Utopia and DySToPiA
ORIGIN OF THE WORD: The word “utopia” comes from the Greek words “ou” (‘no’) and “topos” (‘place’). Literally, it means “no place.” It was originally the name of a fictitious island in the Atlantic, created by Sir Thomas More as the setting for his novel Utopia. The original Utopia had a perfect social, legal, and political system.
WHAT IS A UTOPIA?: The word now refers to an ideal or perfect society, both in literature and in real life.
UTOPIAS IN HISTORY:
WHAT IS A DYSTOPIA?: It is the opposite of a utopia! In a dystopia, there is oppressive social control, the government is brutal, and there is no free will.
UTOPIAS AND DYSTOPIAS IN LITERATURE, MUSIC, AND GAMES:
Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange
George Orwell’s 1984 and Animal Farm
Lois Lowry’s The Giver, Gathering Blue, and Messenger
Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World
Alan Moore’s V for Vendetta
P.D. James’ The Children of Men
Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery
Mad Max, The Road Warrior, Beyond Thunderdome
Blade Runner
Demolition Man
Gattaca
The Island
Escape from New York (L.A.)
The Truman Show
Pink Floyd’s The Wall
John Lennon’s Imagine
Nine Inch Nail’s Year Zero
Fear Factory’s Obsolete
David Bowie’s Diamond Dogs
Metallica’s “The Unforgiven”
Radiohead’s OK Computer
Gorrilaz’s “Feel Good, Inc.”
Muse’s Absolution and Black Holes and Revelations
and Queensryche’s Operation: Mindcrime
Half-Life II
BioShock
Red Faction
ORIGIN OF THE WORD: The word “utopia” comes from the Greek words “ou” (‘no’) and “topos” (‘place’). Literally, it means “no place.” It was originally the name of a fictitious island in the Atlantic, created by Sir Thomas More as the setting for his novel Utopia. The original Utopia had a perfect social, legal, and political system.
WHAT IS A UTOPIA?: The word now refers to an ideal or perfect society, both in literature and in real life.
UTOPIAS IN HISTORY:
- Some consider the Greek city-state Sparta to have been a utopia.
- Celebration, Florida- a town created by the Walt Disney Corporation. The town even has machines to dispense falling leaves in the autumn, and snow every winter! http://www.celebration.fl.us
- Shaker Village, Harvard, MA and Brook Farm, West Roxbury, MA were created during the Second Great Religious Awakening. Authors like Hawthorne and Thoreau spent time on Brook Farm, enjoying the collective atmosphere and self-reliance the farm stood for.
- Israeli Kibbutzim
- Oneida, New York- founded by Christians believing they could bring about Heaven on Earth. The community eventually turned into the giant silverware company Oneida Limited!
WHAT IS A DYSTOPIA?: It is the opposite of a utopia! In a dystopia, there is oppressive social control, the government is brutal, and there is no free will.
UTOPIAS AND DYSTOPIAS IN LITERATURE, MUSIC, AND GAMES:
Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange
George Orwell’s 1984 and Animal Farm
Lois Lowry’s The Giver, Gathering Blue, and Messenger
Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World
Alan Moore’s V for Vendetta
P.D. James’ The Children of Men
Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery
Mad Max, The Road Warrior, Beyond Thunderdome
Blade Runner
Demolition Man
Gattaca
The Island
Escape from New York (L.A.)
The Truman Show
Pink Floyd’s The Wall
John Lennon’s Imagine
Nine Inch Nail’s Year Zero
Fear Factory’s Obsolete
David Bowie’s Diamond Dogs
Metallica’s “The Unforgiven”
Radiohead’s OK Computer
Gorrilaz’s “Feel Good, Inc.”
Muse’s Absolution and Black Holes and Revelations
and Queensryche’s Operation: Mindcrime
Half-Life II
BioShock
Red Faction
