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SF and Utopia, Dystopia

and Anti-utopia

Utopia
The term first appeared in Thomas
Mores book Utopia (1516)
Ambiguity: eutopia= a good place
outopia= no place
The first utopia: Atlantis

SF and Utopia
SF can only be written between the
horizons of utopia and dystopia (Suvin)
Both deal with imagining progressive
alternatives for the current social conditions
and possible future outcomes of those
conditions
Every utopia is SF; important condition:
social progress in utopia must be achieved
by a technological or scientific discovery
Just, rational and egalitarian society

Utopia in literature
Utopia:
Eutopia: a society organized on a more
perfect principle than the authors
community
vs.
Dystopia (cacotopia): a society
organized on a less perfect principle
than the authors community

Dystopia:
Anti-utopia: a dystopia explicitly
designed to refute a currently
proposed eutopia (socialism closest
to utopia, anti-socialism= antiutopia)
Simple dystopia
(Suvin)

Utopian romance: offers an image of


an ideal society, not critical
Utopian satire: critique of the society
in which author lives

Early utopias- romances


The protagonist dislocated from his imperfect
society to a utopian (secular or religious) one:
Importance of communal activities and
common good
Elimination of money and private property
Reason and good will enough for harmony in
society
Society described, not directly experienced;
No criticism of the society
(News from Nowhere)

Anti-utopian atmosphere
After WWII disillusionment, refusal of utopian
ideal of society
Too perfect and ideal to be manageable in
reality- turns into its opposite dystopia
Ideal but static and boring
Tyranny of the perfect system over individual
Socialism and communism
In medias res- protagonist already lives in the
society, it is directly shown, not described
(1984, Brave New World)

Revival of utopia
1960s & 70s feminism, civil rights
movements, fight for equality
Critical utopia: suggesting a better,
but not an ideal world; aware of its
flaws, more realistic
(The Dispossessed, Triton)

Platos Republic: 3 classes of people:


1) philosophers- rulers, guardians
2) warriors- auxiliaries
3) producers- craftsmen, farmers, etc.

Wells- The First Men in the


Moon
Romance or satire?
Utopia or dystopia?
Peaceful perfectly organized
Selenites society vs. materialistic
aggressive human society
Cold inhuman vs. fallible but human
Cavor a scientist, enlighten utopian
ruling class vs. Bedford- greedy,
impulsive, ignorant in science?

Orwell and Huxley


Orwells 1984 an anti-utopia; antisocialism
Nightmarish vision of future society
or hyperbolized image of the
contemporary society of 1948-9
when it was published
Totalitarian state, Big Brother,
Newspeak, doublethink, memory
control, thoughtcrime, constant
warfare, brutality

Huxleys Brave New World seemingly


a utopia
A different type of totalitarian state:
bottle-grown babies, hypnotic
persuasion, pre-ordinate class
belonging, soma (a drug), sexual
freedom
A vision of todays postmodern world:
consumer society, depthlessness of
emotions, hedonism

In common: loss of freedom and


individuality, brutally or subtly
imposed mind control,
totalitarianism, dehumanization,
individual sacrificed to the society,
technological progress

Burgess-1985
Same principle as 1984
Anti-utopia and a satire
Criticism of both socialism (trade unions)
and capitalism (Islamic capital)
State in hands of workers; trade unions
Benefit of the society before the benefit of
an individual; equality no matter what;
language similar to Newspeak; vision of
consumer society; non-violent brain
washing
Similar to both 1984 and Brave New World

In all three novels an individual


rebels against a totalitarian society
No way for a self-conscious
independent individual to survive in
such a society- either crushed by the
society (1984) or commits suicide
(Brave New World, 1985)

Le Guin- The Dispossessed:


an ambiguous utopia
anarchos= without a leader;
Taoist individual anarchism, not violent
and chaotic terrorism
Peaceful authoritarian society based on
solidarity and mutual aid (Le Guin)
Based on free will, no one is obliged to do
anything
An individual voluntarily serves the society
Equality

Anarchist Odonian society on Annares:


Communal activities very important
No money or private property (Desar)
Language does not express concept of any
kind of possession
No sexual prejudice or limitations, free
love
No surnames, no family houses, everything
subordinated to the benefit of entire
society
No government (Sabul)

Scientific discovery: Theory of Simultaneity


ANSIBLE: a device for
interplanetary/intergalactic
communication which enables
simultaneity despite huge distances
Taoist philosophy of the all-changing
changless arrow of sequence as well as
the circle of simultaneity (Le Guin)
Shevek wants to share it with the whole
humanity, Annaresti against it

Paradox within the society: main goal


altruistic, to help the others, but refuse to
share this discovery with the rest of
humanity
CRITICAL UTOPIA (Moylan) or FALLIBLE
EUTOPIA (Suvin): offering a better but NOT
ideal society, aware of its flaws and
inconsistencies
Perfectly ordered but barren and
wasteland-like Annares vs. buoyant
flourishing but materialistic morally
corrupted Urras

Taoist anarchism:
The order in a society must not be
imposed from without; it must come
from within;
Natural moral by which we distinguish
good from bad not predetermined
categories

Can there be only one utopia or each


of us has his/her vision of it?
Can we synchronize our visions some
day into a truly perfect social
system
Or is utopia a good place that simply
does not exist?

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