Contemporary dystopian movies pull us into a horrifying universe. Wealthy people watching poor children fight to death for entertainment. Immense climate change leading to astronauts looking for another planet. Women’s bodies and reproduction being controlled by the government.
Life in the United States increasingly feels like one of these films.
The Hunger Games is a novel and hit film about an annual game where one boy and girl from 12 districts are lottery selected to “play” in battle for their life, for the rich elites.
President Donald Trump announced that for his birthday this fall, he will pick one male and one female high school student from each state and territory for a sports event. Trump has also mentioned that this summer, he hopes to gather the best fighters in the world to fight at the White House. It is clear that Trump is interested in witnessing competitions for entertainment which clearly mirrors the elites in The Hunger Games who also find their brutal game entertaining. This mirror is disturbing due to the fact that this game is something we have never seen in U.S. history.
Image Source: Heures
The Hunger Games also has horrific scenes of public beatings throughout protests. Similarly, on the streets of Minneapolis, there have been two deaths by ICE in the midst of protests.
In The Hunger Games the wealthy citizens are often shown in elaborate costumes displaying their wealth. In today’s society there is the Met Gala where celebrities spend a fortune on unique fashion, mirroring the capital’s norms. This is alarming due to the growing display of wealth among the elites. Within President Trump’s presidency and the past years of the Met Gala, it is noticeable the similarities they share with the dystopian film: The Hunger Games.
The novel and tv series, The Handmaid’s Tale centers around a future universe where women are captured and used as property for reproduction. In modern society with the overturn of Roe v. Wade, certain states now have the right to ban abortion. The ban of abortion is justified through moral and religious reasoning, despite undermining economic and health realities. In the dystopian world of Gilead, they also justify their objectification and rape of women though religion.
Image Source: Deadline
Handmaids were told they should be honored to serve for the elites and suffer rape. Modern bans also dismiss consent, demanding that women must carry pregnancies regardless of how they occurred. The overall decision if a woman is allowed to have an abortion or not is in the hands of lawmakers, similarly to in Gilead how the government had complete control over these women’s bodies and lives.
The film The Truman Show shares the story of Truman Burbank and how he slowly discovers that his whole life has been staged and watched globally without his consent. In today’s age, people find it highly entertaining to watch reality tv, youtube vlogs, scrolling endlessly through what people share online, and stalking people’s social media. We find it addicting knowing everything about everyone.
On Snapchat we can see everyone’s location, on TikTok we can see everything people repost, and on Instagram we can stalk endless photos of people’s lives. Similarly in the Truman Show, the whole world fed off of how interesting it was constantly seeing a person live their life. Despite times when he either had a boring or a monumental day; the world was addicted. There are endless Real Housewives shows, Kardashian seasons, and romance shows that have people seated for hours eager to know more about people’s lives.
The hit sci-fi dystopian film Interseller displays the story of the search for a new habitable planet due to extreme climate change on Earth 40 years from now. The climate had little oxygen, lifeless oceans, and bare mountains. In the present day, Earth has been reaching higher temperatures every year. Ice melting in Antarctica, severe annual wildfires, and rising sea levels. Our planet is heading in a negative direction, closer to that state that Interstellar was in. NASA has been researching habitable planets, possibly for us to live on in the far future or visit.
I encourage people to reflect on the state of our country and how it resembles dystopian films. I urge you to reflect on climate change, the wealthy elite’s power over society, social media, and our current presidential state.
Cover image source: Business Insider