Merriam-Webster describes a dystopia as “an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives.” The Oxford dictionary calls it “an imagined state of society in which there is great suffering or injustice, typically one that is totalitarian or post-apocalyptic.” The setting of the dystopia is very popular in literature and movies. Here are some memorable films:
Blade Runner (1982)
A cop in the future is tasked with hunting down a group of dangerous individuals. The catch? They are replicants, or artificial humans, and they won’t go down without a fight.
The Running Man (1986)
After refusing to slaughter government protesters, a soldier in 2019 is forced to fight for his life on America’s most popular TV show, “The Running Man,” where it’s kill or be killed in a race for freedom.
Demolition Man (1993)
John Spartan, a cop deemed too dangerous for his own time is frozen, and then thawed in order to return to service. The new Los Angeles is free from all violence and crime, but wholly unprepared for the “rehabilitated” criminal who was just unthawed alongside Spartan.
Minority Report (2002)
Wouldn’t it be great if you could stop crimes before they even happened? But what if the system revealed that you were its next target?
Children of Men (2006)
The world is thrown into chaos after no children are born in 18 years. A civil servant and his ex-wife must protect the last known pregnant woman, as England reaches a boiling point.
Book of Eli (2010)
Following a nuclear event that destroys society , a man sets out on a journey across America. His mission? To protect a mysterious book.
Snowpiercer (2014)
A train with a perpetual motion engine races around the world after a failed climate change experiment thrusts the earth into a new ice age. At the front of the train, the elite live well, but at the back, stowaways fight for survival. One day, they decide they’ve had enough.