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. 

The 1984 Show!

George Orwell's book 1984, is a dystopian novel depicting a world where the government, or 'big brother' has complete control over the way citizens live their lives. The majority of the population blindly follow, but any dissenters are quickly eliminated. The Truman show, is a 1998 motion picture starring Jim Carrey as Truman Burbank, an ordinary man living and working in a town called Seahaven. But what he doesn't realize is that his entire life is televised as a form of entertainment for the rest of the world.
Winston Smith, the protagonist in 1984, and Truman Burbank, the protagonist in 'The Truman Show" are both victims of an oppressive lifestyle, and the two stories are both about the main character breaking and trying to escape from their current lives. Truman is trying to escape the domed town of Seahaven, while Winston is trying to escape the oppressive Big Brother. Both are also aided by female characters who encourage and assist them. For Winston is it Julia, a cunning, brave government worker who uses her sexuality as a form of rebellion. And for Truman it is Silvia, his high school sweetheart who mysteriously disappeared, and is encouraging him to break out of Seahaven from outside the dome.
In The Truman Show, Truman is afraid of water because his father died in a boating accident years ago. This is representative of his fear to escape and learn the truth. In 1984 it is a little more obvious that Winston is afraid to learn the truth due to a likelihood that he would be tortured and killed if he tried to discover the truth. In both cases however, both protagonists to learn the truth about their situations, Truman eventually escapes, while Winston unfortunately does get tortured and eventually killed.

Telescreens and The NSA

One issue that really stood out to me while reading George Orwell's Dystopian novel 1984, was the unrestricted surveillance of citizens through 'Big Brother's' use of Telescreens. In the novel, Telescreens are similar to today's TVs but Telescreens have the ability to watch and listen to anybody throughout all hours of the day. This struck a chord with me because it sounds somewhat similar to the National Security Agency's un-warranted search of American's phone calls and emails.  In the novel the main character Winston gets caught and captured by the government through secret use of telescreen surveillance because Winston was plotting to rebel against the government. This can be paralleled in today's society to the NSA listening to American phone calls in search or anything that may arouse suspicion. Now while the NSA is not as extensive or obvious as telescreens, it is still a scary precedent that the government has the ability to do this to citizens. 
While in 1984 the citizens could not do anything against the surveillance, in today's society many people are outraged that the government can use unrestricted surveillance, and steps are being taken to restrict the NSA's ability to use unwarranted searches of American phone calls and emails.

The world of Doublespeak

Doublespeak is used in today's society to make an uncomfortable or unpleasant topic more likable. For example, in the military world, if civilians were killed in a military operation, they are considered 'collateral damage'. Surrendering is renamed a tactical retreat, and in the US army, killing someone is considered 'servicing the target.'  According to an article titled, 'Involuntary Conversions, Preemptive Counterattacks, and Incomplete Success: The World of Doublespeak' there are four kinds of doublespeak. The first being Euphemism, a pleasant replacement for a harsh or unattractive word of phrase. The second type of Doublespeak is 'jargon', a simplified language used by doctors, lawyers, or other professionals. Jargon is a verbal shorthand designed for only people in specific fields to be able to understand. The third type of Doublespeak is 'bureaucratese'. It is a form of speaking used by politicians, and business executives. It is used by piling eloquent sounding words and phrases on top of each other until the true meaning of the sentence is lost, in a way to confuse and overwhelm the audience. The final type of Doublespeak is language to make the un-ordinary seem extraordinary. Using trumped-up language to make something unappealing or distasteful seem incredible or impressive. For example a used car being called an 'experienced car.'  
In conclusion, Doublespeak is a way of speaking that pretends to convey a message but really does not and simply misleads and confuses the audience.

Propaganda pros and cons

"Are there any benefits to propaganda? When and why?"
The entire basis of propaganda is appealing to their audience by making it seem like the message is talking specifically to you. Propaganda comes in many different forms, it can be used to encourage people to smoke cigarettes, it makes you feel left out if you are the only one without the new IPhone, it can give the public a figure to direct their anger toward. We see propaganda everyday in our lives, TV commercials, billboards, or even in the daily newspaper. It is slipped under our noses into our lives without us knowing. Propaganda does have benefits in some cases though. For example, the United States used propaganda during World War II to sell war bonds, collect scrap metal and help reserve food. Propaganda was used for the good of the country and also it wasn't hurting anyone. However propaganda can be used for evil. How do you think Hitler persuaded an entire country to rally behind a despicable cause? Propaganda. He made Germany believe that their cause, what they were doing, would benefit the entire world, and they would be crowned heroes. 
In the end, propaganda can be beneficial, it tries to convince us to buy a new product, vote for a candidate, or support the war effort. But in the wrong hands, propaganda can have a profound effect on a population, and the world.

Utopian Vision

My vision of a Utopia is a country without war, starvation or violence. All conflicts are dealt with reasonably and calmly. The country is an island, surrounded by ocean, a large circular island with enough land for all citizens to own farms if they’d like, or citizens can live in the cities. All cities send representatives to a congress once every year to discuss pressing issues threatening the utopia. A leader will be elected by representatives from different states, or counties. The leader serve three year terms and is only able to run for election once. The leader will ensure that all citizens have adequate food and shelter.  No citizens are greedy, or corrupt in the Utopia. That allows for equality for all citizens.  A farming system will be set up so that an surplus will be produced to make up for any crop failures in other cities or states. Trade is lightly regulated by the government, just enough that the trading stays honest and running smoothly. Religion is wholly up to the individual, no person is required to believe in a specific religion or any religion at all. Any criminals will be judged by a jury of peers, and instead of jail, criminals will be put to work and do public service for the duration of their sentence. All children are required to go to school from ages 7 to age 15, then once 15 years old, they will choose a career and go to 4 more years of schooling to learn their chosen career.