'Dystopia' is an inversion of Sir Thomas More's 'utopia'

'Dystopia,' explained

John Stuart Mill introduced the term "dystopia" in 1868 to critique harmful policies, calling it the opposite of utopia, or an ideal world. The concept grew as industrialization and totalitarian regimes exposed societal flaws, inspiring works like George Orwell's "1984" to warn against oppression and moral decay.

The word 'dystopia' was first used in 1868

John Stuart Mill, an English philosopher, economist, and politician, uttered the word at the House of Commons while criticizing what he considered to be the government’s insufficient land policy for the Irish, saying, “What is commonly called Utopian is something too good to be practicable; but what they appear to favour is too bad to be practicable.”

Dystopian literature is focused on oppressive societies

The subgenre can come in many forms, but its shared traits are the way it reflects the anxieties and satirizes the utopian thinking of its writers’ societies. One of the earliest examples is Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels."

Dystopian literature is a form of speculative fiction

The classification includes any fiction that "speculates" about how society might operate in the future or in contexts different from the present reality. The genre is an umbrella term for science fiction, fantasy, alternative historical fiction, dystopian and utopian fiction, and apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction.

Dystopian satire became more prominent in the 20th century

Although "anti-utopian" stories have always existed, the international conflicts of World War I and World War II inspired some of dystopian literature’s most influential novels, like Yevgeny Zamyatin’s "We," Aldous Huxley’s "Brave New World," and George Orwell’s "1984." In the decades to follow, more writers would follow the example of those early novels, using the dystopian model to critique artificial intelligence, climate change, and more.

Political science professors say dystopias are defined by government coercion

Shauna Shames and Amy Atchison, two political science professors and the authors of "Survive and Resist: The Definitive Guide to Dystopian Politics,” argue that defining a real-world dystopia depends on whether a government is using coercion to protect its citizens or to control them. Shames and Atchison seek to provide a more nuanced understanding of the word “dystopia,” one they note they began hearing more and more as the COVID-19 pandemic progressed.

Why dystopian literature remains popular

Yale English professor Joe Cleary argues that dystopian literature’s continued relevance is due to a torrent of additional societal anxieties and that the streaming adaptations of dystopian classics "The Handmaid’s Tale" and "The Man in the High Castle" have expanded the genre’s popularity, introducing new audiences to its tropes.

Critic Neil Postman argued modern technology is dystopian

Cultural critic Neil Postman argued in 1985's "Amusing Ourselves to Death" that mass media had made the dystopia of Huxley's "Brave New World" a reality. In 1992, he published "Technopoly," a wider critique of the utopian visions of technology or, as Postman calls it, "all of the machinery that takes people out of public arenas and keeps them fixed in their homes."

What it means to call something 'Orwellian'

The adjective often refers to anything that resembles the dystopian governments of George Orwell, usually a state like the one in "1984" that monitors its citizens to ensure compliance. But as this video essay from Noah Tavlin makes clear, the more precise definition is a society that redefines language to control thought.

Aldous Huxley, author of 'Brave New World,' wrote to his former student, George Orwell, after the release of '1984,' suggesting that Orwell's vision of dystopia was misguided.

Dystopian narratives have influenced real-life extremists

J.M. Berger, a senior research fellow at Middlebury’s Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism, traced how terrorist organizations have latched on to dystopian narratives, with some groups even embracing the texts’ lexicons and iconographies.

George Orwell's '1984' is one of the most famous dystopian works

Orwell's life experiences, from living among the poor to witnessing the rise of authoritarian regimes, deeply shaped his worldview. His iconic works, "Animal Farm" and "1984," offered stark warnings about power, control, and propaganda, making him one of the most enduring voices against totalitarianism.

Science fiction or new technology?

Dystopian literature is no longer relegated to the page, with innovations like the Tesla Cybertruck and Meta virtual reality headsets mirroring the aesthetics of texts like "The Running Man" and "Neuromancer." In this essay, Casey Michael Henry argues that the images from these works remain while their messages have faded.

A visual guide to Hollywood dystopias and their real-world locations

Even the most dire dystopias are grounded in the real world. That's especially true with dystopian movies, which turn real cities into near-future nightmares. This guide from Atlas Obscura takes readers on a tour through some of the most recognizable, from "Blade Runner" (filmed in Los Angeles) to "Total Recall" (Mexico City, Mexico), "The Matrix" (Sydney, Australia), and more.

Sci-fi writer Jeff VanderMeer writes dystopian fiction about the environment

Noted science fiction writer Jeff VanderMeer discusses his 2014 novel "Annihilation," which uses climate change as a dystopian frame. VanderMeer notes that he’s not interested in cynicism, even though that’s how most people view dystopian literature. “I’m not a fan of fiction that’s totally hopeless,” VanderMeer says. “You find ways of documenting the world as it is and you wind up redefining utopia and dystopia.”

Where to start with dystopian literature master Octavia Butler

Rather than simply forecasting events, which she managed with startling accuracy, Butler used dystopian science fiction to explore racial and environmental issues, leaving behind a body of work that was both innovative and thought-provoking. This guide will show you where to begin.

Orwell warned readers about how abuse of language can lead to dystopias

In his 1946 essay "Politics and the English Language," Orwell argues that language is the primary tool of political control and is "designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind." The essay warns readers that how they use and consume language will dictate what they permit—or prohibit—in society.

Why school boards ban dystopian books

Journalist Ali Velshi analyzes the lasting appeal of Lois Lowry's "The Giver" and George Orwell's "1984," two dystopian novels that have courted controversy since their publications. Beyond his interpretations, though, Velshi wants to understand why school boards perennially ban these books—and what makes them so fascinating for adolescent readers. In his search, he talks to Lowry about the lasting influence of her novel and to Orwell expert James McCallister about the prescient political portrait in "1984."

The word ‘fantasy’ wasn't used to describe the genre until the 20th century

The word—at least as a word used to describe fiction—didn’t appear in the Oxford English Dictionary until 1949. Scholars believe that’s due to the arrival of the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, an influential publication, and the rise in fantasy’s popularity following World War II.

JRR Tolkien believed fairy tales needed dramatic reversals of fortune

Tolkien coined the term "eucatastrophe" to define what he believed as an essential key to good storytelling: “The consolation of fairy-stories [is] the joy of the happy ending: or more correctly of the good catastrophe, the sudden joyous ‘turn.'"

Dystopian books have grown especially popular with younger audiences

In the late 2000s, Suzanne Collins’s dystopian "The Hunger Games," a young adult book series where impoverished children are pitted against one another for entertainment, spent over five years on The New York Times bestseller list.

The word 'dude' was originally used as an insult

Although the actual origin of the word is unknown, stymologists found the first recorded use in the United States was in the 1880s and referred to a young man, usually from the East Coast, who was overly concerned with his appearance. "Dude ranches" were an informal name for the ranches out West that catered to these types of men.

Hear 2 literature professors unpack the legacy of 'Animal Farm'

The University of Oxford's David Dwan—a professor of English literature and intellectual history—is an Orwell scholar who has written about the author's politics, especially as they relate to "Animal Farm." In this conversation with Dr. Nathan Waddell, from the University of Birmingham, UK, Dwan explores how framing the novella as a beast fable both made it more accessible and allowed it to be overly simplified.

George Orwell: What is fascism?

This 1944 article by George Orwell attempts to answer the question, "What is fascism?" Orwell's book Animal Farm was published at about the same time at the article, and he penned 1984, a book with anti-totalitarianism sentiments, a few years afterward. In this article, Orwell argues that the term "fascism" has become near "meaningless" due to being essentially demoted to a swearword.

Mapping fiction's imagined breakdowns of the US after apocalypse

Post-apocalyptic fiction in the US is at least a century old, and how the future is envisioned reflects contemporary anxieties and divisions. This piece examines the various creative maps birthed from the tradition from Jack London's 1912 "The Scarlet Plague," a pandemic novel set in 2073, through Stephen King's "The Stand", dystopian "The Hunger Games," and visions of civil war.

Early English fantasy writers built on horror and Gothic texts

After the success of 19th-century books like Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” and Robert Louis Stevenson’s “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” readers were eager for more stories that deviated from realism. Early 20th-century texts like George MacDonald’s “Phantastes” and Lord Dunsany’s “The King of Elfland’s Daughter” met the moment, laying the groundwork for the fantasy genre.

James Joyce's legendary epic novel 'Ulysses' is loosely based on Homer's 'Odyssey,' though the writer later said that conceit was mostly for marketing purposes.

Browse a fan-made 'Newspeak Dictionary'

In Orwell's "1984," citizens of Oceania are expected to use Newspeak, a form of English that limits abstract thought and reinforces the government's version of reality. This satirical dictionary of the language demonstrates how Orwell constructed a lexicon for his fictional world.

T.S. Eliot rejected George Orwell's 'Animal Farm,' suggesting that the despotic pigs might be the best leaders for the farm.

The word 'punk' originally meant 'female prostitute'

The Oxford English Dictionary records the first usage before 1575. Shakespeare used the word in his play “Measure for Measure,” with one character suggesting another “may be a Puncke.” Over time, the word acquired additional meanings. By the 20th century, it was used as an insult for a young man.

'The grotesque' describes a feature of Gothic literature

The term harkens back to decorative aspects of Gothic architecture, including mythical creatures like gargoyles. In literature, the grotesque describes similarly monstrous characters and situations.

Fantasy is heavily influenced by myths, legends, and folk tales

In fantasy, anything is possible, mirroring the supernatural worlds of history’s earliest stories. The narrative voice of fantasy is often similar to early tales, too, with an affinity for the magisterial rather than the contemporary.

Truth joined a utopian project in the early 1840s

The Northampton Association of Education and Industry was a brief utopian community in Massachusetts that united abolitionists, reformers, and intellectuals. Truth lived and worked alongside William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass; this helped to launch her career as a public speaker and activist.

The identity of the poet Homer remains a mystery, with some scholars arguing that he never really existed.

The word 'vertigo' derives from the Latin 'vertere,' meaning to turn

Beyond the word's origin, this article makes clear that fuzzy definitions of the disorder make it confusing for patients to describe it.

How 'Star Wars' changed science fiction

The popularity of "Star Wars" shifted the market away from the more literary, and sometimes cynical, science fiction of the 1960s and '70s. In the wake of George Lucas' space opera, publishers and studios wanted similarly optimistic adventure stories. In time, though, writers like William Gibson would react against that and, in turn, create the "cyber punk" subgenre.

Ursula K. Le Guin worked to dismantle fantasy's clichés

The author is one of the genre’s most legendary names, constructing high fantasies like “The Earthsea Cycle” that detail intricate new worlds. In 2004, she delivered a lecture criticizing books and movies that rely on a simple formula: white characters, Medieval settings, and a battle between good and evil. “Whenever I find a fantasy that is set in a genuinely imagined society and culture instead of this lazy-minded, recycled hokum,” she said, “I feel like setting off fireworks.”

In 'Frankenstein,' Mary Shelley questioned both Romantic and Enlightenment ideals

The classic monster story is a richly philosophical tale about the role of technology, written by Shelley at the age of 18. This podcast episode explores Shelley's deeper intentions with the story and debunks some of the popular misconceptions about its plot and meaning.

A 'third place' is a sociological term for a communal space that isn't a home or a workplace.

Fan fiction is an unauthorized reinterpretation of a copyrighted story

Writers have always reinterpreted and retold others' stories. (John Milton, for example, used characters from the Bible in "Paradise Lost.") Fan fiction, though, refers to unauthorized, creative retellings of copyrighted stories intended for other fans.

The word 'serendipity' was coined by 18th-century writer Horace Walpole and is based on 'Serendip,' a historical Sanskrit name for Sri Lanka.

Lord Byron lives on through the Byronic Hero trope

Brooding introspection, rebelliousness, and a troubled past define the Byronic Hero, named after an archetype made famous by Romantic poet Lord Byron. This video dives into the romantic rebel's origins, why he’s so compelling, and how the character type persists in modern media.

A pop culture taxonomy of the Byronic hero

The Byronic hero, a moody but ultimately noble archetype credited to Lord Byron, isn’t just a fixture of romanticism: the character type can still be found throughout popular culture. Look no further than this detailed explainer from TV Tropes, which illustrates the Byronic hero’s characteristics and appearances in different media.

Fantasy is a genre that relies on the supernatural

Fantasy is a literary genre that embraces supernatural and magical elements. While the stories often follow common narrative archetypes, like a quest, they frequently take place in elaborately constructed worlds, which sometimes have their own complex physics, lifeforms, and societies.

Why both the left and the right use 'Animal Farm' as an allegory

Figures from both ends of the political spectrum have claimed Orwell's novella as their own, sometimes ignoring inconvenient aspects of the plot or details of Orwell's biography. This analysis of those political reactions explores why the text is so malleable.

JRR Tolkien believed fantasy literature was an entirely different world

Tolkien effectively invented modern fantasy, which often relies on an intricate universe, complete with its own languages, cultures, lifeforms, physics, and systems. When an author did this effectively, he called it “Faërie”—a sort of enchantment that transports the reader into the fictional world.

Twain read (and lampooned) classic literature

Ever the ironist, Twain claimed to have “ no liking for novels or stories.” Obviously, that was untrue: He read widely, devouring books by Charles Dickens, slave narratives, and texts on astronomy. He also loved John Milton’s “Paradise Lost,” which he called “something everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read.”

How upheavals in accepted scientific theories helped popularize the term 'paradigm'

When Thomas Kuhn published "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" in 1962, he described the history of science as comprising periods of "normal science" where these accepted frameworks—paradigms—gradually accumulate anomalies until they cannot describe nature. Revolutionary science, such as the development of a new theory, results in a paradigm shift, another term Kuhn helped popularize. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

The term “Middle Ages” was invented by Renaissance thinkers to belittle the era

The label “Middle Ages” reflects Renaissance writers’ admiration for ancient Greece and Rome, not medieval reality. They frame the post-Roman centuries as a cultural backslide—a view later reinforced by Edward Gibbon and modernized as the “Dark Ages” myth.

After the USSR's fall, many experts believed liberal democracy had permanently prevailed

Political scientist Francis Fukuyama argued in 1992 that liberal democracy and market capitalism had defeated their ideological opponents and would eventually spread everywhere—a thesis he called "the end of history." Subsequent decades complicated that claim.