Dystopia is often a society set in the future that has degraded into a repressive and controlled state, often under the control of some form of government but not always. A dystopian society can also be a planned structured society in which the conditions of life are deliberately made miserable. Some examples of these can be characterized by poverty, oppression, violence, disease, scarcity, and/or pollution for the benefit of a select minority or some unnatural societal goal. I am going to discuss how the short story “The Lottery," by Shirley Jackson and the film Demolition Man directed by Marco Brambilla exhibits dystopian.
In the short story “They Lottery” the author makes a society where the town people are willing to kill each other in order to preserve a their idea of balance and success. The town in "The Lottery,” have employed what they sees as the fairest way to continue this ancient tradition. “The Lottery” is a story of misguidance and ultimate horror. The way the plot is structured takes the audience from one extreme (a very sunny, happy day) to another (a ghastly murder).
The town is described as a simple and beautiful one, with children running and playing, happy to be out of school for the summer. The reader is led to believe that everything is perfect and the community is gathering for a raffle of some kind. After all, the story’s title is “The Lottery”. Lotteries have a positive connotation in most peoples’ mind. Lotteries are usually grouped with things such as money or winning of some sort.
The community don’t seem to be looking out for its own people or think this could be a unrealistic tradition. The townspeople in “The Lottery” never give so much as a “sorry but we’re super crowded” excuse as to why the drawing is held or how it ever got started; the townspeople participate voluntarily and without any need for a reason. They go about their day as if they the stoning never happened. I would say this is the best example
Cited: Johnson, Michael. "Dystopian Nightmares." Expert Advice & Forums on Health, Home Improvement, Finance & More. 2011. Web. 07 Feb. 2011. <http://factoidz.com/dystopian-nightmares/>. "Dystopia." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. 2009. Web. 07 Feb. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dystopia>.