Utopia/Dystopia Flashcards
Utopia Characteristics + background
peaceful government, unity, equality of citizens, happiness, individuality, free of violence, access to education/healthcare/employment
Neologism from 2 Greek words: outopia (no place) + eutopia (good place)
Dystopia Characteristics
War, Revolution, Rebellion, overpopulation, natural disaster have resulted dramatic changes to society, controlling government, extreme poverty for everyone/huge income gap between richest + poorest
Antithesis of utopian society
Dystopia protagonist
Often feels trapped + is struggling to escape, questions the existing social + political systems, recognizes that something is wrong, helps audience recognizes negative aspects of society
Utopia after 2 world wars
GLOBAL UTOPIA OF WORLD PEACE optimistically seen as 1 of possible endings of history
Utopia religious
RELIGIOUS UTOPIAS (described as garden of delights, life free of worry in middle of streets paved w/ gold)
Utopia technology
SCIENTIFIC + TECHNOLOGY UTOPIA is the strong belief in that 1 day science + technology will allow utopian living standards (absence of death, illness + suffering, changes in human nature)
Dystopian writers
mostly engage readers w/ something familiar to them since society must have echoes of readers’ own experiences
Utopia/Dystopia short
Definition: dealing w/ ideal (future) society/world (utopia), future society in which human freedom is severely limited. Criticizes our present-day society by exposing trends + tendencies towards totalitarian control (Dystopia)
Media: mainly novels/short stories
Example: brave new world
Science Fiction short
Definition: positive/negative effects of scientific developments/discoveries on society
Examples: wells, war of worlds, Star Wars
Fantasy
Definition: using magic + supernatural elements in settings, plots, themes
Examples: lord of rings, Harry Potter
Science fiction elements
Future, outer space, aliens.., futuristic technology
Challenges of 21st century
New demand of sustainability ->balance between needs of present + future generations, sustainable development implies use of renewable energies + recycling of materials
INTERNET TECHNOLOGIES
revolutionized communication, transfer of Data + access to info + economy
Fears: loss of privacy, new methods of espionage
Extrapolation
Elements of Future society on basis of present day phenomena + developments
Writer criticizes society by demonstrating what certain trends may lead to/what point society has already reached
