I am not a fan of the growing dystopia that is our world today.
As a reader of sci-fi, I’ve enjoyed many dystopian stories, including Snow Crash, The Hunger Games series, Ready Player One, and others. As an author of sci-fi, the nature of the second-class status of the military clones in my Forgotten Fodder series – after they have no purpose – fits into the dystopian genre.
I think the appeal of dystopian books and movies is the notion of the dark mirror, the after-effect of a worst-case scenario. Total economic collapse, devastating war, alien invasion, global pandemic, and the like. How do people cope and then thrive in a world wrecked by something awful like that? It’s akin to driving along a highway, slowing down, and rubbernecking when you pass a car accident.
But now we have a problem. And the problem is that too many of the scenarios and speculation about dystopian futures are becoming our reality. And I don’t know about you – but I am not a fan of many of them. They are causing a great deal of harm, disempowering the masses, and too many people are too distracted to see that points of no return are passing us by.
As an author, writing works of fiction that include dystopian elements is extra challenging right now.
Maybe it’s time for Utopian fiction?
Star Trek, as originally conceived by Gene Roddenberry, was humanity having gotten past our petty squabbles and headed to the stars to grow, evolve, and boldly explore.
When Star Trek: The Next Generation came out in the 1990s, it was the same idea. A better tomorrow, where humanity no longer fights amongst ourselves and works side-by-side with non-humans to gain knowledge rather than power.
But then you get Deep Space Nine. The darker side of Star Trek. DS9 tended to be more adult, darker, and showed a part of the same universe where greed and lust for power still play. It was a lot grittier than any other Star Trek had been before. I don’t know that Roddenberry would have liked it much.
Since DS9, all of Star Trek has taken on some darker, more dystopian storylines. Why? Because I think that the Utopian idealism that played so well in the 1960s, and even in the 1990s, faded away.
There are probably 2 specific historic events where you can see the tides turn, at least in the United States. The Watergate scandal in the early 1970s, and the terrorist attack on American soil on 9/11/01. Both of these events in particular chipped away faith in government and the system on multiple levels.
Polls show that today, faith in government is at some of the lowest points in history. And more and more, either inaction or action that benefits a select few is the norm. This is leading us more and more towards the dystopias of too many works of fiction.
And even with that, Utopian notions are too Pollyanna for most people to swallow in almost any form.
Why do I think this is a dystopia now?
There are many reasons I can point to for this. And I recognize that this is going to be political and ranty to a certain degree. Sorry – not sorry.
The internet – meant to connect us all – has created a vast disconnect. Part of this, I believe, is due to the ready availability of utter bullshit. Lots of counterfactual, propaganda, and utterly untrue sources have a place to recruit, share, and grow their lies. Look no further than the lies about the last US election and those who still think it was unfair and stolen.
The internet also plays into the rapid expansion of globalization. It was not so long ago that instant communication all around the globe, 24/7, was mostly impossible. Likewise, news reaching us as it happens – no matter where it happens – has become the norm.
This is where it all goes wrong for many people. The world has grown too big, too fast, and they are feeling lost and left behind. That’s led them to turn to demagogues, certain types of faith, and anywhere else they can group with others to cling to how it used to be.
But there’s another problem with that. This version of “how it used to be” often neglects or outright denies progress. Suddenly, equality is lessened, body autonomy stripped away, and protections to better the world are thrown aside for economics.
Then you get a minority that has stolen power and used it to erode the separation of church and state, fundamental freedoms, voting rights, and continues to work to create a version of the world that lacks equality in increasingly dystopian ways.
And that’s why I think we’re living in a dystopia now.
The challenge of writing fiction
It is not easy, as things continue to erode, to put a positive or even optimistic spin on the future.
I strive very hard to be an optimist. But I frequently fail at it. The doom and gloom become like an overweight blanket it’s harder and harder to throw off myself.
This is why it’s important that I use my fiction, even with dystopia, to find positive and optimistic outcomes.
I believe that the current dystopia of our world is the last gasps of a dying breed. They are loud and far too well-funded. But they are a minority that’s continuing to shrink.
I know there will always be dissent, negativity, and people who willfully and unwillingly seek to change things for selfish, non-progressive reasons. But that’s the nature of the Universe. Yin and yang. Good and bad. Two sides of a coin – though in reality, it’s more a cylinder because the space between the two sides is far broader than the head or tails of the coin.
In other words – I believe that we have a future. That we can create the future of Star Trek rather than that of The Expanse. I believe that the human race can overcome the BS and learn to work together for greater good.
And that is what I am striving to put into my fiction. Even in a dystopia – there’s hope. Potential. Possibilities. It takes some work – but it can be found.
To some degree, I hope that the fiction I write inspires people to see past this dystopia. I know that’s asking a lot in many respects – but that’s my optimistic nature driving my desire.
Fiction can change the dystopia
We can turn this dystopian present around.
When I write a work of sci-fi with dystopian elements, they can still reveal potential and possibilities to find, do, have, and be better. I can envision a future where the dystopia of today gives way to restoring autonomy, equality, and the progress that we had been making before now.
Even Star Trek doesn’t deny a dystopian past. Bad things happened to the world before they figured out warp drives and made first contact with Vulcans.
I cannot and will not deny the present insanity of this dystopia. But I can see us getting past it – and inject some hope to that end in the fictions I create. This is not me putting on rose-colored glasses or otherwise pretending the world isn’t how it is currently. But it’s a choice to envision a brighter tomorrow that is not so dystopian as today.
The greatest challenge in this is holding onto hope and working to see a world that can get past the present bullshit to be better.
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