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|[[Battle Royale (film)|Battle Royale]]||2000||Based on [[Battle Royale|the novel]] and [[Battle Royale (manga)|manga of the same name]].
|[[Battle Royale (film)|Battle Royale]]||2000||Based on [[Battle Royale|the novel]] and [[Battle Royale (manga)|manga of the same name]].
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|[[Battle Royale II: Requiem]]||2003||Sequal to the 2000 film, [[Battle Royale (film)|Battle Royale]].
|[[Battle Royale II: Requiem]]||2003||Sequel to the 2000 film, [[Battle Royale (film)|Battle Royale]].
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|[[Blade Runner]]||1982||Based on the [[Philip K. Dick]] novel ''[[Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?]].
|[[Blade Runner]]||1982||Based on the [[Philip K. Dick]] novel ''[[Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?]].
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|[[District 13]]||2004||
|[[District 13]]||2004||
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|[[District 13: Ultimatum]]||2009||Sequal to the 2004 film, [[District 13]].
|[[District 13: Ultimatum]]||2009||Sequel to the 2004 film, [[District 13]].
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|[[Doomsday (film)|Doomsday]]||2008||
|[[Doomsday (film)|Doomsday]]||2008||
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|<span style="display:none">End of Evangelion </span>[[The End of Evangelion]]||1997||
|<span style="display:none">End of Evangelion </span>[[The End of Evangelion]]||1997||
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|[[Escape from L.A.]]||1996||Sequal to the 1981 film, [[Escape from New York]].
|[[Escape from L.A.]]||1996||Sequel to the 1981 film, [[Escape from New York]].
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|[[Escape from New York]]||1981||
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|[[Fortress (1993 film)|Fortress]]||1993||
|[[Fortress (1993 film)|Fortress]]||1993||
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|[[Fortress 2: Re-Entry]]||2000||Sequal to the 1993 film, [[Fortress (1993 film)|Fortress]].
|[[Fortress 2: Re-Entry]]||2000||Sequel to the 1993 film, [[Fortress (1993 film)|Fortress]].
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|[[Gamer (film)|Gamer]]||2009||
|[[Gamer (film)|Gamer]]||2009||

Revision as of 12:57, 25 August 2012

This is a list of films commonly regarded as dystopian.

A dystopia (from the Greek δυσ- and τόπος, alternatively, cacotopia,[1] kakotopia, cackotopia, or anti-utopia) is the vision of a society that is the opposite of utopia. A dystopian society is often a planned structured society in which the conditions of life are deliberately made miserable, characterized by poverty, oppression, violence, disease, scarcity, and/or pollution for the benefit of a select minority or some unnatural societal goal.

Many of the listed works below are generally considered as being dystopian because their story emphasizes one or more detrimental societal characteristics that would be considered unusual if practiced in a utopian society. However, there are some stories with similar detrimental societal characteristics that are not considered as dystopias by some critics because these same characteristics are now currently or have in the past been practiced to varying degrees in the real world. Despite these menacing and dehumanising elements portrayed by a society in some dismal stories—it is really an attempt to depict a heterotopia, a society that is neither Utopian, nor entirely bad, but different from our own.

Such debates frequently surround literary and cinematic works that do not show the classic characteristics of dystopian fiction, such as a government-like entity that seeks total control of individuals' lives.

The following movie list is broken down into several categories: those that display an obvious dystopian theme, post-apocalyptic, those that ultimately follow a more cyberpunk theme, and those that are more miscellaneously categorized, being that they are in between dystopia/cyberpunk and something else, as previously noted, "not like our society." While the movies appearing under the miscellaneous theme may have dystopian qualities, they do not focus on their dystopian society as the main plot. Dystopian films usually display pivotal traits that most utopian societies would avoid. One common trait is mass dehumanization. Where nearly all individuals are required, voluntarily or by force, to eliminate some "natural" emotional, physical, or free will quality as to conform to a society's "unnatural" greater good goals. A Clockwork Orange seems dystopian, but may not qualify since it is only one criminal individual who is voluntarily dehumanized and not the whole of society. This film then becomes a heterotopia. In Blade Runner, it is rather ambiguous whether Los Angeles in 2019 is depicted in that film to be a dystopia, or a utopia, however evidence from the film suggests that it was a dystopia, due to the climate, pollution, and over-population of the city. Many of the movies under the heading of miscellaneous are subjective and up for more careful scrutiny when considering the definition of dystopia.

Governmental/social

A typical dystopia paints a picture of government or society attempting to exert control over free thought, authority, energy, freedom of information. Others focus on systematic discrimination and limitations based on a variety of factors - genetics, fertility, intelligence, and age being a few examples.

Title Year Comments
12 Monkeys 1995 Based on Chris Marker's 1962 short film La jetée.
1984 1956 Loosely based on the George Orwell novel of the same name.
2081 2009
A Scanner Darkly 2006 Aapted from Philip K. Dick's novel of the same name.
Aachi & Ssipak 2006
Alphaville 1965
Atlas Shrugged: Part I 2011
Babylon A.D. 2008
Battle Royale 2000 Based on the novel and manga of the same name.
Battle Royale II: Requiem 2003 Sequel to the 2000 film, Battle Royale.
Blade Runner 1982 Based on the Philip K. Dick novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?.
Book of Eli 2010
Bothersome Man The Bothersome Man 2006
Brave New World 1998
Brazil 1985
Breed The Breed 2001
Bunraku 2010
Children of Men 2006
Class of 1999 1990
Code 46 2003
Dark Metropolis 2010
Daybreakers 2010
Death Race 2008 Remake of the 1975 film, Death Race 2000.
Death Race 2000 1975
Demolition Man 1993
District 9 2009
District 13 2004
District 13: Ultimatum 2009 Sequel to the 2004 film, District 13.
Doomsday 2008
Dredd 2012
End of Evangelion The End of Evangelion 1997
Escape from L.A. 1996 Sequel to the 1981 film, Escape from New York.
Escape from New York 1981
Equilibrium 2002
Fahrenheit 451 1966 Based on the Ray Bradbury novel of the same name.
FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions 2004
Fortress 1993
Fortress 2: Re-Entry 2000 Sequel to the 1993 film, Fortress.
Gamer 2009
Gattaca 1997
Handmaid's Tale The Handmaid's Tale 1990
Harrison Bergeron 1995 A cable television movie adapted from the short story of the same name by Kurt Vonnegut.
Hunger Games The Hunger Games 2012 Based on the Suzanne Collins novel of the same name.
Idiocracy 2006
Island The Island 2005
In Time 2011
Judge Dredd 1995 Based on the comic of the same name.
Kin-dza-dza! 1986
La jetée 1962
Land of the Blind 2006
Lockout 2012
Logan's Run 1976
Matrix The Matrix 1999 The first installment of The Matrix trilogy.
Matrix Reloaded The Matrix Reloaded 2003 The second installment of The Matrix trilogy.
Matrix Revolutions The Matrix Revolutions 2003 The third installment of The Matrix trilogy.
Maximum Shame 2010
Megiddo: The Omega Code 2 1999
Metropolis 1927 By Fritz Lang.
Minority Report 2002 Based on Philip K. Dick's short story, The Minority Report.
Never Let Me Go 2010 Based on Kazuo Ishiguro's 2005 novel of the same name.
Nineteen Eighty-Four 1984 Based on the George Orwell novel of the same name.
Omega Man The Omega Man 1971
Priest 2011
Privilege 1967
Punishment Park 1971
Revengers Tragedy 2003
Running Man The Running Man 1987 Loosely adapted from Stephen King's novel of the same name.
Screamers 1995 Based on Philip K. Dick's short story Second Variety.
Serenity 2005 A continuation of the canceled Fox television series Firefly by Joss Whedon.
Silent Running 1972
Sleeper 1973
Sleeping Dogs 1977
Soldier 1998
Southland Tales 2007
Soylent Green 1973 Based on the Harry Harrison novel Make Room! Make Room!.
Strange Days 1995
THX 1138 1971
Trial The Trial 1962
Total Recall 2012
Turkey Shoot 1982
Ultraviolet 2006
V for Vendetta 2006 Based on Alan Moore's graphic novel.
Welt am Draht 1973
Z.P.G. 1972
Æon Flux 2005 Adapted from the MTV animated series of the same name, created by Peter Chung.


Alien controlled dystopias (both governmental and societal)

Alien controlled dystopias are separate from general dystopias in that they are enacted on a people by an outside invader rather than members of the oppressed's own species.

Corporate based dystopias (nongovernmental)

A corporate based dystopia is similar to a government/societal dystopia with the exception that the repressing power is a private company rather than a government. These stories generally include the motive of commercial profit instead of, or in addition to, the benefits of increased power and authority.

Cyberpunk/techno

Cyberpunk is a science fiction subset, characterized by a focus on "high tech and low life" where advanced technology itself (not AI) is dystopian. "Classic cyberpunk characters were marginalized, alienated loners who lived on the edge of society in generally dystopic futures where daily life was impacted by rapid technological change, an ubiquitous datasphere of computerized information, and invasive modification of the human body."[2]

Post-apocalyptic

Post-apocalyptic storylines take place in the aftermath of a disaster - typically nuclear holocaust, war, plague - that justifies a civilization's turn towards dystopian like behaviors. Although not a requisite, most post-apocalyptic visions have a man-made cause.

Miscellaneous

Disputed dystopias

See also

References

  1. ^ Cacotopia (κακό, caco = bad) was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 19th century works ([1], [2])
  2. ^ Notes Toward a Postcyberpunk Manifesto - Person, Lawrence first published in Nova Express issue 16, 1998, later posted to Slashdot
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