Are We Living in a Dystopian Novel?
When Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games series had a renaissance on TikTok in anticipation of the release of the latest film, A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, it dawned on me how important and almost prophetic Young Adult (YA) dystopian literature has become. While any well-written book is capable of captivating readers, dystopian literature pushes the boundaries with thought-provoking themes that’s usually supposed to be almost farfetched. Lately, however, it seems like there’s much more significant relevance to them.
Book series like The Hunger Games, Marie Lu’s Legend trilogy, Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies series and so on have an understated highbrow quality that is often overlooked due to them being labelled as being YA books. Take away the age classification, though, and we’re looking at predictions coming to pass in much the same vein as well-known dystopian classics like Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, George Orwell’s 1984, and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World.
The Hunger Games Series
With Suzanne Collins’ series, we are subjected to the brutality of a dystopian society where a privileged few exploits and control the majority. This narrative is strikingly relatable to real-world issues of power, inequality, and surveillance. The growing wealth gap around the world that threatens social harmony echoes the economic disparities depicted in the series. Furthermore, the question about security and privacy reflects the ever-present concern over the balance between surveillance measures and personal freedoms, akin to the Capitol’s manipulation and control of its citizens. While the series doesn’t directly address the intricacies of the global economic crisis, it offers a critique of societal structures that perpetuate economic disparities and exploitative practices and prompts readers to question the consequences of unchecked power, economic inequality, and the potential impacts of economic crises on marginalized communities.
Marie Lu’s Legend Series
Marie Lu’s Legend series explores a corrupt government, the struggles of the oppressed, and the moral dilemmas faced by its protagonists. These themes resonate in our modern society and exemplify the pervasive corruption that undermines trust in the ruling institutions, mirroring the dystopian Republic’s grip on power. This series also addresses the themes of commercialization and privatization of governments and portrays a dystopian society where the government is heavily influenced and controlled by powerful corporations. The corporate influence leads to the exploitation of resources, manipulation of information, and the prioritization of profit over the well-being of the citizens. Sound familiar?
The Uglies Series
When it comes to Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies series readers come face-to-face with the societal pressures of conformity, beauty standards, and the quest for individuality. These incredibly relevant issues in our image-obsessed world shows the ongoing battle against unrealistic ideals and parallels the struggles faced by Westerfeld’s characters. What’s more, the series challenges the notion that conforming to a particular standard is the only pathway to acceptance and happiness. It emphasizes the value of self-expression, authenticity, and the acceptance of oneself and others for who they truly are.
My Chemical Garden
One of the more unique, albeit not the best YA dystopian trilogies I had read in the mid-2010s was Lauren DeStefano’s My Chemical Garden novels, which addresses other relevant themes to our current dystopian reality. The consequences and ethical dilemmas associated with genetic engineering and manipulation is one of the big themes in these books, which means everyone basically dies young (women don’t live over the age of twenty, whereas men don’t live longer than the age of twenty-five). This, in turn, means that to keep humanity from dying out procreation happens at a young age. Once again, children suffer due to previous generations’ mistakes. Another theme is the importance of female empowerment and the fight for self-determination in a world that seeks to control and commodify women’s bodies … Ring a bell?
A Powerful Tool For Understanding
And while there hasn’t necessarily been a resurgence of popularity in YA dystopian novels in a whole these past few years—not including the usual apocalyptic novels often found in one’s horror collection—the ones that do see the light of day often touches on the same concepts as the series mentioned above.
In a post-pandemic world grappling with complex social, economic, political, and environmental challenges, YA dystopian literature serves as a powerful tool for understanding, empathy, and reflection no matter what your age. From income inequality and mass surveillance to government scandals and social media’s impact on identity, the headlines of today align with the dystopian worlds depicted in these and similar novels. As such, YA dystopian literature serves as a thought-provoking and prophetic medium, encouraging readers to question existing systems, advocate for change, and imagine a more just and equitable world.
