Dystopian literature, passing faze or permanent sub-genre?
While dystopian literature, such as Huxley’s Brave New World and Orwell’s 1984, has been around for some time, it has recently gained a great deal of popularity due largely in part to The Hunger Games. Many book critics credit The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins as being the start of the so-called “new age dystopian literature.” Dystopian literature is defined as using science fiction elements to create a utopian society, where everything appears to be perfect but in reality, is not. The genre of dystopian literature has been most popular with teenagers and the popularity of The Hunger Games movie is a testament to that as well. But why the sudden rise in popularity for dystopian literature, especially with the teenage demographic?
Ms. Garcia, an English teacher at Nazareth recently started a Contemporary Literature class as an elective for student, with a focus on dystopian literature. She stated “that it is important for student to read the classics as well as contemporary literature.” When working to create a new, contemporary lit course, Ms. Garcia explained that the English department, like many teenagers, was drawn towards dystopian literature. “It was the most popular current genre we could think of because of books like The Hunger Games and Fahrenheit 451. Students gravitate towards them,” she stated.
Teenagers are drawn to the books because of relatable themes such as struggles and hardships and the value of beauty, strength, personality, and issues of authority and control. Teens also enjoy the genre “because it is a form of escapism for them” claimed Ms. Garcia. Students enjoy losing themselves in books, especially good books.
Kevin Saladino, a junior at Nazareth declared “kids like dystopian lit because they find comfort in stories of kids who have face greater challenges than they do.” Furthermore, they like to break away from the social norms and constructs of their everyday lives.
Nazareth junior Kiley Roache offered a different explanation for the sudden popularity of dystopian literature. She stated, “I think teens especially are drawn to dystopian literature because when you are a teen you are still trying to figure everything out and find yourself. It’s pretty daunting to have your whole life ahead of you, but in a way dystopian novels give you hope.”
Roache also thinks that the recent economic downturn has helped the genre as a whole, taking into consideration the time when The Hunger Games became popular, Roache explained that “combined with the popularity of the Hunger Games, there also was the decline of the economy, which made life a lot harder for a lot of teens. When things aren’t going well for people they don’t want to read about weak characters and pointless drama, they want to read about survivors who can handle circumstances worse than their own.”
When asked what their favorite dystopian literature book is, Roache and Ms Garcia said Divergent by Veronica Roth and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, respectively. With recent best sellers such as The Hunger Games and Divergent along with classics like Brave New World and Fahrenheit 451, dystopian literature has proved that it will be a pop-culture mainstay for years to come.