Dystopian Societies Essay Example

Dystopian societies are ones in which the individuals are subjugated, individual freedoms are stripped away, and creativity is suppressed. The oppressive control of the society by a bureaucratic, and totalitarian set of people is an illusion of a perfect society. In these societies, humanity faces governance from a government void of any mercy or sympathy (Somers). Dystopian literature has established itself as a genre and among young and adult readers alike with examples like Giver, The Hunger Games, and V for Vendetta, 1984 among others. In all these works of literature, several themes are evident and are almost presented in the same way. The themes of lack of freedom, large-scale government surveillance, conflict, the presence of a game changer, and forced conformity are all evident. It is also evident that most of the chaos and conflict roots from the stripping of individualism and freedoms from the people. This paper thus hypothesizes that dystopian fiction demonstrates that controlling citizens' freedom of choice is one means by which the government can maintain power and control through fear.

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In the novel, The Hunger Games, one way that the government has managed to maintain its power and control by controlling freedom of choice is in controlling the fate of its citizens, especially the poor. The rich and elite in society feel that all that is happening is just normal. For instance, the government has stripped off the freedom of choice of living in the people through sending of twenty-four teenagers to their deaths in the actual Games. However, the citizens of the Capitol view The Hunger Games as a show for entertainment, and the Capitol shrugs it off as practice up sports (Curwood 418). This form of bloody entertainment is evident in our current societies through shows such as UFC whereby people beat each other up, and the viewers shrug it off as an entertaining show. This stripping of freedom from The Hunger Games participants ensures that the government can maintain its power and control over the participants and as long as they provide a 'good show' to the Capitol elite, then the power is assured.

Another way that dystopian societies and how the governments in place manage to have power and control the masses are through denying the citizens the freedom of free will. Here, the freedom of free will is masked as an illusion of freedom. In The Hunger Games, the citizens are brought up in ideologies that they can't escape and thus do not have the will to overthrow their dictators (Broad 130). Here, the chance of decision making and self-choices have been removed from the culture. This makes people think that they are free to think and live as they want, but they never want to since they have been denied true freedom. This is evident in the real society we live in, such as a capitalistic one. The citizens think that they have the freedom and right to vote for who they want, but they are only voting within the limits of the multiple choices offered by the elite and the ruling class of the society (Tahir). They live in the illusion of freedom with the thought that they are free, but they are not free in the true sense.

Dystopian governments also maintain their power and control over people by denying them freedom of self-identity. The oppressive nature of the Capitol in The Hunger Games pushed denial of this freedom through promoting the games and promising the winning district food and live void of poverty. In doing so, the Capitol destroys the social fabric that would have brought all the districts together by ordering them to give two kids to go and fight in the games. Self-identity and individual autonomy are eliminated here by the Capitol expressing some form of ownership over the children of each District. Individuality is denied, and cruel punishment is administered upon disobedience by any citizen. This was however overturned by Katniss who realized her human potential and thus worked on quenching her thirst for freedom (Tan 55). In our current society, activists and people who deviate from the norms instilled in us from childhood are dubbed weird or heretics because they are going against the curve. An instance is in the assassinations of various activists over the years as they desired freedom and stood their ground against the oppressive government.

Controlling the people's freedom of choice by obliterating the intrinsic value of life is a key step taken by dystopian governments to maintain control and power through fear in its citizens. This is evident in The Hunger Games as the participants in the games see life as expendable and without meaning. They are therefore ready to go beyond any limits to find and kill the other participants (Curwood 421). They also do not find it wrong to torture and murder fellow human beings. This is similar in our societies as depicted in dystopian fiction. Life is devoid of meaning and value, and the limits that human beings can go in propelling this phenomenon goes beyond physicality. The freedom of choice to value life is removed through the gluttonous, greedy, corrupt, and selfish nature of the society. Hate, theft, and abuse are now overlooked since they have become part of the norm of society. The government can put a lot of funds for conflicts on the expense of essential matters like education and health care. By doing this, it instills fear in the citizens and maintains its position of power and control.

Lastly, mass surveillance and lack of privacy is a tool used by dystopian governments to deny the citizens the freedom of privacy they so deserve. In The Hunger Games, citizens are under constant surveillance through guards, hovercraft among others. This denies them privacy to themselves, access to information, and social gatherings for contemplating on progress. The people who manage to upset the government's intentions such as Katniss are labeled as bad people who are out to destroy the peace and stability of the society. This is similar to current mass surveillance by our society's government. This is done through social media sites, emails, and telephone calls (Harding). Evidence of mass surveillance has come out through whistle-blowers who get branded as terrorists by the government yet all they do is show the citizens the truth.

Conclusion

In conclusion, as hypothesized, it is evident that dystopian fiction demonstrates that controlling citizens' freedom of choice is one means by which the government can maintain power and control through fear. The examples of freedoms denied and they link to the current governments in our societies are a clear indication of how the government manages to remain in power and control us through fear.

Works Cited

Broad, Katherine R. ""The Dandelion in the Spring": Utopia as Romance in Suzanne

Collins's The Hunger Games Trilogy." Contemporary Dystopian Fiction for Young Adults. Routledge, 2013, pp. 129-142. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781136194764/chapters/10.4324/9780203084939-17

Curwood, Jen Scott. "" The Hunger Games": Literature, Literacy, and Online Affinity

Spaces." Language Arts 90.6 (2013): 417-427. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24575002?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

Harding, Luke. "Mass surveillance is fundamental threat to human rights, says European

report." The Guardian, Jan 26, 2015. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/26/mass-surveillance-threat-human-rights-council-europe

Somers, Jeff. "5 Dystopian Societies That Might Function." Barnes and Noble. June 10,

2015. Accessed on March 24, 2019. https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/sci-fi-fantasy/5-dystopian-societies-that-might-actually-function/

Tahir, Sabaa. "Katniss Everdeen Is My Hero." The New York Times. October 18, 2018. Accessed on March 23, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/18/books/katniss-everdeen-hunger-games.html

Tan, Susan Shau Ming. "Burn with us: sacrificing childhood in The Hunger Games." The

Lion and the Unicorn, vol. 37 no.1, 2013, pp. 54-73. http://mobilityincontextspring16a.qwriting.qc.cuny.edu/files/2016/01/37.1.tan01_1.pdf