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Dystopian Film Analysis

Decent Essays

"The most shocking aspect of the dystopian novel or film is the realisation that the future is contingent on the present, and can be affected by something we do or don't do now"
To what degree does this perspective on dystopian novels and films resonate with your own reading?

Dystopian texts fulfil the purpose of exaggerating contemporary issues and appropriating them into a fictional universe, in order to criticise and foreshadow the destructive trajectory of current political and social trends (Ferris, 2007). Dystopia, evolved in response to the changing political and social climate of the late 19th and 20th century. This saw the flourishing of utopia's inverse counterpart dystopia, as people became disillusioned by the "negative projection …show more content…

Through it's use of a fictional society as a projection of current issues such as suppression of information and the harmful influences of technology, Wool effectively induces a realisation that the future is contingent on the actions of the present. Dystopias are an exaggerated projection of a future that has been defined by the flaws of the present. Wool criticises the systemic suppression of information and individualistic opinion that a dystopian society thrives on, and warns the audience of the repercussions that are perpetuated from this form of oppression (Clements, 2013). This identifies with a major dystopian convention, in which information and independent thought is restricted (ReadWriteThink, 2006). The composition of the silo acts as a motif to convey Howey's criticisms, as it relies on a stringent governing system and the depriving of information in order to uphold its dignity. Except for a minority group who holds power, the residents are made unaware of the existence of other silos as well as the history of how their existence within …show more content…

Howey criticises the narrow vision of contemporary society, and our growing tendency to view the world through a screen (GGG, 2013). For the inhabitants of the silo, the outside world can only be seen through a projected image, captured by sensors. The inhabitants of the silo are content by this, and are convinced that the image they see is the truth. They do not question or breed curiosity to discover more. Wool demonstrates the deception a society can live under when it becomes too reliant on technology as seen in "The illusion, however, convinced only from a distance" (Howey, 2013). This makes evident the deceptive nature of the image that is being projected, and conveys Howey's cynicism towards technologies role as an information portal. Furthermore, Howey depicts the detrimental effects that arise from technology's augmenting role in society. This is shown through the hierarchy and power division of the silo in Wool. The IT faculty play a fundamental role in orchestrating the façade in which the rest of the silo lives under and are responsible for enforcing the suppressive regime of the silo. Howey conveys the dangerous influence technology can have on society when he says, “His discovery was that evil men arose from evil systems" (Howey, 2013). His statement is further accentuated by the repetition of the

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