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Dystopian Literature
mooface:
I read Brave New World last year... crazy stuff. I preferred it over 1984, actually. Not because it was better, but because I found it less depressing...
ElRodente:
i'll tell you an awesome dystopian movie...
ZARDOZ
i have yet to get around to reading any of the famous dystopian novels, i may have read some without noticing though
cuchlann:
Hey - I think it's in the handbook somewhere that I reply to this (I'm an English grad. student). So hurrah for posting it, Laurie!
Actually, a professor of mine had an entire class devoted to dystopian future lit. about a year ago - her three core books were Dr. Bloodmoney by Dick, Cat's Cradle by Vonnegut, and The Sheep Look Up by John Brunner (KharBevNor mentioned another of his books - Shockwave Rider).
I didn't get a chance to take the course, but she lent me a syllabus; I've read Dick's and Brunner's books. If you want a recommendation, absolutely you must read The Sheep Look Up. It's not your classic dystopian novel - first, it's postmodern, so the story unrolls from dozens of perspectives all at once, brilliantly handled. Second, it's centered on ecological problems, like insects and vermin becoming immune to our poisons and a toxic food supply. It's very scary, if you look at modern ecological motions in American government (it's set in the United States).
Also, I've yet to read (but have a copy and eagerly await it to come up in queue) A Canticle for Leibowitz, but the strange fetishizing of technology after an apocalypse (it becomes a religion after it's forgotten) has made it famous as well.
Laurie, you mentioned a book written in the nineteenth century? Were you talking about More's Utopia? We discussed that a bit in theory class (as well as 1984, Brave New World, and Blade Runner/"Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?"), and I think the prevalent idea is that it's a parody - that is, More probably didn't feel a Uptopia was possible, and the book was his attempt to illustrate what would happen if we tried for one. The classic dystopian books (again, 1984, et cetera) follow this pattern - most characters believe the world is a utopia. The more recent dystopia novels don't do that; it's generally thought of as a reflection of our move away from the Enlightenment/Romantic idealism and toward the post-war cynicism.
Also, Huxley wrote a companion to Brave New World called "Braver New World," a non-fiction piece about how society decades after the novel's writing did and didn't match what he'd foreseen.[/u]
A few people have mentioned cyberpunk - good for them! I'm a huge cyberpunk fan. Stephenson actually wrote a semi-dystopian book (apart from all the others of his mentioned so far) called Zodiac. It's about ecology as well, and isn't as far-reaching as most dystopias, but it does deal with the private sector's influence on that sort of problem.
If you really want some hard-hitting pieces of cyberpunk (almost all the traditional cyberpunk could be considered dystopian, though the government isn't always a huge conspiracy) check out William Gibson's collection of short stories, Burning Chrome.
Of course, one could also consider sections of Wells' The Time Machine - the society that spawned the Morlocks is certainly a poor place to consider as our future.
And I thought I would mention my personal favorite - Moorcock's Cornelius stories, particularly The Final Programme. It's easiest to find this book in a collection called The Cornelius Quartet. The other three books follow the same line, in a sense, but they're also grand experiments in the New Worlds sixties style (New Worlds magazine was edited my Moorcock in the sixties), so they also run ragged into a lot of other ideas. The Final Programme features a London empty of people and full of a mob that functions as a hive mind (adapted to survive the blow to individuality that the end-times is), and a kind of computer mind-dump golem devouring all things. Some people cite Jerry (Cornelius) as the first cyberpunk hero, though that's debatable.
Jeez. Okay, I actually haven't posted over in the "I'm new" forum yet, so this is my first post. I couldn't resist the allure of literature.
nescience:
--- Quote from: Bunnyman ---Unfortunately, Cyberpunk literature is generally far superior to Cyberpunk cinema, which is generally just bad sci-fi action. Blade Runner being a very notable exception.
--- End quote ---
Don't forget Dark City, one of my favorite films from the 90s.
Rizzo:
Khar, are you my British clone? Cause I was going to post almost the same list.
I'd add Richard Morgan's series about Takeshi Kovacs, starting with Altered Carbon. Not entirely dystopian but very cyberpunk.
John Brunner is all about the dystopia.
Neal Stephenson is firmly dystopian despite what people say. A future ruled by corporate empires who'll buy your time? Dys.
A lot of Robert Rankin's comedies are dystopian. Particularly the Apocalypse series.
Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat series is space comedy with cyberpunk/dystopian elements. His "Bill the trooper" series are similar.
I heavily advocate Brave New World, one of my all time favourite books.
What else is lying around on my desk?
Ah... The Forever War by Joe Haldeman is highly dystopian. Read it and then some Vietnam literature. You'll learn.
I've yet to see Blade Runner but I've read "Do Andriods Dream Of Electric Sheep?" so I'm half way there.
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