The Why of Dystopian

When people find out that I love to read I am often asked what my favorite genre is. This is not a question that can be answered easily. It’s the same for questions like “What’s your favorite color?”, “What’s your favorite food?” etc. Perhaps some people can quickly and easily answer these questions without the slightest doubt. I am not one of these people. It’s like saying “Which of your five senses would you like to use today?” Hhhmmmm, I choose all, please. Must I pick just one?

That being said, I do have some favorite genres. I used to classify these for myself, like some mini Dewey Decimal system in my brain, and strove to make sure I was reading from several genres at once. These days it’s not as easy. I’m much older and I’ve read more . . . much, much more. Authors cross genre lines and once new books become “classics”. I read genres that never had a name in my youth; one of my favorites is Dystopian Future. Here is what Wikipedia says about dystopian fiction, “Dystopian fiction (sometimes referred to as apocalyptic literature) is the opposite of Utopian: creation of an utterly horrible or degraded society that is generally headed to an irreversible oblivion, or dystopia.” Sounds lovely, eh? Who would want to read such a thing?!

I would. I do. While I can’t entirely pinpoint the draw, I believe it lies somewhere in the most basic of human needs: hope. It eases me somehow to hear of someone who has it way worse than me that still has hope. People who still fight for good, find allies, make the world better. I believe God instilled this need in us, so we would look to Him. There are many dystopian stories in the Bible, maybe that’s where the love starts. God uses people for His good. Writers are people, they can be used. Even if there is no mention of God or faith, no hint of religion or higher powers . . . books can point you that way.

A large amount of the books that fall into this genre are classified as Young Adult (YA). This doesn’t mean they appeal to only the young, it means simply that the protagonist of the story is usually an adolescent, teen or early twenty-something. I have two opinions on why this is: 1) young adults today are growing up in a much darker world than some of us did and are looking for a way to interpret it 2) Sadly, it is much more believable to portray a character filled with hope and the spirit of change if that character is youthful.

I believe this genre can help us see ourselves in a clearer light. Life on Earth is hard. It’s going to get harder. Evil does exist. Most of us want to be on the good side. We want to fight evil, stop bad guys, live peacefully and resourcefully. Sometimes these books show us a version of the “how”. Don’t turn away from injustice, don’t buy into propaganda, fight for freedom and never, ever give up hope.