Utopian and dystopian fiction are
genre
Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
s of
speculative fiction that explore social and political structures. Utopian fiction portrays a setting that agrees with the author's
ethos
Ethos ( or ) is a Greek word meaning "character" that is used to describe the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a community, nation, or ideology; and the balance between caution, and passion. The Greeks also used this word to refer to ...
, having various attributes of another reality intended to appeal to readers. Dystopian fiction offers the opposite: the portrayal of a setting that completely disagrees with the author's ethos.
Some novels combine both genres, often as a metaphor for the different directions humility can take depending on its choices, ending up with one of two possible futures. Both
utopia
A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book '' Utopia'', describing a fictional island societ ...
s and
dystopias are commonly found in
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
and other types of speculative fiction.
More than 400 utopian works in the English language were published prior to the year 1900, with more than a thousand others appearing during the 20th century.
[
] This increase is partially associated with the rise in popularity of
genre fiction
Genre fiction, also known as popular fiction, is a term used in the book-trade for fictional works written with the intent of fitting into a specific literary genre, in order to appeal to readers and fans already familiar with that genre.
A num ...
,
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
and
young adult fiction
Young adult fiction (YA) is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is primarily targeted at adolescents, approximately half of YA readers are adults.
The subject matter and genres of YA correlate ...
more generally, but also larger scale social change that brought awareness of larger
societal or global issues, such as technology, climate change, and growing human population. Some of these trends have created distinct subgenres such as ecotopian fiction,
climate fiction
Climate fiction (sometimes shortened as cli-fi) is literature that deals with climate change.Glass, Rodge (31 May 2013).Global Warning: The Rise of 'Cli-fi' retrieved 3 March 2016 Generally speculative in nature but scientifically-grounded, wor ...
, young adult dystopian novels, and feminist dystopian novels.
Subgenres
Utopian fiction
The word ''utopia'' was first used in direct context by
Sir Thomas More in his 1516 work ''
Utopia
A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book '' Utopia'', describing a fictional island societ ...
''. The word ''utopia'' resembles both the Greek words ''outopos'' ("no place"), and ''eutopos'' ("good place"). More's book, written in
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
, sets out a vision of an ideal
society
A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soci ...
. As the title suggests, the work presents an ambiguous and ironic projection of the ideal state. The whimsical nature of the text can be confirmed by the narrator of ''Utopias second book, Raphael Hythloday. The Greek root of the name "Hythloday" suggests an 'expert in nonsense'.
An earlier example of a Utopian work from
classical antiquity
Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...
is
Plato
Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
's ''
The Republic'', in which he outlines what he sees as the ideal society and its
political system. Later,
Tommaso Campanella
Tommaso Campanella (; 5 September 1568 – 21 May 1639), baptized Giovanni Domenico Campanella, was an Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, theologian, astrologer, and poet.
He was prosecuted by the Roman Inquisition for heresy in 1594 an ...
was influenced by Plato's work and wrote ''
The City of the Sun
''The City of the Sun'' ( it, La città del Sole; la, Civitas Solis) is a philosophical work by the Italian Dominican philosopher Tommaso Campanella. It is an important early utopian work. The work was written in Italian in 1602, shortly afte ...
'' (1623), which describes a modern utopian society built on equality. Other examples include
Samuel Johnson's ''
The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia
''The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia'', originally titled ''The Prince of Abissinia: A Tale'', though often abbreviated to ''Rasselas'', is an apologue about bliss and ignorance by Samuel Johnson. The book's original working title was " ...
'' (1759) and
Samuel Butler's ''
Erewhon
''Erewhon: or, Over the Range'' () is a novel by English writer Samuel Butler, first published anonymously in 1872, set in a fictional country discovered and explored by the protagonist. The book is a satire on Victorian society.
The fir ...
'' (1872), which uses an
anagram of "nowhere" as its title.
This, like much of utopian literature, can be seen as
satire
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...
; Butler inverts illness and crime, with punishment for the former and treatment for the latter.
One example of the utopian genre's meaning and purpose is described in
Fredric Jameson
Fredric Jameson (born April 14, 1934) is an American literary critic, philosopher and Marxist political theorist. He is best known for his analysis of contemporary cultural trends, particularly his analysis of postmodernity and capitalism. Jam ...
's ''Archeologies of the Future'' (2005)'','' which addresses many utopian varieties defined by their program or impulse.
Dystopian fiction
A
dystopia is a society characterized by a focus on that which is contrary to the author's ethos, such as mass poverty, public mistrust and suspicion, a
police state
A police state describes a state where its government institutions exercise an extreme level of control over civil society and liberties. There is typically little or no distinction between the law and the exercise of political power by the ...
or oppression.
Most authors of dystopian fiction explore at least one reason why things are that way, often as an analogy for similar issues in the real world. Dystopian literature serves to "provide fresh perspectives on problematic social and political practices that might otherwise be taken for granted or considered natural and inevitable".
Some dystopias claim to be
utopias
A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia'', describing a fictional island society ...
.
Samuel Butler's ''
Erewhon
''Erewhon: or, Over the Range'' () is a novel by English writer Samuel Butler, first published anonymously in 1872, set in a fictional country discovered and explored by the protagonist. The book is a satire on Victorian society.
The fir ...
'' can be seen as a dystopia because of the way sick people are punished as criminals while thieves are "cured" in hospitals, which the inhabitants of Erewhon see as natural and right, i.e., utopian (as mocked in
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—es ...
's ''
Candide'').
Dystopias usually extrapolate elements of contemporary society, and thus can be read as political warnings.
Eschatological
Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of the present age, human history, or of the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), which teach that nega ...
literature may portray dystopias.
Examples
The 1921 novel
''We'' by
Yevgeny Zamyatin
Yevgeny Ivanovich Zamyatin ( rus, Евге́ний Ива́нович Замя́тин, p=jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ zɐˈmʲætʲɪn; – 10 March 1937), sometimes anglicized as Eugene Zamyatin, was a Russian author of science fictio ...
portrays a post-apocalyptic future in which society is entirely based on logic and modeled after mechanical systems.
George Orwell was influenced by ''We'' when he wrote ''
Nineteen Eighty-Four
''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also stylised as ''1984'') is a dystopian social science fiction novel and cautionary tale written by the English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and fina ...
'' (1949), a novel about
Oceania
Oceania (, , ) is a geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern and Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of and a population of around 44.5 million ...
, a state at perpetual war, its population controlled through
propaganda.
Big Brother and the daily
Two Minutes Hate
In the 1949 dystopian novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' the Two Minutes Hate is the daily, public period during which members of the Outer Party of Oceania (1984), Oceania must watch a film depicting the enemies of the state, specifically Emmanuel Go ...
set the tone for an all-pervasive self-censorship.
Aldous Huxley
Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He wrote nearly 50 books, both novels and non-fiction works, as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems.
Born into the prominent Huxle ...
's 1932 novel ''
Brave New World
''Brave New World'' is a dystopian novel by English author Aldous Huxley, written in 1931 and published in 1932. Largely set in a futuristic World State, whose citizens are environmentally engineered into an intelligence-based social hiera ...
'' started as a parody of utopian fiction, and projected into the year 2540 industrial and social changes he perceived in 1931, leading to industrial success by a coercively persuaded population divided into five castes; the World State kills everyone 60 years old or older.
Karin Boye
Karin Maria Boye (; 26 October 1900 – 24 April 1941) was a Swedish poet and novelist. In Sweden she is acclaimed as a poet, but internationally she is best known for the dystopian science fiction novel '' Kallocain'' (1940).
Career
Boye wa ...
's 1940 novel ''
Kallocain'' is set in a totalitarian world state where a drug is used to control the individual's thoughts.
Anthony Burgess
John Anthony Burgess Wilson, (; 25 February 1917 – 22 November 1993), who published under the name Anthony Burgess, was an English writer and composer.
Although Burgess was primarily a comic writer, his dystopian satire ''A Clockwork ...
' 1962 novel
''A Clockwork Orange'' is set in a future England that has a subculture of extreme youth violence, and details the protagonist's experiences with the state intent on changing his character at their whim.
Margaret Atwood's ''
The Handmaid's Tale
''The Handmaid's Tale'' is a futuristic dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood and published in 1985. It is set in a near-future New England in a patriarchal, totalitarian theonomic state known as the Republic of Gilead, which ...
'' (1985) describes a future United States governed by a totalitarian
theocracy
Theocracy is a form of government in which one or more deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries who manage the government's daily affairs.
Etymology
The word theocracy originates fr ...
, where women have no rights,
and
Stephen King's ''
The Long Walk
''The Long Walk'' is a dystopian horror novel by American writer Stephen King, published in 1979, under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. It was collected in 1985 in the hardcover omnibus '' The Bachman Books'', and has seen several reprints s ...
'' (1979) describes a similar totalitarian scenario, but depicting the participation of teenage boys in a deadly contest. Examples of
young-adult dystopian fiction include (notably all published after 2000) ''
The Hunger Games
''The Hunger Games'' is a series of young adult dystopian novels written by American author Suzanne Collins. The first three novels are part of a trilogy following teenage protagonist Katniss Everdeen, and the fourth book is a prequel set 6 ...
'' series by
Suzanne Collins
Suzanne Collins (born August 10, 1962) is an American author and television writer. She is known as the author of the book series '' The Underland Chronicles'' and ''The Hunger Games''.
Early life
Suzanne Collins was born on August 10, 1962, i ...
, the
''Divergent'' series by
Veronica Roth
Veronica Anne Roth (born August 19, 1988) is an American novelist and short story writer, known for her bestselling ''Divergent'' trilogy which has sold more than 35 million copies worldwide.
Personal life
Veronica Roth was born on August 19, ...
, ''
The Power of Five
''The Power of Five'' (re-titled as ''The Gatekeepers'' in the US) is a series of five fantasy and suspense novels, written by English author Anthony Horowitz. Published between 2005 and 2012, it is an updated re-imagining of Horowitz's ''Pe ...
'' series by
Anthony Horowitz
Anthony John Horowitz, (born 5 April 1955) is an English novelist and screenwriter specialising in mystery and suspense.
His works for children and young adult readers include ''The Diamond Brothers'' series, the '' Alex Rider'' series, and '' ...
, ''
The Maze Runner
''The Maze Runner'' is a 2009 young adult dystopian science fiction novel written by American author James Dashner and the first book released in ''The Maze Runner'' series. The novel was published on October 6, 2009, by Delacorte Press, an ...
'' series by
James Dashner
James Smith Dashner (born November 26, 1972) is an American writer known for speculative fiction. Many of his books are primarily aimed at children or young adults. He is best known for ''The Maze Runner'' series and the young adult fantasy seri ...
, and the ''
Uglies
''Uglies'' is a 2005 science fiction novel by Scott Westerfeld. It is set in a future post scarcity dystopian world in which everyone is considered an "ugly," but then turned "Pretty" by extreme cosmetic surgery when they reach the age of 16. ...
'' series by
Scott Westerfeld
Scott David Westerfeld (born May 5, 1963) is an American writer of young adult fiction, best known as the author of the ''Uglies'' and the '' Leviathan'' series.
Early life
Westerfeld was born in Dallas, Texas. As a child he moved to Connectic ...
.
Video games
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedbac ...
often include dystopias as well; notable examples include the
''Fallout'' series, ''
BioShock
''BioShock'' is a 2007 first-person shooter, first-person shooter game developed by 2K Boston (later Irrational Games) and 2K Australia, and published by 2K Games. The first game in the BioShock (series), ''BioShock'' series, it was released f ...
'', and the later games of the
''Half-Life'' series.
History of dystopian fiction
The history of dystopian literature can be traced back to the reaction to the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...
of 1789 and the prospect that mob rule would produce
dictatorship
A dictatorship is a form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, which holds governmental powers with few to no limitations on them. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. Politics in a dictatorship a ...
. Until the late 20th century, it was usually anti-collectivist. Dystopian fiction emerged as a response to the utopian. Its early history is traced in Gregory Claeys' ''Dystopia: A Natural History'' (Oxford University Press, 2017).
The beginning of technological dystopian fiction can be traced back to
E. M. Forster
Edward Morgan Forster (1 January 1879 – 7 June 1970) was an English author, best known for his novels, particularly ''A Room with a View'' (1908), ''Howards End'' (1910), and ''A Passage to India'' (1924). He also wrote numerous short stori ...
's (1879–1970) "
The Machine Stops." M Keith Booker states that "The Machine Stops," ''
We'' and ''
Brave New World
''Brave New World'' is a dystopian novel by English author Aldous Huxley, written in 1931 and published in 1932. Largely set in a futuristic World State, whose citizens are environmentally engineered into an intelligence-based social hiera ...
'' are "the great defining texts of the genre of dystopian fiction, both in
hevividness of their engagement with real-world social and political issues and in the scope of their critique of the societies on which they focus."
Another important figure in dystopian literature is
H.G. Wells, whose work ''
The Time Machine
''The Time Machine'' is a science fiction novella by H. G. Wells, published in 1895. The work is generally credited with the popularization of the concept of time travel by using a vehicle or device to travel purposely and selectively for ...
'' (1895) is also widely seen as a prototype of dystopian literature.
Wells' work draws on the social structure of the 19th century, providing a critique of the British class structure at the time. Post
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, even more dystopian fiction was produced. These works of fiction were interwoven with political commentary: the end of World War II brought about fears of an impending
Third World War
World War III or the Third World War, often abbreviated as WWIII or WW3, are names given to a hypothetical worldwide large-scale military conflict subsequent to World War I and World War II. The term has been in use since at ...
and a consequent apocalypse.
Modern dystopian fiction draws not only on topics such as totalitarian governments and anarchism, but also pollution, global warming, climate change, health, the economy and technology. Modern dystopian themes are common in the young adult (YA) genre of literature.
Combinations
Many works combine elements of both utopias and dystopias. Typically, an observer from our world will journey to another place or time and see one society the author considers ideal and another representing the worst possible outcome. Usually, the point is that our choices may lead to a better or worse potential future world.
Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula Kroeber Le Guin (; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the '' Earthsea'' fantasy series. She was ...
's ''
Always Coming Home
''Always Coming Home'' is a 1985 science fiction novel by American writer Ursula K. Le Guin. It is in parts narrative, pseudo-textbook and pseudo-anthropologist's record. It describes the life and society of the Kesh people, a cultural group ...
'' fulfills this model, as does
Marge Piercy
Marge Piercy (born March 31, 1936) is an American progressive activist and writer. Her work includes '' Woman on the Edge of Time''; '' He, She and It'', which won the 1993 Arthur C. Clarke Award; and ''Gone to Soldiers'', a New York Times Best ...
's ''
Woman on the Edge of Time''. In
Starhawk
Starhawk (born Miriam Simos on June 17, 1951) is an American feminist and author. She is known as a theorist of feminist Neopaganism and ecofeminism.
In 2013, she was listed in Watkins' ''Mind Body Spirit'' magazine as one of the 100 Most Spir ...
's ''
The Fifth Sacred Thing
''The Fifth Sacred Thing'' is a 1993 post-apocalyptic novel by Starhawk. The title refers to the classical elements of fire, earth, air, and water, plus the fifth element, spirit, accessible when one has balanced the other four.
Plot
The nove ...
'' there is no time-travelling observer. However, her ideal society is invaded by a neighbouring power embodying evil repression. In
Aldous Huxley
Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He wrote nearly 50 books, both novels and non-fiction works, as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems.
Born into the prominent Huxle ...
's ''
Island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
'', in many ways a counterpoint to his better-known ''
Brave New World
''Brave New World'' is a dystopian novel by English author Aldous Huxley, written in 1931 and published in 1932. Largely set in a futuristic World State, whose citizens are environmentally engineered into an intelligence-based social hiera ...
'', the fusion of the best parts of
Buddhist philosophy
Buddhist philosophy refers to the philosophical investigations and systems of inquiry that developed among various schools of Buddhism in India following the parinirvana of The Buddha and later spread throughout Asia. The Buddhist path combin ...
and Western technology is threatened by the "invasion" of oil companies. As another example, in the "Unwanteds" series by Lisa McMann, a paradox occurs where the outcasts from a complete dystopia are treated to absolute utopia. They believe that those who were privileged in said dystopia were the unlucky ones.
In another literary model, the imagined society journeys between elements of utopia and dystopia over the course of the novel or film. At the beginning of ''
The Giver
''The Giver'' is a 1993 American young adult dystopian novel written by Lois Lowry, set in a society which at first appears to be utopian but is revealed to be dystopian as the story progresses. In the novel, the society has taken away pa ...
'' by
Lois Lowry
Lois Ann Lowry (; née Hammersberg; March 20, 1937) is an American writer. She is the author of several books for children and young adults, including '' The Giver Quartet,'' ''Number the Stars'', and '' Rabble Starkey.'' She is known for writing ...
, the world is described as a utopia. However, as the book progresses, the world's dystopian aspects are revealed.
Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet, and Anglican cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dubl ...
's ''
Gulliver's Travels'' is also sometimes linked with both utopian and dystopian literatures, because it shares the general preoccupation with ideas of good and bad societies. Of the countries
Lemuel Gulliver
Lemuel Gulliver () is the fictional protagonist and narrator of ''Gulliver's Travels'', a novel written by Jonathan Swift, first published in 1726.
In ''Gulliver's Travels''
According to Swift's novel, Gulliver was born in Nottinghamshire c. ...
visits,
Brobdingnag
Brobdingnag is a fictional land, which is occupied by giants, in Jonathan Swift's 1726 satirical novel ''Gulliver's Travels.'' The story's main character, Lemuel Gulliver, visits the land after the ship on which he is travelling is blown off co ...
and Country of the
Houyhnhnms
Houyhnhnms are a fictional race of intelligent horses described in the last part of Jonathan Swift's satirical 1726 novel ''Gulliver's Travels''. The name is pronounced either or . Swift apparently intended all words of the Houyhnhnm language ...
approach a utopia; the others have significant dystopian aspects.
Ecotopian fiction
In ''ecotopian fiction'', the author posits either a utopian or dystopian world revolving around environmental conservation or destruction. Danny Bloom coined the term "cli fi" in 2006, with a Twitter boost from
Margaret Atwood in 2011, to cover
climate change-related fiction, but the theme has existed for decades. Novels dealing with
overpopulation
Overpopulation or overabundance is a phenomenon in which a species' population becomes larger than the carrying capacity of its environment. This may be caused by increased birth rates, lowered mortality rates, reduced predation or large scal ...
, such as
Harry Harrison's ''
Make Room! Make Room!
''Make Room! Make Room!'' is a 1966 science fiction novel written by Harry Harrison exploring the consequences of both unchecked population growth on society and the hoarding of resources by a wealthy minority.
It was originally serialized in ' ...
'' (made into movie ''
Soylent Green
''Soylent Green'' is a 1973 American ecological dystopian thriller film directed by Richard Fleischer, and starring Charlton Heston, Leigh Taylor-Young, and Edward G. Robinson in his final film role. It is loosely based on the 1966 science fict ...
''), were popular in the 1970s, reflecting the widespread concern with the effects of overpopulation on the environment. The novel ''Nature's End'' by
Whitley Strieber
Louis Whitley Strieber (; born June 13, 1945) is an American writer best known for his horror novels '' The Wolfen'' and '' The Hunger'' and for '' Communion'', a non-fiction account of his alleged experiences with non-human entities. He has mai ...
and
James Kunetka (1986) posits a future in which overpopulation, pollution, climate change, and resulting superstorms, have led to a popular mass-suicide political movement. Some other examples of ecological dystopias are depictions of Earth in the films ''
Wall-E
''WALL-E'' (stylized with an interpunct as ''WALL·E'') is a 2008 American computer-animated science fiction film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed and co-written by Andrew Stanton, pro ...
'' and
''Avatar''.
While eco-dystopias are more common, a small number of works depicting what might be called eco-utopia, or eco-utopian trends, have also been influential. These include
Ernest Callenbach
Ernest Callenbach (April 3, 1929 – April 16, 2012) was an American author, film critic, editor, and simple living adherent. He became famous due to his internationally successful semi-utopian novel '' Ecotopia'' (1975).
Life and work
Born ...
's ''
Ecotopia'', an important 20th century example of this genre.
Kim Stanley Robinson
Kim Stanley Robinson (born March 23, 1952) is an American writer of science fiction. He has published twenty-two novels and numerous short stories and is best known for his ''Mars'' trilogy. His work has been translated into 24 languages. Many ...
has written several books dealing with environmental themes, including the
Mars trilogy
The ''Mars'' trilogy is a series of science fiction novels by Kim Stanley Robinson that chronicles the settlement and terraforming of the planet Mars through the personal and detailed viewpoints of a wide variety of characters spanning almost tw ...
. Most notably, however, his ''
Three Californias Trilogy
The ''Three Californias Trilogy'' (also known as the ''Wild Shore Triptych'' and the ''Orange County Trilogy'') consists of three books by Kim Stanley Robinson, which depict three different possible futures of Orange County, California. The thr ...
'' contrasted an eco-dystopia with an eco-utopia and a sort of middling-future. Robinson has also edited an anthology of short ecotopian fiction, called ''
Future Primitive: The New Ecotopias''. Another impactful piece of Robinson's is ''
New York 2140
''New York 2140'' is a 2017 climate fiction novel by American science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson. The novel is set in a New York City that has been flooded and altered by rising water. The novel received generally positive reviews.
Setti ...
'' which focuses on the aftermath of society after a major flooding event, and can be seen through both a utopian and dystopian lens.
There are a few dystopias that have an "anti-ecological" theme. These are often characterized by a government that is overprotective of nature or a society that has lost most modern technology and struggles for survival. A fine example of this is the novel ''
Riddley Walker
''Riddley Walker'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Russell Hoban, first published in 1980. It won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best science fiction novel in 1982, as well as an Australian Science Fiction Achievement Awa ...
''.
Feminist utopias
Another subgenre is ''feminist utopias'' and the overlapping category of
feminist science fiction
Feminist science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction (abbreviated "SF") focused on theories that include feminist themes including but not limited to gender inequality, sexuality, race, economics, reproduction, and environment. Feminist SF ...
. According to the author
Sally Miller Gearhart, “A feminist utopian novel is one which ''a.'' contrasts the present with an envisioned idealized society (separated from the present by time or space), ''b.'' offers a comprehensive critique of present values/conditions, ''c.'' sees men or
male institutions as a major cause of present social ills, ''d.'' presents women as not only at least the equals of men but also as
the sole arbiters of their reproductive functions.”
Utopias have explored the ramification of gender being either a societal construct or a hard-wired imperative.
In
Mary Gentle's ''
Golden Witchbreed
''Golden Witchbreed'' is a novel by Mary Gentle published in 1983.
Plot summary
''Golden Witchbreed'' is a novel in which Christie is on the planet Orthe as an envoy of Earth.
Reception
Dave Langford reviewed ''Golden Witchbreed'' for ''White Dw ...
'', gender is not chosen until maturity, and gender has no bearing on social roles. In contrast,
Doris Lessing's ''
The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five
''The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five'' is a 1980 science fiction novel by Doris Lessing. It is the second book in her five-book '' Canopus in Argos'' series, the first being '' Shikasta'' (1979). It was first published in the Unit ...
'' (1980) suggests that men's and women's values are inherent to the sexes and cannot be changed, making a compromise between them essential. In ''My Own Utopia'' (1961) by
Elisabeth Mann Borgese, gender exists but is dependent upon age rather than sex — genderless children mature into women, some of whom eventually become men.
[ ]Marge Piercy
Marge Piercy (born March 31, 1936) is an American progressive activist and writer. Her work includes '' Woman on the Edge of Time''; '' He, She and It'', which won the 1993 Arthur C. Clarke Award; and ''Gone to Soldiers'', a New York Times Best ...
's novel '' Woman on the Edge of Time'' keeps human biology, but removes pregnancy and childbirth from the gender equation by resorting to assisted reproductive technology while allowing both women and men the nurturing experience of breastfeeding
Breastfeeding, or nursing, is the process by which human breast milk is fed to a child. Breast milk may be from the breast, or may be expressed by hand or pumped and fed to the infant. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that br ...
.
Utopic single-gender world
A relatively common motif in speculative fiction is the existence of single-gender worlds or single-sex societies. These fictional societies have long been one of the primary ways to explore implications of gender and gender-differences in scien ...
s or single-sex societies have long been one of the primary ways to explore implications of gender and gender-differences. One solution to gender oppression or social issues in feminist utopian fiction is to remove men, either showing isolated all-female societies as in Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Charlotte Perkins Gilman (; née Perkins; July 3, 1860 – August 17, 1935), also known by her first married name Charlotte Perkins Stetson, was an American humanist, novelist, writer, lecturer, advocate for social reform, and eugenicist. She w ...
's '' Herland'', or societies where men have died out or been replaced, as in Joanna Russ
Joanna Russ (February 22, 1937 – April 29, 2011) was an American writer, academic and feminist. She is the author of a number of works of science fiction, fantasy and feminist literary criticism such as ''How to Suppress Women's Writing'', as w ...
's ''A Few Things I Know About Whileaway'', where "the poisonous binary gender" has died off. In speculative fiction, female-only worlds have been imagined to come about by the action of disease that wipes out men, along with the development of a technological or mystical method that allows female parthenogenetic reproduction. The resulting society is often shown to be utopian by feminist writers. Many influential feminist utopias of this sort were written in the 1970s;[ Gaétan Brulotte & John Phillips, ''Encyclopedia of Erotic Literature'', "Science Fiction and Fantasy", p.1189, CRC Press, 2006, ][ the most often studied examples include Joanna Russ's '']The Female Man
''The Female Man'' is a feminist science fiction novel by American writer Joanna Russ. It was originally written in 1970 and first published in 1975 by Bantam Books. Russ was an ardent feminist and challenged sexist views during the 1970s with ...
and'' Suzy McKee Charnas
Suzy McKee Charnas (October 22, 1939 – January 2, 2023) was an American novelist and short story writer, writing primarily in the genres of science fiction and fantasy. She won several awards for her fiction, including the Hugo Award, the Ne ...
's '' The Holdfast Chronicles''.[Martha A. Bartter, ''The Utopian Fantastic'', "Momutes", Robin Anne Reid, p.101 ] Such worlds have been portrayed most often by lesbian or feminist authors; their use of female-only worlds allows the exploration of female independence and freedom from patriarchy. The societies may not necessarily be lesbian, or sexual at all — ''Herland'' (1915) by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a famous early example of a sexless society.[ Charlene Ball writes in ''Women's Studies Encyclopedia'' that use of speculative fiction to explore gender roles has been more common in the United States than in Europe and elsewhere.][
Utopias imagined by male authors have generally included equality between sexes rather than separation.][Martha A. Bartter, ''The Utopian Fantastic'', "Momutes", Robin Anne Reid, p.102 ISBN]
Feminist dystopias have become prevalent in young adult fiction
Young adult fiction (YA) is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is primarily targeted at adolescents, approximately half of YA readers are adults.
The subject matter and genres of YA correlate ...
, or YA, in recent years, focusing on the relationship between gender identity and the teenager. For instance, the ''Birthmarked'' trilogy by Caragh M. O'Brien focuses on a teenage midwife in a future post-apocalyptic world while the second novel in the series places the teenage heroine Gaia in a matriarchy
Matriarchy is a social system in which women hold the primary power positions in roles of authority. In a broader sense it can also extend to moral authority, social privilege and control of property.
While those definitions apply in general ...
.
Cultural impact
Étienne Cabet
Étienne Cabet (; January 1, 1788 – November 9, 1856) was a French philosopher and utopian socialist who founded the Icarian movement. Cabet became the most popular socialist advocate of his day, with a special appeal to artisans who were bei ...
's work '' Travels in Icaria'' caused a group of followers, the Icarians
The Icarians were a French-based utopian socialist movement, established by the followers of politician, journalist, and author Étienne Cabet. In an attempt to put his economic and social theories into practice, Cabet led his followers to the ...
, to leave France in 1848, and travel to the United States to start a series of utopian settlements in Texas, Illinois, Iowa, California, and elsewhere. These groups lived in communal settings and lasted until 1898.
Among the first decades of the 20th century in Russia, utopian science fiction literature popularity rose extremely due to the fact that the citizens wanted to fantasize about the future instead of just the fact that it was a new, up and coming genre of literature. During the Cold War, however, utopian science fiction became exceptionally prominent among Soviet leaders. Many citizens of the Soviet Russia became dependent on this type of literature because it represented an escape from the real world which was not ideal at the time. Utopian science fiction allowed them to fantasize about how satisfactory it would be to live in a "perfect" world. ''The Red Star'' by Alexander Bogdanov was a science fiction book written about a society on Mars. This novel was immensely criticized among Soviet leaders during the Cold War because the book allowed the workforce to dream about their escape from reality. The culture of the labor force was hated by Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...
, the leader of the Soviet Union at the time because he did not want them becoming emotionally attached to such a thing.
See also
* ''The City of the Sun
''The City of the Sun'' ( it, La città del Sole; la, Civitas Solis) is a philosophical work by the Italian Dominican philosopher Tommaso Campanella. It is an important early utopian work. The work was written in Italian in 1602, shortly afte ...
''
* List of dystopian literature
This is a list of notable works of dystopian literature. A dystopia is an unpleasant (typically repressive) society, often propagandized as being utopian. ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' states that dystopian works depict a negative view o ...
* List of dystopian films
This is a list of dystopian films. Dystopian societies appear in many speculative fiction works and are often found within the science fiction and fantasy genres. ''Dystopias'' are often characterized by dehumanization, totalitarian governments, ...
* List of dystopian comics
This is a list of dystopian comics.
*'' Akira'' by Katsuhiro Otomo
*'' Bitch Planet'' by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Valentine De Landro
*"Days of Future Past" (''The Uncanny X-Men'' #141-142) by Chris Claremont, John Byrne and Terry Austin
*''V ...
* List of utopian literature
* List of sequels to ''Looking Backward''
* Social science fiction
Social science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction, usually (but not necessarily) soft science fiction, concerned less with technology/space opera and more with speculation about society. In other words, it "absorbs and discusses anthropol ...
* Utopian language
The Utopian language is the language of the fictional land of Utopia, as described in Thomas More's ''Utopia''. A brief sample of the constructed language
A constructed language (sometimes called a conlang) is a language whose phonology, gra ...
References
Bibliography
*Applebaum, Robert. ''Literature and Utopian Politics in Seventeenth-Century England.'' Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2002.
*Bartkowski, Frances. ''Feminist Utopias.'' Lincoln, NE, University of Nebraska Press, 1991.
*Booker, M. Keith. ''The Dystopian Impulse in Modern Literature.'' Westport, CT, Greenwood Press, 1994.
*Booker, M. Keith. ''Dystopian Literature: A Theory and Research Guide.'' Westport, CT, Greenwood Press, 1994.
*Claeys, Gregory. ''Dystopia: A Natural History''. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2017.
*Ferns, Chris. ''Narrating Utopia: Ideology, Gender, Form in Utopian Literature.'' Liverpool, Liverpool University Press, 1999.
*Gerber, Richard. ''Utopian Fantasy.'' London, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1955.
*Gottlieb, Erika. ''Dystopian Fiction East and West: Universe of Terror and Trial.'' Montreal, McGill-Queen's Press, 2001.
*Haschak, Paul G. ''Utopian/Dystopian Literature.'' Metuchen, NJ, Scarecrow Press, 1994.
*Jameson, Fredric. ''Archaeologies of the future: the Desire Called Utopia and Other Science Fictions.'' London, Verso, 2005.
*Kessler, Carol Farley. ''Daring to Dream: Utopian Fiction by United States Women Before 1950.'' Syracuse, NY, Syracuse University Press, 1995.
* Mohr, Dunja M. ''Worlds Apart: Dualism and Transgression in Contemporary Female Dystopias.'' Jefferson, NC, McFarland, 2005.
*Tod, Ian, and Michael Wheeler. ''Utopia.'' London, Orbis, 1978.
*
* Szweykowski, Zygmunt. ''Twórczość Bolesława Prusa'' he Art of Bolesław Prus 2nd ed., Warsaw, Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1972.
External links
Dystopias
an
Utopias
''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (SFE) is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo, Locus and British SF Awards. Two print editions appeared in 1979 and 1993. A third, continu ...
''
The Society for Utopian Studies
Portal for Dystopian related Media
Dystopia Tracker
Modernist Utopias
BBC Radio 4 discussion with John Carey, Steve Connor & Laura Marcus (''In Our Time'', Mar. 10, 2005)
The Dystopia genre
discusses current popularity of the dystopian genre.
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