Utopias, Dystopias

[goldenboy]

Seems like most sci-fi is actually dystopian—1984, Brave New World, Blade Runner, etc, etc. Or at least false utopian...like the cracks in the beautiful facade start to show and that's the source of the drama. I'm not a huge reader of sci-fi, so I don't know. Star Trek is utopian I would say. Clarke's Childhood's End could be considered utopian, depending on your perspective.

OK, so what are some of your favorite utopias and/or dystopias in science fiction? Books, movies, TV, etc. Is there anything out there that's totally obscure, overlooked that you love? Whatcha got?

[Black King]

My favorite dystopia is actually the Federation from Star Trek lol. Its kind of odd when the show started it was made to look like a beautiful paradise but with each spin-off it keeps getting darker and more like a socialist communist state. Its kind of interesting to see how a few hundred years of evolution and alien technology can make a theoretical government see like paradise no matter what happens. lol

[goldenboy]

That's true. The 60's Trek and TNG were the most optimistic, utopian. Money's gone, poverty, disease mostly a thing of the past on earth...then the shows got a little more complex, darker.

[Gollanth]

Have you ever read Iain M. Banks' sci-fi series of books involving the Culture and its associated themes? They're pretty much what you'd call a Utopian vision. The first time I read any of them, I really felt that I'd quite like to live in that kind of society.

As for a Utopia which breaks down before your very eyes, try the Night's Dawn trilogy, by Peter F. Hamilton. The world is wonderful until, by a fluke, the dead begin to return and possess the living.

I've always felt that both these series would make good viewing, but nobody else seems to think so - or at least isn't prepared to come up with the squillions of £/$ it would cost to make a decent film of them.

[DarklyDreamingDrusilla]

I think that my favorite dystopia would have to be the one presented in the world of Firefly and Serenity. The corrupt goverment that covers up all of their mistakes so that on the top layer they look perfect and clean. They also participated in some types of brain washing in Miranda etc. It is such a complex world that is just fun to explore and learn about.

[N4H]

Clockwork Orange society is kind of freaky, because this real one just keeps getting closer to it.

[goldenboy]

Brave New World's pretty close too, seems like...with all the pharmaceutical mood regulators out there now. What percentage of the population is on some kind of anti-depressant at this point?

There was that one Twilight Zone ep, with the homely girl that was resisting getting her final "procedure" done (that would turn her into a beautiful, well-adjusted "happy" person). I think she could choose from a few different models of human to become. That was always such an affecting show (especially if you watch it when you're 7-8 yrs old).

[N4H]

The V for Vendetta society is kind of freaky close also.

When society completely breaks down, or starts to break down are those considered dystopic? You know like The Postman, Road Warrior, Escape from New York.