The dystopian genre has roots in the 19th century; however, it gained popularity in the 2000s and 2010s. With major books coming out such as “The Hunger Games,” “Nineteen Eighty-Four,” “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “The Lunar Chronicles.”
Dystopian fiction depicts a version of our society set in the future with corrupt and oppressive elements to it. Writers typically wrote dystopian fiction as a way to warn against current world trends and societal issues.
John Stuart Mill, an English philosopher, In 1868 coined the term “dystopia” as a way to depict a “bad place.” Also,it is the opposite of Thomas More’s term, “good place,” “Utopia.”
At its roots, dystopia distinguishes itself from other genres from showcasing an alternate futuristic world in which the government is oppressing its people, and typically a rebellious teenager sets out to restore a flawed government.
Additionally, most dystopian novels included advanced forms of technology and some stories would include man versus technology. An example would be “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley.
As well as the teenage rebellion, most of the books had their leading character be a young woman. Additionally, having a leading young woman provides a positive role model and demonstrates independence, bravery and intelligence.
Slowly leading to its fall, the genre found itself with repetitive troupes and fell into a time where all stories were the identical to one another. Consequently, the readers found themselves feeling apathetic.
In the late 2010’s the dystopian genre found itself at its decline due to the market saturation, repetitive storylines and how most dystopian novels had been banned across the United States.
Banning books is a form of censorship, it is removing from public spaces like a school or a library. However, banning books does not mean restricting the book from being published. Therefore, they will still be sold in bookstores.
