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Which of these "Dystopian Society" stories did you read/study in school, or for pleasure; and which might reflect on U.S. Society today?

Which stories did you read/study in school, and which (if any) most reflect US Society today?

  • Total voters
    103
Captain Adverse said:
Please discuss why you picked the one(s) selected, and how it reflects (if at all) on current trends in US Politics and Society.
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Why read dystopian novels when you can just be alive in the year 2022 instead?
 
natman said:
All of those listed. I wasn't sure about Harrison Bergeron, so I looked it up and it's a short story in Welcome to the Monkey House, which I've read.

I'd say there's a certain amount of current truth to 1984, given internet spying and data gathering. To make it completely true we'd all have to carry monitoring devices that could track our location 24/7 and transmit our communications to the government. Oh, wait.....
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Yes I have also read Welcome to the Monkey House, although I didn't vote for Harrison Bergeron in the poll. I have a good excuse, I Forgot... I'll have to dig it out & reread it.
 
It's shameful that no women writers are mentioned on the list, because we probably all read the Shirley Jackson story, "The Lottery," in school, and Margaret Attwood's The Handmaid's Tale is a novel recently used for film/video versions and which directly comments on the sinister anti-abortion developments today.
 
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Captain Adverse said:
I was watching a video regarding guest reactions to Social Media being held accountable for disinformation, misinformation, and shadow banning tactics in light of Elon Musks purchase of Twitter.

One guest commented on how our society is reflective of some of the dystopian societies written about by authors like Kurt Vonnegut, George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, Ray Bradbury, etc.

So I wondered, how many members of our Forum have read one or more of the most famous of these stories, which one(s), and how closely (if at all) our society is coming to reflect them in reality.

Here is the list:

1. "1984," George Orwell.

2. "Brave New World," Aldous Huxley.

3. "Harrison Bergeron," Kurt Vonnegut.

4. "Fahrenheit 451," Ray Bradbury.

5. "Lord of the Flies," William Golding.

6. "Animal Farm," George Orwell.

7. Other, your Title and Author

8. None.

This is a multiple choice list, meaning you can select each one if you have read more than one.

If you pick #7, provide the title(s) and author(s), and why you've added to the list.

Please discuss why you picked the one(s) selected, and how it reflects (if at all) on current trends in US Politics and Society.

NOTE: The POLL itself is asking which you read/studied.

The question for response in discussion is: "Which if any reflect on US Society today?"
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It's a toss up between "1984" and "Fahrenheit 451".

The main difference is that it is not "Da Gummint" that is doing the "historical revisionism" (1984) and "language modification" (1984) it is the political activists in BOTH the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. It is also not "Da Gummint" that is doing the "book burning" (Fahrenheit 451) it is the political activists in the Republican Party.

The difference between the two parties is

I am going to force you to be able to do what you want to do except where it causes actual harm to other people. (Which, in essence, is the position of the _[fill in the blank]_ party.)

and

I am going to prohibit you from doing anything that I don't want to do regardless of what harm that causes to you or other people - but if I ever change my mind and want to do it, then it will be OK for me to do it, even though it won't be OK for you to do it. (Which, in essence, is the position of the _[fill in the blank]_ party.)
 
TU Curmudgeon said:
It's a toss up between "1984" and "Fahrenheit 451".

The main difference is that it is not "Da Gummint" that is doing the "historical revisionism" (1984) and "language modification" (1984) it is the political activists in BOTH the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. It is also not "Da Gummint" that is doing the "book burning" (Fahrenheit 451) it is the political activists in the Republican Party.

The difference between the two parties is

I am going to force you to be able to do what you want to do except where it causes actual harm to other people. (Which, in essence, is the position of the _[fill in the blank]_ party.)

and

I am going to prohibit you from doing anything that I don't want to do regardless of what harm that causes to you or other people - but if I ever change my mind and want to do it, then it will be OK for me to do it, even though it won't be OK for you to do it. (Which, in essence, is the position of the _[fill in the blank]_ party.)
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When I taught lower-level courses on the novel, I always chose 1984 with the hope that what Orwell is warning against would take root in, oh, the collective sensibility?
 
nota bene said:
When I taught lower-level courses on the novel, I always chose 1984 with the hope that what Orwell is warning against would take root in, oh, the collective sensibility?
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Yep, you taught 1984 and the students all believed that

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"It Can't Happen Here".
 
They may be dystopian sovieties but they all seem to have flying cars and amazing skyscrapers people all live in.

Totalitarian hellhole it may be but flying cars.
It's tough to say no to flying cars.
 
Peter said:
They may be dystopian sovieties but they all seem to have flying cars and amazing skyscrapers people all live in.

Totalitarian hellhole it may be but flying cars.
It's tough to say no to flying cars.
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Their messages indicate that not all change is progress.
 
nota bene said:
When I taught lower-level courses on the novel, I always chose 1984 with the hope that what Orwell is warning against would take root in, oh, the collective sensibility?
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Well Newspeak has become a Republican staple. Good work... ;)
 
nota bene said:
Your understanding appears to be limited. <no wink>
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Double plus good comment, Citizen. It is goodthinkful to recognize thoughtcrime when it occurs and it is your partyduty to report it to those in proper authority immediately.
 
Peter said:
They may be dystopian sovieties but they all seem to have flying cars and amazing skyscrapers people all live in.

Totalitarian hellhole it may be but flying cars.
It's tough to say no to flying cars.
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I don't recall flying cars in 1984. I do recall endless war, government propaganda and oppressive bureaucracy, crappy gin, thought policing, crappy communal apartments, a state of constant fear, arbitrary and capricious law, and kids reporting their parents for thought crime
 
1984 and Lord of the Flies.
I read these on my own as a kid, it wasnt part of any school assignment.

Lord of the Flies imo can be a microcosm of Ameritard life in 2023, strongest survive through brute force, veneer of polite society being wiped away.

1984 could be a biography of the Alternate Reality that our fabulous trumptards exist in. Truly bizarre. And terrifying.
 
PeacefulWarrior said:
1984 and Lord of the Flies.
I read these on my own as a kid, it wasnt part of any school assignment.

Lord of the Flies imo can be a microcosm of Ameritard life in 2023, strongest survive through brute force, veneer of polite society being wiped away.

1984 could be a biography of the Alternate Reality that our fabulous trumptards exist in. Truly bizarre. And terrifying.
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You don't appear to have gleaned much from reading either novel if you genuinely think that "Ameritard life" compares to the situation the children found themselves in. I'd suggest reading 1984 again if what you see is "trumptards." Your seeing that is what I see as bizarre and disturbing.
 
Given the abortion debate and the strict restrictions many states are imposing, we seem closer to The Handmaid's Tale.
 
devildavid said:
How so?
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how so......you should read the history of that era........the main how so was millions of seemingly intelligent working class and in Germany's case educated people falling for a giant con job by a madman and his propaganda machine.....the parallels of Hitler and Trump and the Nazis and Murdochs conspiracy propaganda are stunning......the German people had convinced themselves it was they who had been cheated and pushed around by the victors of WWI and especially the Jews.... ......and the thing about Germany was they were a nation of educated people........but prideful to a point of throwing away all common sense.......
 
Indydave said:
how so......you should read the history of that era........the main how so was millions of seemingly intelligent working class and in Germany's case educated people falling for a giant con job by a madman and his propaganda machine.....the parallels of Hitler and Trump and the Nazis and Murdochs conspiracy propaganda are stunning......the German people had convinced themselves it was they who had been cheated and pushed around by the victors of WWI and especially the Jews.... ......and the thing about Germany was they were a nation of educated people........but prideful to a point of throwing away all common sense.......
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The problem arises in the parallel when you say educated people.
 
devildavid said:
How so?
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One man (Trump) craves total power & has convinced many to support him. The only thing lacking so far are brown shirts & arm bands.
 
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