A dystopia can be described as an existent or fictitious world in which the people are surviving within a means of organized chaos. Often times a dystopian world is connected to the word imperfect, but I often ask, “in what regard?” The word “perfect” can be described as something being complete or absolute. Therefore, to me, a dystopia is one of the most perfectly imagined societies. In fact, dystopias are often TOO perfect and that is where the underlying issue lies.
In a dystopian society, things are organized with the upmost structure. A good portion of the people are usually able to attain the basic necessities such as food, water, and shelter. These people are often monitored by their government through several means such as through video- and audio-recordings, or even chips in their bodies in an effort to maintain order. The regular civilians within the society are treated equally and they all maintain their designated role within the society. For example, in a short story referred to as Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut, the author described a dystopia in which everyone was supposedly equal. No one was more talented, more intelligent, or more attractive than the other. If civilians attempted to defy that standard, they were murdered. In other dystopias, a restriction on the amount of kids you are allowed to have can also be established. To illustrate, laws were put in place in China that only allowed parents to have one child for several years, with limited exceptions. However, the amount was recently raised from one child to three children per family.
Nonetheless, none of the attributes to a dystopia that have been described thus far sound pleasing or comfortable to survive in. In reality, living like that may be the most sufferable torture on Earth. However, it is still considered to be organized and can very well be deemed “perfect”. The people in the society are given a way to survive and they are given laws. If those laws are disobeyed, then they are liable to be punished.
In a way, the country we currently live in could be considered dystopian, but I will leave you with that final thought to consider for yourself…
