The age of dystopia : one genre, our fears and our future

This book examines the recent popularity of the dystopian genre in literature and film, as well as connecting contemporary manifestations of dystopia to cultural trends and the implications of technological and social changes on the individual and society as a whole. Dystopia, as a genre, reflects our greatest fears of what the future might bring, based on analysis of the present. This book connects traditional dystopian works with their contexts and compares these with contemporary versions. It centers around two main Why is dystopia so popular now? And, why is dystopia so popular with young adult audiences? Since dystopia reflects the fears of society as a whole, this book will have broad appeal for any reader, and will be particularly useful to teachers in a variety of settings, such as in a high school or college-level classroom to teach dystopian literature, or in a comparative literature classroom to show how the genre has appeared in multiple locales at different times. Indeed, the books interdisciplinary nature allows it to be of use in classes focussing on politics, bioethics, privacy issues, womens studies, and any number of additional topics. Dystopia, as a genre, reflects our greatest fears of what the future might bring, based on analysis of the present. This book connects traditional dystopian works with their contexts and compares these with contemporary versions. This book examines the recent popularity of the dystopian genre in literature and film, as well as connecting contemporary manifestations of dystopia to cultural trends and the implications of technological and social changes on the individual and society as a whole. Dystopia, as a genre, reflects our greatest fears of what the future might bring, based on analysis of the present. This book connects traditional dystopian works with their contexts and compares these with contemporary versions. It centers around two main questions: Why is dystopia so popular now? And, why is dystopia so popular with young adult audiences?Since dystopia reflects the fears of society as a whole, this book will have broad appeal for any reader, and will be particularly useful to teachers in a variety of settings, such as in a high school or college-level classroom to teach dystopian literature, or in a comparative literature classroom to show how the genre has appeared in multiple locales at different times. Indeed, the book's interdisciplinary nature allows it to be of use in classes focussing on politics, bioethics, privacy issues, women's studies, and any number of additional topics Introduction / Louisa Mackay Demerjian -- Dystopia And The Promethean Nightmare / Riven Barton -- 'the People In The Chaos Cannot Learn' : Dystopian Vision In Atwood's Maddaddam Trilogy / Patricia Stapleton -- Victims Of Global Capitalism In Margaret Atwood's Dystopian Imaginary / Terra Walston Joseph -- Post-apocalypse, Post-human : Some Recent Dystopias / Karen F. Stein -- Dystopian Drama : Imagining Science Without Limitations / Jeanne Tiehen -- Narrating Trauma : The Value Of Violence In Ya Dystopian Fiction / Laura Poladian -- Who Are You When No One's Watching? : The Hunger Games, Surveillance And The Search For Self / Molly Brost -- The Hunger Games In The Arena Of Dystopian Literacy / Nicole Du Plessis -- What Makes A Young Adult Dystopian Hero? / Louisa Mackay Demerjian -- 'last Girl Alive' : Kirsty Murray's Dystopian Ya Novel Vulture's Gate / Charlotte Beyer. Edited By Louisa Mackay Demerjian. Includes Blbliographical References And Index. Table of Contents Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Contributors Index