Why is it that so many films and novels set in the future are dystopian?
I thought about this after watching The Hunger Games last night, and tried to think of any stories of utopian futures. The only films I could think featuring non-dystopian futures of were Back to the Future II and Bicentennial Man. Can you think of any others?
The word dystopia combines the Ancient Greek δυσ (dus – bad), and τόπος (tópos – place, region) with the Latin/Ancient Greek suffix ia/ία (-ía). It was derived from the word utopia, which was coined by Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia. The u part of utopia comes from the Greek ou (οὐ – not) and by the 17th century was used to refer to a place or society that was considered perfect or ideal. The prefix ou possibly got confused with εὖ (eû, – well, good). Dystopia was first used by J. S. Mill in a parliamentary speech in 1868 [source].
It aseems that majority of predictions for future of our society are “doom and gloom”.
Maybe because describing a rosy world is boring?
We all know humans have no future. We won’t have enough food one day and we all die. Just be prepared and enjoy life now.
@ Lev: I think you are right, goodness doesn’t sell. Just look at all those crime and violence shows on TV (at least in the USA).
Some non-dystopian futures in the movies:
Dune
Summer Wars
Ghost In the Shell
All of the Macross movies
Solaris
2001/2010
I came up with Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, but that’s a kid’s movie…. It does frustrate me that most visions of the future are depressing. I don’t think it has to be that way, but of course, for storytelling purposes, it does add conflict and excitement.