I’d still like things to change for the better.
Voluntary change is usually resisted, especially by those who think they will “lose” something from it. I wish it were otherwise, too. All we can do is be on the right side and work for it. It will make a difference – or does already, though it’s hard to quantify.
It is a dystopia, but politically, we’re living in a kakistocracy, a government ruled by the most incompetent.
That word sounds like a cat hacking up a hairball-which seems apropos 😀
Well, I would agree with you about the kakistocracy, but there are people who know what they’re doing and have ill-intent. Hence, the children in cages and lack of due process that has left both citizens and noncitizens locked in concentration camps.
Yup. We’re living it. Historically, the world has always had a sharp, dystopian element-the haves and have-nots, serfs and kings, peasants and royalty, dictators and the people who live under them, slaves and slave owners. I write about human trafficking –if you can find a more dystopian existence, let me know. Dystopia seems much more obvious to people in America today because of what’s happening so close to home–and, of course, the news coverage. Seems to me the best way to change things is to bring people’s attention to the uncomfortable reality–like creating this blog post, running more news stories, writing more books. Journalists, novelists, documentary film makers,visual artists, musicians, etc. etc. are the front line. It all helps.
Good point that this is historical. This cycle of peasants and royalties or haves and have nots, and when it gets too imbalanced, with the have nots far outnumbering the haves, and the gap in quality of life between the haves and have nots well into the exponentials, there has historically always been a catastrophic–and often violent–shift. The lack of willingness to change pre-emptively seems to be what escapes most societies. If things are cyclical, this is not the fun part of the cycle to be in.
Nope. But necessary. No one ever learns. Especially where power is concerned.
RJ, thank you for writing this post. So well said. I hope we can help and also that writers and artists will continue to use their creativity to shine a harsh light on what is happening around us.
Good point. Creatives can shed light on horrible conditions and help others understand and empathize.