Most Likely Dystopian

In today's modern society, many types of dystopia are possible in the future. The government could take control and become a totalitarianism all in the name of 'national security', criminals could become even more violent, requiring more extreme measures from the penal system and police forces in an attempt to curb the violence in the streets and prison. But perhaps the most likely scenario is a dramatic environmental event that causes mass destruction and chaos. For example, drastic climate change could cause the ice caps to melt, causing the sea level to rise, and coastlines to flood. While this may not sound too bad, it has the potential to cause massive power outages, destruction of thousands of homes, a dwindling food supply, and even a nuclear power plant failure and leakage of nuclear material. My guess is that the government would set up refugee camps for all the families displaced by flooding, but eventually the food supply would run out and all families would be forced to find alternate sources of food, supplies, shelter, and water. And 'alternate sources' could mean stores, it could mean farms, or the most likely scenario, is that it means other people's homes. And so, with invasion of homes, massive flooding, and other catastrophes, an environmental dytstopia is the most likely dystopian scenario for the United States to encounter.

A Clockwork Orange

Anthony Burgess published "A Clockwork Orange" in 1962. The novel takes place in America and is set in the future. However, the main character and narrator, Alex speaks a slang-riddled mix of Russian and English, so that leads the reader to believe that either the Soviet Union/Russia has influence in America, or that the main character has a fascination with the Soviet Union/Russia and has decided to adopt parts of the language.
The book follows the misguided adventures of Alex and his band of cronies as they terrorize the town and everyone in it. They attack an old man on the street, they break into a house, beat the husband, and rape the wife. In that house, Alex also notices that the husband is writing a book called "A Clockwork Orange", (coincidence????) Alex finally gets arrested when he breaks into a woman's house, but gets attacked by her many feline compatriots. Alex gets bogged down trying to escape the house, and eventually gets apprehended by a police officer and taken into custody. Alex is then brought to prison where he is beaten, abused, and forced to write all his crimes on paper. His lawyer arrives, but does not offer much help.
My predictions for the rest of the book is Alex will be sentenced to a juvenile rehabilitation of sorts, where he will be beaten and tortured. When he gets released he will become a target for street gangs and thugs, and he will struggle with his past, and try to remain out of trouble, but it will be extremely difficult for him. I think the book will end with Alex ending his own life due to the constant pain and grappling with his past.

The Handmaid's Tale #2

In The Handmaid's tale, another important issue that is presented throughout the novel is the idea of persecuting people due to their religion. In her book, Atwood states, "Five members of the heretical sect of Quakers have been arrested..." The way Atwood integrates that statement into the book shows that the persecution of other religions is common in this dystopian world. This article, from the Huffington Post outlines the religious persecution of Christians by the military in Myanmar. Unfortunately religious persecution still happens in today's society, and has happened many times in the past. Perhaps the most famous example is the Nazi persecution of European Jews during World War II(1939-1945).  The Handmaid's Tale does a very good job playing off religious persecution as en everyday occurrence, when in reality it is a serious and wide-spread problem. This really helps the reader realize the extent to which this extremist religious government is ethically wrong. It is perhaps ironic that something many people see as a sense of peace, and righteousness, the church, can become so twisted and controlling when given complete power over an entire population. In conclusion, Atwood's commentary on religious persecution through her novel is extremely relevant in today's society, and is something that should not be taken lightly.

Handmaid's Tale

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood is a dystopian novel where an ultra-conservative church has taken control of the government and forced all young women to become servants with one main goal; to bear children. The story tells the tale of a woman, labeled Offred.
One major issue that is brought up throughout the course of the book is a satirical mockery of the separation of church and state. In our modern American representative democracy any hints of religion are struck down with vigor. Prayer has been banned in public schools, and there have been zealous campaigns to remove the phrase "under God" from the pledge of allegiance, as seen in this article published by Forbes magazine. This article supports the author, Margaret Atwood's view on this topic. Atwood is mocking those who think that Church and State are compatible. She is depicting a hyperbole in which the church IS the state. As you can see The Handmaid's Tale is a satirical commentary on a major issue in today's society. Atwood is mocking people who believe that Church and State are compatible in running the United States of America.

Children of Men

Children of Men is a 2006 thriller movie that takes place in the year 2027 where everyone in the world is infertile, so children cannot be born. The main character in Theo Faron, a former activist turned cynical bureaucrat living in the militarized police state of Great Britain. He gets drawn into helping his ex-wife, Julian, transport a girl to safety outside Great Britain. Theo later discovers the girl, Kee, is pregnant. The first pregnant girl in 18 years. Throughout the course of their journey, Julian gets shot and killed, Theo and Kee are hunted attacked, and Theo eventually dies from a gunshot as the rescue ship approaches to save Kee and her baby. The film also addresses issues of immigration and refugees, when the film shows metal cages on the streets full of people, assuming illegal immigrants, as well as later in the movie it shows abuse and mistreatment of refugees by British military and police. Cuaron, the director, did this to make a statement on the world's treatment of refugees from war torn countries. He wanted to show an extreme situation that could potentially happen if the world does not improve treatment of refugees and immigrants.
Some critics also make connections between the movie treatment of immigrants and the Holocaust. This is because of the British government hunting illegal immigrants so intently and violently in the movie. Also in one of the scenes where cages of immigrants can be seen, a woman in one of the cages is speaking German. 

Life As We Knew It in today's society

"I gave everyone sponge baths, and then I took all their dirty sheets and pillowcases and spent the afternoon washing them. (Pfeffer 308)

Susan Beth Pfeffer's dystopian novel, Life as We Knew It depicts a world where the moon has been moved closer to the earth by an asteroid causing a plethora of problems. These include volcanoes erupting, mass flooding on coastlines, extreme cold, extreme heat, air pollution, food shortages, water shortages, and electricity to be knocked out.  The main character, Miranda, lives with her family in suburban Pennsylvania.  Pfeffer chronicles the struggle to survive and care for her family alongside the struggles encountered by normal teenagers. One issue that is brought to life in her novel can be seen when Miranda must take care of her entire family of four when they all have the flu. She must feed them, change their sheets and clothes, and even clear out smoke that has gathered in their living room due to a backfired fireplace. She does this all with minimal food and water, no electricity, when it is below zero outside. Whether it be illness, or injury, many children must take on the role as primary caregiver for his/her family. An article published by CNN states that 22% of students across America do not finish high school because they dropped out to care for a loved one.  The article tells the story of 13 year-old Nickolaus Dent, who takes care of his mother who is battling HIV. Because his father died two years ago, it has become Nick's job to care for his mother, which leaves him little time and energy for school and socializing. Nickolaus is one of 10,000 kids living in Palm Beach, Florida, who is the family's primary caregiver.  This article supports Miranda's struggle to keep her family alive, and proves that Susan Beth Pfeffer's Life As We Knew It is extremely relevant in today's society.

Consumer Profile

This my feed. I am an avid soccer player who also enjoys music, video games, reading, Country music, and Marvel movies.

I think in today's society, the invention of a feed would be disastrous to society. It would allow corporations to take away our individuality and identity by allowing us to be sorted into a few groups. I think everyone should try to resist the feed. I would embark on that challenge by avoiding getting a feed in the first place for as long as I can. If I were to be forced to get  a feed I would try to set it to 'sleep mode' or something similar to discourage myself from succumbing to the attractive advertisements and products.