![]() Film thus succeeds the 19th century novel as the ultimate form of story-telling and becomes the primary witness of its time. The 20th century saw dystopia become a source of inspiration for the arts. It questions the future and exposes more than it promotes, allowing the enlightened individual to freely make their own choices and determine their own ideals. Often accused of reactionism, dystopia nevertheless remains a relevant tool for dissecting the deep meaning of an ideology. It is therefore imperative that we build tools that can make it visible, forcing it to reveal its most hidden consequences. The question is rather complex, because the essence of ideology is to be diffuse in the minds that share belief in it-it is an invisible way of interpreting the world. The idea here is not to question freedom in itself, which is an essential and universal human achievement, but on the contrary to try to identify the ways in which ideology can supersede an ideal, and single out the indicators that mark the shift from a legitimate utopia to its disembodied realization. Does absolute, dazzling freedom prosaically lead to addictive consumption, the triumph of international brands, and the ephemeral glories of social networks? Does utopia tragically bear its own dystopia? Certain intellectuals, however, including Guy Debord in France and Pierre Paolo Pasolini in Italy, were clearly aware that this new revolution, even if it aligned with legitimate and progressive struggles, also had to do with the emergence of a bourgeois society structured by market consumption, coupled with the new form of the society of the spectacle. In the 1960s, youth and intellectual circles were driven by such a thirst for revolution and idealism that any form of constructive criticism was immediately dismissed as reactionary. In the end, this derivative literary form has proven more prolific and productive than its initial source, utopia. Literary examples of dystopias abound, and some of them constitute major works that have become iconic representations of their times- A Brave New World (Aldous Huxley, 1932), 1984 (Georges Orwell, 1948), Planet Of The Apes (Pierre Boulle, 1963), The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood, 1985), Submission (Michel Houellebecq, 2015), among others. In literature, dystopia adopts the individual’s point of view, exposing the absurd treatment he/she is subjected to by a utopia that has evolved from a philosophical idea into an implemented, dominant system. Dystopia is the realization of utopia within a society, which rapidly turns into a chance to witness the malfunctions of said utopia when put to the test of reality, exposing its shortcomings and its social and political risks. The notion of dystopia-a “negative place” in etymological terms-appeared in the 19th century, also in England. Paradoxically, because utopia claims to respond to the entirety of human aspirations and contradictions through a single, univocal form of societal organization, it carries within it the seeds of ideological thought. ![]() In the second edition, More added the English homonym Eutopia into the title, thus stressing the idea of a “place of good.” This double meaning reveals the very nature of utopia-a device pertaining more to literature than to politics, it is an imaginary creation, an ideal which cannot be established within human society. Inspired by Plato’s Republic, the book is above all a humanist critique, an outline of the injustices that plagued 16th century European societies, England in particular. The term was coined in 1516 by Thomas More in his novel Utopia, which describes an ideal form of society “which is nowhere to be found” (utopia, a Greek word, translates as “no place”). I will also demonstrate how the rise of digital technology, through the production of simulation, has become significant in further developing this critical reflection. ![]() Literature, cinema, and architecture have all called upon the utopia/dystopia tandem in order to arrive at a constructive examination of our society. I will discuss how utopia and its counterpart, dystopia, have become essential tools for the critical analysis of an era by calling into question the aspirations of that era, as well as its more alarming aspects. In this article I will address the issues of anxiety and hope through the lens of a major artistic, literary, and philosophical genre-utopia. Frankenstein, 1931, directed by James Whale, graphic interpretation of the original image by Patrice Mugnier ![]()
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