The Irony of Dystopian Films

As a writer and reader (mostly non-fiction, but I do enjoy a good fiction tale every now and then), I am well aware of the irony that goes into a lot of the literature that we read in books or see in motion pictures.  Studying irony of situation is one of the things that made English one of my favorite subjects in high school.  Well, a bit of irony recently occurred to me with regard to those futuristic, dystopian stories and films that are so popular among fans of that genre.

You might be wondering… “Where is the irony in those films Matt?”  Perhaps the average movie-goer may miss it for being so engrossed in the story, but I believe a good novelist or an avid reader will see what I too see.  Of course, they might also have their own interpretation of what is being presented in print or on screen.  Still, in my purview, the overall irony with stories and films like “The Maze Runner”, The Divergent Series, “In Time”and “The Hunger Games”, is that they could just as easily be reality for two segments of society anywhere in the world today.

First of all, in dystopian films, we typically only see two of the three primary societal classes that exist in our world today.  On average, most societies have three main classes: THE WEALTHY, The Working Class (aka “The Middle Class”), and the poor.  In stories like the aforementioned, we typically only see two: the rich and the poor.  The middle class is usually grossly under-represented (if even appearing at all). What is typical in most of those films is a clash of ideals, where the rich see the poor as the bane of their existence, and the poor or oppressed see the rich as being responsible for their present condition.  The middle class is seldom presented in any role of significance, serving as little more than part of the backdrop; but why?

Fast forward to reality. Are those futuristic, dystopian films representative of the direction in which the writer opines the world is headed? Or is the reality that, if you were to remove the hyperbole, one could easily see that the human experience (both past and present) has been or is, in many ways, similar to the typical plot that we see in those films… (the same attempts by the wealthy and powerful to maintain strong borders between classes; and the same vast, deep chasms between the lifestyles of the extremely wealthy, and those of the desperately poor).

So, back to the irony. As previously mentioned, if you were to remove the fluff factor, you could easily see our world (or some portion of it) through the lens of these dystopian films (and that without very much distortion at all).  Any student of world history will tell you that you can spin the proverbial epoch wheel, have it stop on any era, and see that there have always been those who were extremely wealthy, and those who were extremely poor – each class with their own perceived struggles (one striving to escape desperate conditions; the other, to hold onto power).  So the irony in the dystopian genre is that what is represented as “somewhere in the future”—minus the elaborate settings—isn’t really all that futuristic… which brings me back to the question presented three paragraphs ago: Why do we never see the middle class represented in those films?

Perhaps the reason is that, idiomatically speaking, the asphalt in the road between origin and destination is not nearly as exciting as what takes place on the journey.  In other words, the middle class built the shiny cities that serve as the epicenter of the struggle between the wealthy and poor… then went home.

In another sense, perhaps we do not see the middle class in dystopian films because somewhere hidden in the fabric of those stories (and much like reality), members of the middle class aren’t paying much attention to the other two (I mean, with all of the work they do, do they really have time to notice much of what’s going on outside the realm of their own responsibilities?).

In the end, what is clear (in both literature and the real world) is that each of the three major classes is always running.  The poor (unless they’ve given up) are running hard to escape their present conditions.  The middle class is either running toward riches (that most will never attain), or away from the poverty that is one layoff, market crash or natural disaster away.  And last but not least, the wealthy are running to either maintain or increase their distance from the other two classes; while at the same time, running to maintain a large-enough lead, so as to avoid being overtaken by someone else with similar status.

In all of this, what is also evident, is that even at the top of the food chain, the folks who “run the game” are still running away from being relegated to becoming an insignificant, “wealthy spectator.”

(Now how’s that for irony?)  ☺

#GiveTheTVaBreakSometimeAndReadABook

All the best!
-MT

(Oh, by the way… In case you haven’t noticed, I am a HUGE fan of the post-apocalyptic dystopian film genre.  I especially like watching them at home, during the winter months, when the days are grayer, the nights are longer and the temperatures are cooler.  Aside from those I mentioned earlier, can anyone recommend any good ones for me to queue up for about four months from now? 😊)

Matt D. Talford is a freelance journalist and the author of “From Fear to Faith: A Survivor’s Story”  – a memoir about overcoming a rare form of what he calls “the C-word.”  The book is currently available in paperback on this website (click the “Products” link at the top of the page) and at Amazon.com.  It is also available in eBook format on Amazon Kindle and Apple iBooks, and in audiobook—narrated by Talford with his signature warm, baritone vocals—at audible.com, and many other sites where audiobooks are sold.