Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Dystopia
Throughout science fiction, one archetype that keeps popping up is a dystopian society. In a dystopian society, the story usually centers on a protagonist who questions the society. Zeppelin City was a good example of this dystopian society except that the hero of this world was almost invisible and a villain. This is very similar to Ozymandius' role in the graphic novel, Watchmen. At the end of Watchmen, Ozymandius kills thousands of people in New York City but stops a possible World War 3 between the Soviet Union and the United States. In Zeppelin City, Eszterhazy gives the Naked Brain death and kills many of the gyro pilots, but in the end he gives that power back to himself (a person) rather than a floating brain in an over sized jar. What do you think about this change in the hero perspective in dystopian societies?
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6 comments:
I loved the connection of Eszerhazy to Ozymandius. They really are very similar, and I think that they are both "dystopian heroes." In these dystopian societies, it seems that the best heroes are sort of anti-heroes at hart. Even in more classic stories like 1984 and Fahrenheit 451, the protagonist is willing to do some pretty unheroic things in the name of fighting "the man." It may be a sort of situation where to defeat your enemy, you must become your enemy.
I don't think that most hero characters have many deer (Hart) related incidents...
All kidding aside, I recognized that trend as well. Though as I pointed out in a different thread, perhaps the darkness in the fiction we read is merely a way for us to reason through the darkness that we face in the modern world.
of fiction reflecting our own world. I think these dystopian "hero" types are more reflective of the real world hero. In some older stories the perspective of good and evil is black and white. Heroes are always good and their actions rarely have negative consequences. I think this shift towards a more realistic hero shows that we as a people no longer buy into the absolute good vs evil story line.
I really agree with what Mark and Courtney are saying. I think there's been a trend towards this in most genres (except perhaps children's entertainment in some cases). It seems like we have been moving for a while towards portraying good guys as imperfect and bad guys as people with backstories and motives. This is not only seen in science fiction, but also fantasy, crime dramas, etc.
I agree, it seems like characters are slowly becoming more human. In a way, it seems more hopeful than the traditional role. When you look at Superman, you see someone you could never become. But Radio, Rudy, and Eszterhazy all had flaws, making their heroics more attainable.
Also, the villains aren't "evil," they just went crazy awhile back.
There seems more hope in a world where the heroes are real people and the villains never meant to be evil.
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