Unseen Dystopia Conventions & Examples

Political Dystopia Conventions

• Oppressive Government

• Propaganda & Censorship

• Manipulation of History

• Surveillance

• Loss of Individualism & Freedom

• Illusion of Utopia

• Technological Advancements

• Fear

Political Dystopia Examples

Orwell’s ‘1984’: The Party and Big Brother rule over Oceania, evoking fear in its civilians due to its totalitarian traits, such as controlling language and thought and vaporising people. Dystopias similar to this are regarded as ‘Orwellian’.

Atwood’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’: Gilead is a highly patriarchal and hierarchical totalitarian regime that oppresses fertile women by treating them as birthing machines, then handing those babies to Wives.

Collins’ ‘The Hunger Games’: The wealthy Capitol forces 12 districts to send one boy and one girl to fight to the death in annual events as punishment for past rebellion against the wealthy.

Environmental Dystopia Conventions

• Loss of Biodiversity

• Social Inequality

• Climate Change

• Fear

Environmental Dystopia Examples

Ballard's ‘The Drowned World’: A solar storm enhances climate change, resulting in the ice caps melting and flooding major cities. Nature takes over humanity and reclaims the natural world that once was, leading to characters regressing psychologically.

Bacigalupi’s ‘The Water Knife’: A near-future society in the US is ravaged by climate change, leading to conflict between people wanting control and power.

Post-Apocalyptic Dystopia Conventions

• Loss of Biodiversity

• Social Inequality

• Climate Change

• Every Man for Himself

• Aftermath of a Catastrophe

• Fear

Post-Apocalyptic Dystopia Examples

McCarthy’s ‘The Road’: A man and his son scale the destroyed environment after an undisclosed catastrophe has struck, living in fear of potential competitors threatening their survival.

Kirkman’s ‘The Walking Dead’: A sheriff wakes from a coma to a zombie apocalypse and navigates the broken society, searching for safety, establishing a camp and facing the brutal reality of survival in a world populated by zombies. 

Wyndham’s ‘The Chrysalids’: The fundamentalist society ruthlessly enforces genetic purity, killing or banishing anyone with mutations. The protagonist must hide his telepathic powers before being forced to flee.

Sci-Fi Dystopia Conventions

• Oppressive Government

• Propaganda & Censorship

• Loss of Individualism & Freedom

• Illusion of Utopia

• Technological Advancements

• Bioengineering

• Fear

Sci-Fi Dystopia Examples

Huxley’s ‘Brave New World’: A rigid society hierarchy is created through genetic engineering and psychological conditioning to ensure superficial pleasure and happiness. Dystopias similar to this are regarded as ‘Huxleyan’.

Bradbury’s ‘Fahrenheit 451’: A future where books are outlawed as they are believed to be dangerous due to wielding ideas that cause critical thinking and so firemen burn any they find to prevent this.