A dystopia is a society marked by immoral, unethical, and unfavorable treatment of its citizens. To me, this includes oppression, loss of individualism, pain, and other characteristics that work against individualism and freedom. I believe that dystopias exist but are not sustainable since humans are flawed, and as a result, a dystopian society will inevitably collapse. Therefore, perfect dystopian societies only exist within fiction where perfectionism can exist. I find that the opposite, utopias, are also unattainable because we live in an impure world. The terms dystopia and utopia are accessible in reality because there are various real systems that bring both injustice and justice to communities. However, true utopian and dystopian societies that reflect perfection and imperfection respectively, only exist in fictional societies and systems.
In the book 1984, we see the perfect example of a dystopian society from the eyes of the narrator. This fictional book captures the wretched lives of those living in oppression and a government that is in total control. The government is a vast oppressive and controlling force that crushes characters’ identities and hopes. However, within this fictional text, the government is unflawed and the evolution of characters is at the writer’s discretion. Therefore, the perfect dystopian society can exist here because the writer allows it, but in reality, humans are flawed and systems are cracked. If we are not perfect, a perfect dystopian society cannot exist.
An example of a real-life dystopian society is the apartheid. South Africa’s white minority and nonwhite majority sanctioned racial segregation and political and economic discrimination against nonwhites for much of the twentieth century. South African resistance to apartheid took numerous forms, ranging from nonviolent rallies, protests, and armed resistance. Eventually, the end of the apartheid system did come. The evolution of the oppressed and support from allies allowed the dystopian system to be overthrown. Historically, dystopian societies are not fully sustainable and are imperfect because we are imperfect. Therefore a realistic dystopian society will always be flawed in some way, luckily this leaves room for freedom.
I am a sophomore psychology pre-med major. I am also from Houston Tx
