Now we are back to the basics. I’ve learned a lot during my time in this class. I’ve learned that the term dystopia is more in depth than I would have imagined. After learning about Young’s Five Faces of Oppression and The Hobbesian Jungle, there are a lot more elements that come in to play when describing a dystopia.
Previously, I defined dystopia as: an unpleasant, imagined state of society bound by a great deal of suffering and misery. While I still generally agree with this definition, with everything I learned from this course it’s much more in depth than just an imagine state. I would say that a dystopia is a fictional state of a society led by authorities in order to control and maintain the community and economy so much that the majority of citizens are bound by a great deal of suffering and abuse. I think Young’s Five Faces of Oppression is a great example of dystopian features. These five faces really encompass everything that a dystopia may endure: marginalization, oppression, powerlessness, violence, and imperialism. People in these fictional dystopias are often described as being oppressed to a point of feeling unheard and powerless. The world of a dystopia is full of injustices and oppressors. Being able to recognize these elements and features of a dystopia and stopping them before they get too powerful to be stopped is a great way to make sure our world never reaches that point.
