Dorsch's View of Dystopian Environments

Dystopian environments often have an element of time associated to them.   Many of these environments are set in a “post-apocalyptic” environment where the consequences of social order or technological innovations are illustrated (see my first blog post of this series for more information on the relationship between dystopian environments and “post-apocalyptic” ones). It takes time for a society to become a dystopian one, but the use and/or abuse of one organization over others overtime is relative to the setting of most books.   For example, in The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, time was shown to further intensify the need for rebellion of the Districts against the hierarchical power of the Panem government in the Capitol.   And, in Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, the setting is 2045 America where technological advancements have resulted in a virtual society via an Internet-like, networking-focused video game called OASIS is controlled by Inno...

The Hunger Games trilogy, written by Suzanne Collins and created into four movies under the direction of Francis Lawrence, provides one example of how leadership and control can be used for public manipulation in a dystopian environment.  Drawing from examples in The Hunger Games trilogy and subsequent movies as well as the second chapter of Popular Culture: A User's Guide by Imre Szeman and Susie O'Brien (2017), I argue that the merge of two ideologies, capitalism and productivity, has resulted in class stratification.  And, surveillance and enclosure of space by the entity/organization/individual in power are used in order maintain this social control.  Capitalism and Productivity  According to Szeman and O'Brien, it was during the "Industrial Revolution" that capitalism took hold of British economic interests (34).  Capitalism is an economic ideology geared toward the attainment of profit through competitive means.  In this system, it was the bourge...