I am a writer. I am a reader. I am a literature-loving, text-analyzing, English class junkie. Additionally, my emotions are as soft as a jellyfish’s vulnerable body, and I wear them on my sleeve. All this considered, today’s popular form of literature is undoubtedly distressing to my young mind.
The big craze about dystopias is completely over my understanding. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the term, a dystopia is a “community or society that is in some important way undesirable or frightening. It is the opposite of a utopia” (Wikipedia). Needless to say, I can name several examples of today’s dystopia literature. Popular examples include Ender’s Game, The Hunger Games, The Giver, Brave New World, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Fahrenheit 451, The Host, Maze Runner, Uglies, and Divergent. While some on this list are older than others, all of them are commonly discussed in today’s high school world. Why, my AP Literature class was assigned Brave New World over the summer. (I will also note–though it’s probably less coveted knowledge–that the biggest anime of 2013, Attack on Titan, was also based in a dystopian society. I watched the whole thing and it was brilliant, but the society was downright depressing. Although, the show itself wasn’t any less of a downer…)
So what’s the problem? Well, it’s not that there’s a problem with the reading; many of these books are extremely well written and their merit is well earned. The problem is their dominance over the views and attitudes of youth for the future. Being presented with dozens of titles that revolve around dystopian futures is not only discouraging, but downright frightening.
The assumption that our society goes downhill from here as technology becomes more and more powerful is incredibly pessimistic. Who’s to say that our futures are so set in stone by technology and our government? This literature has very likely, in fact, instilled fear into people about their governments. And its popularity only adds to the sting.
Searching for good books to read, I am constantly bombarded with recommendations from my friends that are overwhelmingly dystopian, namely the Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth. And dare I talk about the movie issue? The only decent films being released—decent meaning not a dumb comedy that will lower my IQ or a horror that will have my grandchildren shivering—are leaning towards broken societies. The Hunger Games franchise still seems to be running strong and gaining popularity even now. I’m proud that children killing children is what’s considered to be a good read.
Honestly, everyone’s entitled to their own opinion. It’s just mine happens to be that dystopian novels and films are undermining the ability of society and frightening many young readers, including myself. What’s wrong with a happy ending every now and then? And why can’t I seem to find a book that has one?
