I don't know exactly why I am so fond of Dystopian pieces. Whether it's the aesthetic, creativity, or just the interesting exploration of what happens when the daily lives of humans are distorted, something always keeps me coming back to these movies. A dystopia is known as an imagined state or society in which people's lives are under suffering, dehumanization, and/or fear. Dystopias are like the opposite of Utopia's. Instead of a perfectly beautiful world, you get a distorted and grim version of reality. Dystopian movies explore these worlds in interesting and unique ways, showcasing their harmful impact on society and the people that live in it.
Content:
The Divide of Societal Power
Perhaps one of the most often used tropes of the Dystopian Movie is the division of power. Though they differ in the ways they are shown, some things always remain the same. Some form of Societal divide separates people into different classes. Whether it's fortune, authority, or otherwise something has to separate society to put one type of person above another.
Ex: In the film Ready Player One, the inhabitants of the world live in slums. However, instead of the societal divide being in riches, it's situated in the virtual reality world of the OASIS, a place where the only thing that separates you are your gaming skills.
Technological Advancements
Another common element of Dystopian Films is the dangers of Technological advancements. Especially with how fast technology advances in the current day and age, Dystopian Films try to question the dangers that technology can have in our lives. These exaggerated technologies are often portrayed as being extremely controlling, shaping every thought of every human. They also showcase the addiction that can come from technologies that know us too well.
Ex: In Black Mirror, a brain add on takes humans to virtual worlds seemingly indistinguishable from real life. Quickly, the add on becomes an addiction to the main character, becoming harmful for himself and the ones around him.
Production Techniques:
Set Design
Dystopian movies have to put a lot of effort into their set design. After all, their environments are one of the most captivating things about them. Environments are often portrayed as cold and desolate. Not only that, and most specifically when it comes to city architecture, skyscrapers are used to showcase power, and run-down slums portray the poor and weak. Most of the time, these environments also seem to be impacted by environmental changes like climate change and pollution. Pretty scary how these worlds have gotten how they due to our ignorance of these issues in the present....
Ex: In Wall-e, the desolate landscapes look to be cold and deserted. Not only that, the air seems to be heavily diffused, showcasing the pollution that has damaged the earth.
Composition
The Composition of these pieces is often brutal. Everything is composed symmetrically and straight. Composing in such a way makes the world feel cold and hyper sanitized. On the other hand, Pieces that are set in a more post-apocalyptic world might feature more unhinged and messy shots, meant to represent the unrest of these worlds.
Ex: In this image, we see a shot from the movie Blade Runner 2049 that showcases the meticulous work put into making a perfect composition.
Marketing
In the past, Dystopian movies used to be specifically targeted towards audiences like teenagers. Their stories often portrayed examples of rebelliousness, an idea that is popular with teenagers. However, more recently, Dystopian films have been used to send important messages to all types of audiences, though most often, it still targets younger individuals between the ages of 18 to 25. Their trailers showcase run down worlds in which a protagonist has to rise up against their oppressor.
Examples:
The Platform
The Platform was released on Netflix on February 21, 2020. It follows Goreng as he tries to survive in The Hole (El Hoyo). The hole is a class system in which every month at random, two prisoners are put in a vertical cell in which there are many levels. Every day, food comes down from the first floor all the way down to the 333rd floor. While the people at the top get fed, the ones at the bottom starve...
The platform is quite a perfect example of how the division of power in society can impact the sanity and lives of people. The people at the top of the tower treat the one below them with disrespect, treating them as garbage. The world is gritty and grim, with set design tailored specifically to make the characters, and for the matter of fact the audience, uncomfortable.
The Matrix
The Matrix was released to theaters on March 31, 1999. It follows the story of Neo, an Internet hacker that doesn't quite fit in with society. Neo starts asking questions about the truth, and what he finds is shocking. Neo was never living a regular life. He was actually part of a simulation, one where all of humanity is trapped so that their robot overlords can feed off them, and now he plans to put a stop to it.
The Matrix Showcases how Technological advancements can impact the lives of humans negatively. When humans created artificial intelligence, it rose up against them and oppressed them, yet again showcasing another divide in power.
Other Examples:
Alita Battle Angel(2019)
The Truman Show(1998)
THX 1138 (1971)
The Lobster(2015)
