A Society Of Our Own
Do you feel as if life is unfair? One has always
grown with the concept of never trusting the world and learning it’s a rough
one, but do we truly have it as bad as it may seem. Knowing that life in
general is unfair, it is interesting to look at the fictional aspects of a
negative environment such as Dystopia. When
referring to Dystopia, one usually considers the idea of pain in an
unsatisfactory setting. In dystopian societies, there are usually fearful and
undesirable actions occurring which often include the factors of unethical treatment,
hunger and hostage. The idea of a dystopian society and all the possible ideas
of how one can torture their society became interesting to me; therefore I
decided to analyze the genre. Dystopia is widely portrayed in the media, especially in well-known Hollywood films and popular young adult novels. It is a theme that is widely produced and supported, so I concluded that there is no better choice than to analyze the subject through the three references of; the novel Never Let Me Go, the T.V show Dollhouse, and the film V for Vendetta. After experiencing these three texts, I decided that this genre is a greatly beneficial to all types of readers and viewers. The dystopian genre has multiple negative encounters; making us the readers/viewers greatly appreciate our life. It makes one think of the possible undesirable events that can occur in true life and how the genre of dystopia may be nothing more than a greater negative experience of our life today.
I say this because when reading the novel Never let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro, one thinks outside of the box and wonders about all the possible things our government can do to us. While reading this novel, one cannot picture the thought of the characters living anything but a very happy life. In the beginning the main characters, Kathy, Tommy and Ruth seem to be students of a very established educational foundation, which may mean nothing better than a very good future. Later on through the novel, you learn that it is everything but that. It is a society of lies and sadness, but Kazuo does a great way of leading to that through multiple secrets, from a dystopian government. One learns that it is a dystopian government because these “students” are actually clones manipulated for donations. The reason for their living is to have their donations for real humans who are their models, when they are in need of a transplant. The characters then have no say so of their life, living with no dreams and happiness fulfillment, only leading them to a death of sadness and disappointment.
Once the reader learns all the truth to the dystopian society in the novel, it can be brought upon the reader that these dystopian societies are comparable to the government of ours today. Living in a world of advanced technologies, there is no doubt that our government is capable of doing the same sorts of things done to the characters from Never Let Me Go. There have already been incidents of cloning done through human nature ranging from plants and animals, so it should be appreciated that our society has still not reached a highpoint of human cloning. My viewpoint is also supported in the book review, “Sealed in a World That’s Not as It Seems,” by Michiko Kakutani, where he states, “ . . . Mr. Ishiguro's depiction of this alternate world that it never feels like a cheesy set from "The Twilight Zone," but rather a warped but recognizable version of our own.” This proves how our society is still unfair and unethical, but not to the extreme point where a person has no say in what can be done to their bodies.
Not only are unethical actions shown in the Novel Never Let Me Go, but also in the television show Dollhouse. Dollhouse is an action filled show, but however fits the category of being dystopian. In the show there are real humans who are being manipulated, without their consent. “Dollhouse,” is a facility where a secret management has these people living in a dishonest cult, working to fix secret dangerous missions. The people, whom are kidnapped, have no idea what they are doing during these missions, and have completely new personalities, none to what their real identity was. However when someone from outside the facility tries to interfere and help these people out, everyone else from the government denies that such a facility is real. Not only does this show the secret trades of a government but how it may be relatable to the politics of today’s society as well. With all the terrorist threats our society has received from foreigners, having an army gives our government the support they need from our society, but there is not doubt that our government is capable of such dystopian things to manipulate us. Although there have been unaware attacks from our countries government towards other populations, it is thankful to know that there are no horrid events purposely planned towards our society.
However the idea of having a dystopian government can cause those from the society to become dystopian citizens as well. This can be seen in the film V for Vendetta. In this film there are citizens who are held back and are mistreated, by living an unfree life. I say this because all the characters seem to be monitored by police figures of some sort, who are in reality just bad men, and are given no sexuality rights (LGBT) and democratic say. Having a citizen realize that they have all these guidelines to be held against can make them feel imprisoned, that is why V, the main character, decided to take a risk and show the government how one citizen can be so powerful and ruin things for them. He did this with the help of a female named Evey, who seemed to be a fearful citizen just listening to those all around her, not having a voice of her own. Throughout the film, there are others introduced who also seem to live a secret life, due to not having the social freedom of being their true identity. Being controlled by the government as a hostage is very popular in these texts, due to the fact that it makes the government believes as if everything is perfectly in place if its under their control. Conversely it doesn’t always result in a perfectly distinguished society, but a society who wants to rebel against their governmental figures. An example of a real life past event can be when a citizen killed U.S president, John F. Kennedy, which only prove the point of dystopia being upon ourselves as well, just not as frequently.
Knowing that citizens are willing to rebel against the government lets one know that there may be some form of dystopia upon them. This is why I believe the genre of dystopia is interesting. Dystopia is deeply engaging to any reader/viewer that it why there is no doubt to why there are multiple things out there under the category. The reason for this as I mentioned is because it is relatable to people. Although dystopia is meant to be more fiction than nonfiction it has aspects one can relate to. Mostly everyone in todays society live in a democratic country with multiple rights but there are still those in third world countries who have enslavement of some sort with no citizen rights, such as all the characters introduced from the three texts. Having the dystopia genre forms a sense of realization between people and their daily lives that is why it is recommended to read it. One can learn to appreciate their day-to-day lives because of all the possible torment they may experience but don’t.
Not only do I have this view on the dystopian genre but also John Joseph Adams from “Dystopian Fiction: An Introduction.” John clearly advocates, “Dystopias are often seen as “cautionary tales,” but the best dystopias are not didactic screeds, and the best dystopias do not draw their power from whatever political/societal point they might be making; the best dystopias speak to the deeper meanings of what it is to be one small part of a teeming civilization… and of what it is to be human.” This is very true in my opinion and relatable to my stance at supporting the genre because one learns what it is to be human and how we have feelings. Through all three texts governmental systems hold the people as hostages, but what they all have in common is the sadness one feels for the torture and the unfair life they live. We learn through these texts, the true concept of being alive and being a person in a society. It makes on realize that we have to consider all the positive in our lives because it can possibly be worse, like those of the characters we learn about. Not only that but it gives us a reason to look out the box, and realize the greater meaning to life and how we should all live the life we want.
Overall the Dystopian genre can be found everywhere in todays media, especially those from our government and is not one to be ignored. It gives the negative aspects of life in a more profound way that can have one think. It also creates a source of thankfulness for the life the person is living. Last but not least it is a genre to amuse everyone because there are all sorts of dystopian settings, mysterious ones, love ones, and action- packed one, therefore no one can miss out in this genre. After analyzing the genre, one can only be left wondering if the Dystopian genre is inspired by true life?
Works Cited
Adams Joseph, John. “Dystopian Fiction: An Introduction.” Tor. Web. n. pag. April 23, 2013.
“Ghost.” Dollhouse. Fox. 2009. Netflix
Ishiguro, Kazuo. Never Let Me Go. New York : Vintage Books. 2005.
Kakutani, Michiko. “Sealed in a World That's Not as It Seems.” The New York Times. April 4, 2005. Web. April 23, 2013.
“Stage Fright.” Dollhouse. Fox. 2009. Netflix
“The Target.” Dollhouse. Fox. 2009. Netflix
V For Vendetta. Dir. James McTeigue. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2005. DVD
I say this because when reading the novel Never let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro, one thinks outside of the box and wonders about all the possible things our government can do to us. While reading this novel, one cannot picture the thought of the characters living anything but a very happy life. In the beginning the main characters, Kathy, Tommy and Ruth seem to be students of a very established educational foundation, which may mean nothing better than a very good future. Later on through the novel, you learn that it is everything but that. It is a society of lies and sadness, but Kazuo does a great way of leading to that through multiple secrets, from a dystopian government. One learns that it is a dystopian government because these “students” are actually clones manipulated for donations. The reason for their living is to have their donations for real humans who are their models, when they are in need of a transplant. The characters then have no say so of their life, living with no dreams and happiness fulfillment, only leading them to a death of sadness and disappointment.
Once the reader learns all the truth to the dystopian society in the novel, it can be brought upon the reader that these dystopian societies are comparable to the government of ours today. Living in a world of advanced technologies, there is no doubt that our government is capable of doing the same sorts of things done to the characters from Never Let Me Go. There have already been incidents of cloning done through human nature ranging from plants and animals, so it should be appreciated that our society has still not reached a highpoint of human cloning. My viewpoint is also supported in the book review, “Sealed in a World That’s Not as It Seems,” by Michiko Kakutani, where he states, “ . . . Mr. Ishiguro's depiction of this alternate world that it never feels like a cheesy set from "The Twilight Zone," but rather a warped but recognizable version of our own.” This proves how our society is still unfair and unethical, but not to the extreme point where a person has no say in what can be done to their bodies.
Not only are unethical actions shown in the Novel Never Let Me Go, but also in the television show Dollhouse. Dollhouse is an action filled show, but however fits the category of being dystopian. In the show there are real humans who are being manipulated, without their consent. “Dollhouse,” is a facility where a secret management has these people living in a dishonest cult, working to fix secret dangerous missions. The people, whom are kidnapped, have no idea what they are doing during these missions, and have completely new personalities, none to what their real identity was. However when someone from outside the facility tries to interfere and help these people out, everyone else from the government denies that such a facility is real. Not only does this show the secret trades of a government but how it may be relatable to the politics of today’s society as well. With all the terrorist threats our society has received from foreigners, having an army gives our government the support they need from our society, but there is not doubt that our government is capable of such dystopian things to manipulate us. Although there have been unaware attacks from our countries government towards other populations, it is thankful to know that there are no horrid events purposely planned towards our society.
However the idea of having a dystopian government can cause those from the society to become dystopian citizens as well. This can be seen in the film V for Vendetta. In this film there are citizens who are held back and are mistreated, by living an unfree life. I say this because all the characters seem to be monitored by police figures of some sort, who are in reality just bad men, and are given no sexuality rights (LGBT) and democratic say. Having a citizen realize that they have all these guidelines to be held against can make them feel imprisoned, that is why V, the main character, decided to take a risk and show the government how one citizen can be so powerful and ruin things for them. He did this with the help of a female named Evey, who seemed to be a fearful citizen just listening to those all around her, not having a voice of her own. Throughout the film, there are others introduced who also seem to live a secret life, due to not having the social freedom of being their true identity. Being controlled by the government as a hostage is very popular in these texts, due to the fact that it makes the government believes as if everything is perfectly in place if its under their control. Conversely it doesn’t always result in a perfectly distinguished society, but a society who wants to rebel against their governmental figures. An example of a real life past event can be when a citizen killed U.S president, John F. Kennedy, which only prove the point of dystopia being upon ourselves as well, just not as frequently.
Knowing that citizens are willing to rebel against the government lets one know that there may be some form of dystopia upon them. This is why I believe the genre of dystopia is interesting. Dystopia is deeply engaging to any reader/viewer that it why there is no doubt to why there are multiple things out there under the category. The reason for this as I mentioned is because it is relatable to people. Although dystopia is meant to be more fiction than nonfiction it has aspects one can relate to. Mostly everyone in todays society live in a democratic country with multiple rights but there are still those in third world countries who have enslavement of some sort with no citizen rights, such as all the characters introduced from the three texts. Having the dystopia genre forms a sense of realization between people and their daily lives that is why it is recommended to read it. One can learn to appreciate their day-to-day lives because of all the possible torment they may experience but don’t.
Not only do I have this view on the dystopian genre but also John Joseph Adams from “Dystopian Fiction: An Introduction.” John clearly advocates, “Dystopias are often seen as “cautionary tales,” but the best dystopias are not didactic screeds, and the best dystopias do not draw their power from whatever political/societal point they might be making; the best dystopias speak to the deeper meanings of what it is to be one small part of a teeming civilization… and of what it is to be human.” This is very true in my opinion and relatable to my stance at supporting the genre because one learns what it is to be human and how we have feelings. Through all three texts governmental systems hold the people as hostages, but what they all have in common is the sadness one feels for the torture and the unfair life they live. We learn through these texts, the true concept of being alive and being a person in a society. It makes on realize that we have to consider all the positive in our lives because it can possibly be worse, like those of the characters we learn about. Not only that but it gives us a reason to look out the box, and realize the greater meaning to life and how we should all live the life we want.
Overall the Dystopian genre can be found everywhere in todays media, especially those from our government and is not one to be ignored. It gives the negative aspects of life in a more profound way that can have one think. It also creates a source of thankfulness for the life the person is living. Last but not least it is a genre to amuse everyone because there are all sorts of dystopian settings, mysterious ones, love ones, and action- packed one, therefore no one can miss out in this genre. After analyzing the genre, one can only be left wondering if the Dystopian genre is inspired by true life?
Works Cited
Adams Joseph, John. “Dystopian Fiction: An Introduction.” Tor. Web. n. pag. April 23, 2013.
“Ghost.” Dollhouse. Fox. 2009. Netflix
Ishiguro, Kazuo. Never Let Me Go. New York : Vintage Books. 2005.
Kakutani, Michiko. “Sealed in a World That's Not as It Seems.” The New York Times. April 4, 2005. Web. April 23, 2013.
“Stage Fright.” Dollhouse. Fox. 2009. Netflix
“The Target.” Dollhouse. Fox. 2009. Netflix
V For Vendetta. Dir. James McTeigue. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2005. DVD