Based on my experiences with books, films, and reality, a dystopia is classified as a state of living where a group is subjugated to a higher authority against their own will. Through this subjugation, injustices and wrongdoings are performed creating an oppressive living environment.
In reality, certain populations, whether that be past or present, are constantly living in a dystopia. For example, the enslaved individuals from Africa who were brought to the Americas over 400 years ago were living in a dystopia. These individuals were forcibly removed from their homeland and imposed with the task of labor in the Americas. The African people were deprived of their autonomy. This deprivation was not imagined, it was their daily life. In full effect, slavery was the epitome of a dystopia that some groups imagined and some were living in it. This oppression that the enslaved population experienced was dystopian in nature, yet reality. The enslaved individuals were reduced to property unable to be agents of their life. They had no rights as citizens and faced separation from their families. This was a lifestyle that certain groups imposed on another. These oppressive acts marginalized the enslaved population confining them to solely laborers.
To further expand on my definition of a dystopia, the literary text Fahrenheit 451, highlights a fictional dystopia. In this book, censorship is expressed in an extreme form. The government prohibits the use of literature to control the dissemination of ideas within society. In this way, the citizens are oppressed, because they do not have authority over the information that they consume. This is inherently an oppressive living situation due to infringement on the individuals ability to learn. The higher authority, the government, does not allow the citizens to have their own beliefs. This results in individuals being subjected to the thoughts of the government which establishes governmental control. The lack of autonomy in the literature that one consumes is dystopian, because a group is facing an injustice act imposed by an authoritative group.