Dystopias Take Over the World
wikapedia.org
goodreads.com
The past few years have seen a rise in the popularity of dystopian novels and films. A dystopia is an undesirable or frightening community or society. Most dystopias are post-apocalyptic societies characterized by dehumanization, a totalitarian government, and environmental disaster.
There are many dystopian books and movies for young adults, including, The Hunger Games trilogy, the Divergent series, The Maze Runner series, the Matched trilogy, and The Selection series. Some of these are already films, with The Selection series and The Matched trilogy in production.
Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games was the series that started the trend. The series takes place in post-apocalyptic America called Panem, which is made up of 12 districts run by the Capitol.
As a result of a past rebellion, each district must offer a boy and girl tribute between the ages of 12 and 18 to participate in the Hunger Games. These children must fight to the death until one person remains and is crowned victor. The series follows Katniss Everdeen on her journey once she is selected as tribute for her district.
All three books have been adapted into movies starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Liam Hemsworth.
Some dystopian series, like The Hunger Games, have become very popular, while others are still being discovered.
A lesser known dystopian series is Matched by Allie Condie; it takes place in a seemingly utopian society, where the government tightly controls every part of its citizen's lives, like their job and who they marry. The main character Cassia Reyes is "matched" with Xander Carrow. When she sees the picture of another boy, she decides to get to the bottom of it. While doing so, she begins to discover a rebellion and realizes her society is not a utopia.
The movie rights for Matched were bought by Disney in September 2010. Since then, production of the screenplay has begun.
These trilogies are just two examples on the long list of popular young adult dystopian novels. Be sure to stop by the library and pick up a dystopian novels to give it a try!