Whether you imagined yourself racing through the forest, dashing through mazes, or competing in the Hunger Games, we may have all experienced a dystopian novel that spoke to us in special ways, and maybe even helped form our personalities. But why? What makes this genre of novels so important and molding? Why is dystopia so important?
Dystopian novels urge us to challenge problematic systems in place and these timelines usually take place in the future. Books like The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, Divergent, The Giver, and Fahrenheit 451, are all examples of dystopia we probably consumed growing up, whether it was watching the movie series or reading the novels.
In fact, Dillingham Center at Ithaca College is putting on a theater production of The Giver. Stories like The Giver, stories of hope, embracing differences, and questioning society are so crucial to our world. Whether it’s in a movie, or a musical or play, these stories and their messages are important to hold onto and learn from, especially with our generation.
So much of our generation are trailblazers, unafraid to lead the way and carve a path that never existed before. Similar to the characters in these books, our generation has adopted these qualities: fighting back and confidently working for change. Aya Ouldilla, a youth activist explains her love for activism.“I think that anyone can be an activist, you just have to be driven and motivated. The rest falls in place for you, especially when you are passionate.” The fact that anyone can be an activist, is something that is implemented into these dystopian stories as well. Children and individuals of all ages are learning to stand up and fight back, which is truly inspiring to see, proving anyone can be an activist. It’s hard not to be moved by these fearless leaders, both in our world and the dystopian worlds we get lost in.
These stories and characters helped foster the children of our generation to become the protestors, fighters, and advocators they are today. Aya admits, “I would say dystopian books have influenced me to become the leader I am today. They have taught me to not follow the crowd and never be afraid to pave my own path toward justice and freedom.”
Abby Sullivan, a second-year student at Ithaca College and a social student activist, explains how dystopia was embedded in the playground games she’d play when she was younger. “The theme of our games was fighting back against some system of power. And I think that was the kind of general theme of a lot of children’s games, you know, whether you’re fighting back against an evil queen or something like that, you know, every kid is playing the good guy, and every kid is, most of the time, playing the underdog.”
Many dystopian novels revolve around a main character who, despite being intrinsically separated from their environment, find themselves surrounded by shared experience. It’s an affirming feeling to realize you’re not alone. Maybe that’s why so many of us once clung so tightly to our dystopian novels growing up, specifically in the early stages of middle school.
Abby also expressed admiration for characters like Peeta Mellark. A character who’s not your typical dystopian lead but someone who was really impactful for her. “I loved Peeta. I was kind of a Peeta girl because… he wasn’t, stereotypically, masculine. Actually, he just cooked bread, and he was really kind and wonderful and intelligent. And I love the kind of role reversal in that book.” Dystopian novels rejected the stereotypes, making sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen the badass female protagonist, whereas Peeta was her kind and loving male bread-baking friend. Peeta’s non-stereotypical masculinity and kindness taught young readers it’s okay to be who you are and urged them to look past the stereotypes that are baked into all media now and everywhere around us. In addition to his role reversal, Peeta taught Abby a valuable lesson. “??If it’s one thing that I’ve had to learn for myself is actually, in order to be impactful, you don’t need to be in charge.” A beautiful takeaway from the series and a lesson to hold onto forever.
Aside from the student protestors and advocators, dystopia was simply fun to read for other reasons. Dystopia helped children in elementary and middle school battle with the hardships of growing up. Noa Ran-Ressler, a senior at Ithaca College, recalls how dystopia helped her navigate her anxieties and insecurities early on in life. “ I was really struggling with self-image in late elementary school and early middle school. I didn’t know how to fit in or look like my classmates. I just knew I wanted to read a lot and I loved learning. I felt like the only one who genuinely loved school. To read those books and see how people could be different from their peers in a good way…. that was inspiring. I really needed that representation.”
For me personally, my mother certainly did not want me reading The Hunger Games even when I was at the sophisticated age of 14 years old. She’d rather me stick to Harry Potter and maybe Percy Jackson. She thought The Hunger Games was too violent, scary, and aggressive but her constant caution only made me want to read the books even more. The Hunger Games series became a symbol of a rebellious adventure I could pursue in secret, in the comfort of my room, with a book I took out myself from the library at school. It was freeing, and scary but exciting and the plot made me feel strong. Especially as a young girl.
But dystopia isn’t just for the youth. “Even now, I love the Divergent trilogy. I reread it when I got my wisdom teeth out last year and it’s actually very good, even in my twenties,” Noa says.
Dystopian worlds give us a world to escape in and imagine our lives for a second. It helps us realize that maybe our lives aren’t so bad because at least we aren’t volunteering ourselves as a tribute and forced to compete in a hardcore battle. Or maybe in some cases, a world like that sounds even better than the world we’re in today. It might be safe to say that these books awakened the rebel within us all. Filling us with excitement and the hope to seek out possibilities that may have not been created for us. These characters full of life and unique differences gave us a strange sense of comfort, and the courage to unapologetically continue being ourselves.
Everything we consume, from the books we read to the movies we watch, impacts our minds and perspectives even if it’s in the slightest way. Moving forward, it is so important to process what we consume and observe the way it can influence us, whether it’s for better or for worse. Especially the younger generations growing up today. Abby says, “It’s massive for children as they’re getting older and they are becoming victims to systems of indoctrination, that they have access to media that are pushing back on systems of power.”
Autumn is a second-year journalism and religious studies major who loves all the YA dystopian classics. They can be reached at [email protected]