Post Views: 289
Dystopian media has been incredibly influential since the genre was kickstarted by Jack Londons 1907 novel, The Iron Heel, and Yevgeny Zamyatins 1924 novel, We. These two works are known as the grandfathers of the futuristic, dystopian genre and have inspired some of the best-known dystopian literature that has come out of the 20th century.
They influenced books like 1984 by George Orwell, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and Anthem by Ayn Rand, who have all made a similar mark on the literary world with their compelling visions of extreme societal distress and protagonists that endure and, sometimes, dissent against those in immoral positions of power over them.
However, theres an accompanying stigma that marks works like these as exaggerated, near caricatures. These novels are seen as unrealistic by young people, becoming fantastical rather than cautionary.
That was until the resurgence of dystopian media in young adult fiction in recent years.
Due to works like The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Divergent by Veronica Roth and The Maze Runner by James Dashner, this genre has become an integral part of entertainment. These titles made the early 2010s the start of the dystopian genre renaissance.
Their messages were popularized through their depictions of fascinating characters, compelling storytelling and captivating romances. These authors were able to simultaneously horrify their readers with their portrayals of corrupt governments and brutal mistreatment, while assuaging them with relatable protagonists.
As the 2010s have demonstrated, inserting like-minded characters as the rebellious heroes fighting against injustice has made these tales of woe more digestible to young readers. The novels accessed young peoples way of thinking about their own impact on society and how the righteous should always prevail over corruption. The fact that movie releases were usually coupled with these works allowed this message to reach even larger audiences.
As todays social climate takes a significant turn toward public unrest, young people have been making their voices heard on the streets, on social media and in their everyday lives. For example, the Black Lives Matter movement (BLM) has gained massive traction in the past few months since the murder of George Floyd.
Though massive social change has become prevalent in the last few years, the BLM movement has incited an extraordinarily vocal response due to the publics unwillingness to lose any more Black lives to police brutality.
Though there have been cases of vandalism and looting, the majority of protests have stayed peaceful and have only escalated into riots when police have instigated violence at demonstrations.
Even with the threat of carnage, along with the risk of contracting COVID-19, thousands of young people continue to brave the streets to prove their dedication to the cause.
So, is this idealistic commitment to the movement a learned behavior from our favorite authors from our youth? Did dystopian media show us too many possibilities for a darker reality and turn our generation into extreme advocates for change?
Most importantly, should this relationship be something to fear?
As the country continues to take a turn for the worse and U.S. politicians resemble the oppressive forces that are depicted in these harrowing dystopian novels, a connection begins to form between young peoples activism and the media theyve consumed.
The Washington Post and Psyche Magazine documented a 2019 study based on an assortment of college students. They tested these students opinions on political activism and how they responded to acts of violence and riots in the name of a greater cause.
One group was exposed to aggressive scenes from The Hunger Games beforehand, another was subjected to excitable scenes from The Fast and the Furious franchise and the last one was subjected to no media.
Assistant Professor Calvert Jones wrote, Dystopian fiction shaped peoples ethical judgments. It heightened their willingness to justify radical political action compared with the no-media controls. Equally violent and high-adrenaline action scenes from Fast and Furious had no such effect. So violent imagery alone could not explain our findings.
Jones specifies that participants shown rebellious scenes were around 8% more likely to agree to view radical and violent protest as understandable. This focus groups revealed that the fiction made them feel ready for action that even ordinary people can challenge the status quo and rebel against the system.
While the study didnt necessarily prove that these students were more likely to overthrow the government, it proved that dystopian media increased their openness to extreme forms of political action.
So, is this reaction something to fear?
It seems that society considers this reaction a threat to maintaining public peace. This belief was evidenced in 2017 through the U.S. Department of Educations efforts to ban a multitude of dystopian books in schools. This collection included Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood as well as 1984 and Brave New World.
All these novels contain a message of defiance against repression and each has been continuously questioned by authority figures as too dark to be trusted in the hands of young people.
Dystopian media may play a role in young individuals acceptance of radical political action against tyrannical forces. However, that does not mean it is the only factor.
Though this is a generation that is out on the streets calling for change, it is a group of people that have been preceded by older generations. Before BLM, there was the civil rights movement, and before #MeToo, there was the pro-choice and womens suffrage movement.
Change was incited by our ancestors before us, just as it will be for our children and grandchildren.
There will always be a push for the betterment of society from those who can envision an improved future. Or, in this case, fear a graver one.
See original here:
In Times of Crisis, Is Dystopian Media Dangerous or Inspirational? - Study Breaks
- Voices for Reason Blog | The Ayn Rand Institute - December 9th, 2016 [December 9th, 2016]
- Media, morality and the neighbors cow: When did Ayn Rand become the ... - December 14th, 2016 [December 14th, 2016]
- How Ayn Rands theories destroyed Never Trump conservatism - December 14th, 2016 [December 14th, 2016]
- Ayn Rand's Progressive Readers are Misguided | National Review - December 14th, 2016 [December 14th, 2016]
- The Daily 202: Ayn Rand-acolyte Donald Trump stacks his cabinet with ... - December 14th, 2016 [December 14th, 2016]
- The scary ghost of Ayn Rand looms over the Trump cabinet - December 18th, 2016 [December 18th, 2016]
- Fountainhead of bad ideas: Ayn Rands fanboys take the reins ... - December 18th, 2016 [December 18th, 2016]
- Ayn Rand Institute eStore : Ayn Rand - January 11th, 2017 [January 11th, 2017]
- Ayn Rand Made US a Selfish, Greedy Nation - January 20th, 2017 [January 20th, 2017]
- Ayn Rand and the Invincible Cult of Selfishness on the ... - January 24th, 2017 [January 24th, 2017]
- The Ayn Rand scene Sajid Javid reads every year - Spectator.co.uk - February 9th, 2017 [February 9th, 2017]
- The Ayn Rand in Donald Trump: The Virtue of America First | The ... - American Spectator - February 13th, 2017 [February 13th, 2017]
- Would Ayn Rand Have Cast President Trump As A Villain? | Zero ... - February 15th, 2017 [February 15th, 2017]
- Jerome Tuccille, Author of It Usually Begins With Ayn Rand and More, RIP - Reason (blog) - February 18th, 2017 [February 18th, 2017]
- Ayn Rand Contra Nietzsche - The Objective Standard - February 22nd, 2017 [February 22nd, 2017]
- Judging Milo Yiannopoulos, ft. Ayn Rand (Episode #24 of MY PODCAST) - ChicagoNow (blog) - February 23rd, 2017 [February 23rd, 2017]
- How Much Ayn Rand Is There in Trump's 'America First' Foreign ... - American Spectator - March 1st, 2017 [March 1st, 2017]
- Who Is Ayn Rand? - The Objective Standard - The Objective Standard - March 8th, 2017 [March 8th, 2017]
- Cheer Up, Justin Amash! There's No Need to Cry Over One Missed Vote. - Slate Magazine (blog) - March 11th, 2017 [March 11th, 2017]
- No sympathy: How Ayn Rand's elitism lives on in the Trump ... - Salon - Salon - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- How Ayn Rand's 'elitism' lives on in the Donald Trump ... - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- Mick Mulvaney's snake oil: A blend of bad science, bad math and really bad politics - Salon - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- Make the magic money tree work for everyone, not just the rich - The Guardian - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- Neo-Tech Views On Ayn Rand and Objectivism | Good Herald - Good Herald - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- Elate's Revival of Ayn Rand's NIGHT OF JANUARY 16TH Opens 6/3 - Broadway World - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- Is Germany Blowing It? - The Awl - June 7th, 2017 [June 7th, 2017]
- Letter: Deregulation is not always best - Aiken Standard - June 11th, 2017 [June 11th, 2017]
- How the Dark Web's Dread Pirate Roberts Went Down - New York Times - June 12th, 2017 [June 12th, 2017]
- Trump's Credibility Problem - National Review - June 12th, 2017 [June 12th, 2017]
- Trump & Ryan's (Tryan's) Co-Conspiracy in Moral Bankruptcy - The Good Men Project (blog) - June 12th, 2017 [June 12th, 2017]
- Shall we all hang separately? - Nevada Appeal - June 14th, 2017 [June 14th, 2017]
- PBS Is Airing Right-Wing-Sponsored School Privatization Propaganda - The National Memo (blog) - June 16th, 2017 [June 16th, 2017]
- South Fayette educator and coach has the music in him - Observer-Reporter - June 16th, 2017 [June 16th, 2017]
- Tech Talk: Israel's Fortune 500 companies - The Jerusalem Post - June 16th, 2017 [June 16th, 2017]
- The Fountainhead: American Eclectic - Patheos (blog) - June 17th, 2017 [June 17th, 2017]
- NY Times, After 'Corrections,' Still Has Palin-Giffords 'Targeting' Myth in Scalise Shooting Editorial - NewsBusters (press release) (blog) - June 17th, 2017 [June 17th, 2017]
- Both parties responsible for economic failings - Alpena News - June 18th, 2017 [June 18th, 2017]
- Wayne LaPierre, Tomi Lahren, and a Rally Cry From Young Conservative Women - D Magazine - June 20th, 2017 [June 20th, 2017]
- Goodbye Reason, Hello Violence - Townhall - June 21st, 2017 [June 21st, 2017]
- Selfie by Will Storr review are the young really so self-obsessed? - The Guardian - June 21st, 2017 [June 21st, 2017]
- If You Saw Uber's CEO Testify Before the DC Council, His Downfall May Come as No Surprise - HuffPost - June 21st, 2017 [June 21st, 2017]
- Working toward graduation: 50 SPS students participate in credit recovery program - Stillwater News Press - June 21st, 2017 [June 21st, 2017]
- Ayn Rand | American author | Britannica.com - June 21st, 2017 [June 21st, 2017]
- Travis Kalanick may have resigned as Uber's CEO but he isn't going away - Washington Post - June 22nd, 2017 [June 22nd, 2017]
- 'Fargo' Season 3 finale recap: A mostly satisfying, but ambiguous ending - Baltimore Sun - June 22nd, 2017 [June 22nd, 2017]
- London Theater Review: Topical Drama 'Terror' - Variety - June 23rd, 2017 [June 23rd, 2017]
- Paul Ryan conflicted by Jesus Christ and Ayn Rand -- Norman Jensen - Madison.com - June 24th, 2017 [June 24th, 2017]
- BOB BARR: Goodbye reason, Hello violence - MDJOnline.com - June 26th, 2017 [June 26th, 2017]
- Lowell Thomas, the Original 'Voice of America' - The Weekly Standard - June 26th, 2017 [June 26th, 2017]
- This Classic Colonial Revival in Westchester Has Impressive Literary Ties - Mansion Global - June 26th, 2017 [June 26th, 2017]
- The Continuing Scourge of Tenant Harassment: If You Don't Like It, Move. - The Nonprofit Quarterly (registration) - June 27th, 2017 [June 27th, 2017]
- The least of these - Ashland Daily Press - June 30th, 2017 [June 30th, 2017]
- Why can't self-satisfied liberals admit that conservatives care about people, too? - The Week Magazine - June 30th, 2017 [June 30th, 2017]
- Letter: Things aren't going so well under President Trump - Detroit Lakes Online - July 2nd, 2017 [July 2nd, 2017]
- J. Talbot Manvel: Declaration of Independence joined morality and law - CapitalGazette.com - July 2nd, 2017 [July 2nd, 2017]
- I watched the sun set on my Sunset Boulevard romance - Los Angeles Times - July 2nd, 2017 [July 2nd, 2017]
- Republican states raising taxes, not lowering them | The Seattle Times - The Seattle Times - July 3rd, 2017 [July 3rd, 2017]
- Takers and Fakers - New York Times (blog) - July 14th, 2017 [July 14th, 2017]
- BOB BARR: Violent tribalism on display in Charlottesville - MDJOnline.com - August 24th, 2017 [August 24th, 2017]
- Is There Really an 'Insidious Libertarian-To-Alt-Right Pipeline'? - Reason (blog) - August 24th, 2017 [August 24th, 2017]
- 30 important life lessons Dirty Dancing taught us - EW.com - August 24th, 2017 [August 24th, 2017]
- Ayn Rand - Salon.com - August 24th, 2017 [August 24th, 2017]
- Anthem Essay Contest Ayn Rand Education - August 24th, 2017 [August 24th, 2017]
- What's Wrong With America? - Falls Church News Press - August 25th, 2017 [August 25th, 2017]
- Why Stephen K. Bannon was such a failure - The Washington Post - Washington Post - August 25th, 2017 [August 25th, 2017]
- Movie Review: In Pattinson, 'Twilight' sidles up to Ratso Rizzo - The Providence Journal - August 25th, 2017 [August 25th, 2017]
- Why Mark Cuban and Kevin O'Leary read Ayn Rand - January 29th, 2018 [January 29th, 2018]
- How Hillary Clinton Is Like Ayn Rand | The Weekly Standard - March 16th, 2018 [March 16th, 2018]
- Ayn Rand's Ideas - An Overview | AynRand.org - June 23rd, 2018 [June 23rd, 2018]
- The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, Paperback | Barnes & Noble - July 16th, 2018 [July 16th, 2018]
- In Defense of Ayn Rand, Monster Under the Progressive Bed - July 21st, 2018 [July 21st, 2018]
- Ayn Rand Institute eStore - September 6th, 2018 [September 6th, 2018]
- Ayn Rand, Objectivism - The Atlas Society - November 23rd, 2018 [November 23rd, 2018]
- Here's how Ayn Rand helped turn the US into a selfish and ... - November 27th, 2018 [November 27th, 2018]
- Is There a Proof of Ayn Rand's Ethics? - November 27th, 2018 [November 27th, 2018]
- Ayn Rand raged against government benefits but grabbed ... - November 29th, 2018 [November 29th, 2018]
- President Obama Jabs At Ayn Rand, Knocks Himself Out - December 9th, 2018 [December 9th, 2018]
- Column: This is what happens when you take Ayn Rand seriously ... - February 16th, 2019 [February 16th, 2019]
- Ayn Rand - The New York Times - March 25th, 2019 [March 25th, 2019]
- Atlas Shrugged: (Centennial Edition) by Ayn Rand, Paperback ... - March 25th, 2019 [March 25th, 2019]