Comp Lit And Dystopian Films

Comp Lit/ Dystopian Films
Self-Identity Found Within the Masses ideas of how society could or should be have been around forever. Some of the ideas created to show the evolution of a humanistic society choose to show them as dystopias or utopias, in which society is meant to be perfect or functional in every way. In many of these representations of dystopian/utopian future societies there are troubles with personal identity and a person’s confusion in a world of logic and the lack of reason love invokes within. A common theme that occurs is a controlled society where either freedom is abolished and everything is reliant on technology or logic or genetics determine a human’s quality of life. All of these ideas have the similarity of a
It is something that is not often questioned or strayed from. Although in present society we realize that things are far from perfect the masses tend to stick closely to the most basic rules of life, this is the same in any society. We become so complacent and used to the way we live we often do not stray from the status quo of our own societies. This is evident in almost all ways of life. A common factor in most dystopian works however, is the perfection that is believed to be so evident in life. What is very prominent in the majority of the films or books we have read is the realization of imperfection which leads to questioning, escape, or a character’s confusion within said “perfect” now imperfect society. These characters become outsiders because they start to see the flaws within their “perfect” lives. This is evident in Metropolis, We, Gattaca, The Machine Stops, THX 1138, and A Brave New World. All of these have a character who realizes the fault within their own societies. A large number of these realizations started because of foreign feelings such as love, jealousy, loneliness, etc. The common factor is feelings in a life where there are little to no humanistic qualms. The feelings that cause Freder, from Metropolis, to stray from his decadent lifestyle is love. He sees Maria, who is unlike the dazzling woman that are handed to him in
“Actual happiness always looks pretty squalid in comparison with the over-compensations for misery. And, of course, stability isn 't nearly so spectacular as instability. And being contented has none of the glamour of a good fight against misfortune, none of the picturesqueness of a struggle with temptation, or a fatal overthrow by passion or doubt. Happiness is never grand." Humans need more than just happiness to be happy. Freedom was seen as a useless idea in We, humans are volatile and irrational, and confusing, all things that make life a difficult place to be in at times. However, life isn’t life without all of these things. Happiness is what you make of a life that is unpredictable and full of misfortune. Otherwise, you are living a