Last class we looked at the terms 'utopia' and 'dystopia'. The former refers to an ideal, nonexistent way of life, whereas a dystopian society would be a utopia gone wrong. Although a dystopia is founded on perfection or idealism, it turns out to be a distorted, oppressive, undesirable society.
You have probably heard of dystopian fiction works like 'Brave New World' (Aldous Huxley)and 'The Children of Men' (P.D. James). Unlike works which portray an ideal world, such as 'The Republic' (Plato) and 'Utopia' (Thomas More), dystopian fiction does not exclude the contingencies which have led to the society it depicts. Rather than stimulate an escape into an idealised world, these works seem to spur us on to a deeper reflection on our contemporary values.
Take for example the film 'Children of Men'. As Slavoj Zizek puts it in his article on the film, the infertility which is described was actually 'diagnosed long ago by Friedrich Nietzsche, when he perceived how Western civilization is moving in the direction of the Last Man, an apathetic creature with no great passion or commitment: unable to dream, tired of life, he takes no risks, seeking only comfort and security, an expression of tolerance with one another: "A little poison now and then: that makes for pleasant dreams. And much poison at the end for a pleasant death. They have their little pleasures for the day, and their little pleasures for the night, but they have a regard for health. ‘We have discovered happiness,’ - say the Last Men".
Do you agree that we have become far too complacent and selfish?
Read the article and watch a comment on the film 'Children of Men' at http://www.childrenofmen.net/
