A dystopia is an imaginary universe where society is under strict control and there is a constant illusion of perfection in that society. Dystopias often criticize currents trends, political systems, or a societal norm. 1984 by George Orwell, Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut Jr, and The Fifth Element produced by Luc Besson are three great examples of a dystopian world.
Society in a dystopia is very much like a dictatorship in today's world. Freedom is limited and the people are usually under the rule of a higher power. The people are made to be equal and in a sense, brainwashed. One prime example of a dystopian society is that the citizens live in a dehumanized state of being. In the book, 1984, there were telescreens just about everywhere.…show more content… One of the many ways authorities controlled dystopian society was by technological control which means exactly what it says; that society was controlled by technology. In the book 1984, the telescreen was a major part in society, especially during the daily film that the party members had to watch called the Two Minutes Hate which depicted the Party’s enemies. In the story, Harrison Bergeron, some of the citizens that were thought to be too intelligent had to wear ear radios that were known as mental handicaps, which scattered the user’s thoughts. “Every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would send out some sharp noise”(Vonnegut 1), to keep people from taking unfair advantage of their brains. In The Fifth Element society was based on technology so much that everyday life depended on it in order to survive. A major scene in the movie shows a fireball headed straight for earth. Without technology they would not have been able to predict the amount of time they had left before it struck earth. Further, control was also administered to society by corporate control by way of products, advertising, or media. In the book, 1984, a lot of the products had the word “victory” in them, such as the bottles described by the main character, Winston, as “colorless liquid with a plain white label marked Victory Gin” (Orwell 8). This particular method was used to promote the government's cause by adding subliminal messages to everyday products that citizens used on a daily basis. In Harrison Bergeron a news reporter on the television made a report saying that the main character, Harrison Bergeron, “is under-handicapped, and should be regarded as extremely dangerous”(Vonnegut 3) which made the people scared and panic as if the fourteen year old kid was a serious threat. In The Fifth Element there was a random lottery-style drawing that was popular among the society and the winner was awarded