Topic summary
Fictional countries
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Fictional country.
Purposes
Fictional countries often deliberately resemble or even represent some real-world country or present a utopia or dystopia for commentary. By using a fictional country instead of a real one, authors can exercise greater freedom in creating characters, events, and settings, while at the same time presenting a vaguely familiar locale that readers can recognize. A fictional country leaves the author unburdened by the restraints of a real nation's actual history, politics, and culture, and can thus allow for greater scope in plot construction and be exempt from criticism for vilifying or distorting good image of an actual nation, political party, or people. The fictional Tomania (a parody of Nazi Germany named after Ptomaine) serves as a setting for Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator.