What are the "Dystopian" classics?

[LeDoux]

For other fans of dystopian media, what do you consider a dystopian classic? "Dystopian" meaning roughly a depiction of a dark and dehumanizing future society. And "classic" meaning is it worthy to be enjoyed across multiple generations. Any media- Books, film, TV, video games.

I think the following books are shoe-ins:

1984
A Brave New World
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?


What else belongs on the list?

[RFS62]

The Art of the Deal

[Bourgeois Zee]

I could see an argument for The Hunger Games trilogy as YA. "Harrison Bergeron" as a short story. "Cat's Cradle" too.

Animal Farm maybe?

Children of Men is a movie that deserves praise.
Escape From New York, Mad Max, The Matrix trilogy-- those are pretty dystopian.

Comic books The Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and Days of Future Past are good.

The Handmaid's Tale is a decent book and a better TV series. (First two seasons only.)

[WildcatFan]

The Road
The Stand

[westofyou]

Uncle Wiggily goes to town

[marcshoe]

Farenheit 451

There's also a lot of dystopian dreck, fwiw, particularly YA, but I thought Scott Westerberg's Uglies made some interesting points, particularly regarding how people are kept in check by causing them to focus on their faults.

[marcshoe]

Farenheit 451

There's also a lot of dystopian dreck, fwiw, particularly YA, but I thought Scott Westerberg's Uglies made some interesting points, particularly regarding how people are kept in check by causing them to focus on their faults.

Just saw that this should be Scott Westerfeld, not Scott Westerberg. I was probably confusing him with Paul Westerberg; they're a lot alike. Okay, they aren't, I don't think. Scott doesn't think a rock group should call themselves "The" something.

[M2]

Films:

Alphaville
Brazil
They Live!

Books:

The Time Machine
A Canticle for Leibowitz
The Road

TV:

Adventure Time

[Betterread]

In addition to “do androids dream of electric sheep”, practically everything Philip K Dick wrote falls into this category: Ubik, Martian Time Slip, The man in the high castle, Flow my tears, the policeman said (my favorite), A scanner darkly, The transmigration of Timothy Archer.

George Saunders has written many stories in that style, with two standouts from 10th of December: Semplica girl diaries, and Escape from Spiderhead.

Sigismund Krzhizhanovsky is an amazing Soviet writer (1920s-30s) that NYRB classics is translating and publishing and one of his best stories is Memories of the Future” which is Kafka-seque Soviet dystopia. There is a lot of incredible Soviet and Czech sci-fi in translation.

[RichRed]

In addition to “do androids dream of electric sheep”, practically everything Philip K Dick wrote falls into this category: Ubik, Martian Time Slip, The man in the high castle, Flow my tears, the policeman said (my favorite), A scanner darkly, The transmigration of Timothy Archer.

George Saunders has written many stories in that style, with two standouts from 10th of December: Semplica girl diaries, and Escape from Spiderhead.

Sigismund Krzhizhanovsky is an amazing Soviet writer (1920s-30s) that NYRB classics is translating and publishing and one of his best stories is Memories of the Future” which is Kafka-seque Soviet dystopia. There is a lot of incredible Soviet and Czech sci-fi in translation.

The Amazon Prime show "The Man in the High Castle" was fantastic. One of the rare occasions where a TV show or movie was much better than the book, IMO.

[Boston Red]

The Amazon Prime show "The Man in the High Castle" was fantastic.

Agree. However, I immediately followed that up by starting Victoria at my wife's suggestion, and it was pretty difficult to adjust to Rufus Sewell's character in Victoria after watching TMINTHC!

[westofyou]

Agree. However, I immediately followed that up by starting Victoria at my wife's suggestion, and it was pretty difficult to adjust to Rufus Sewell's character in Victoria after watching TMINTHC!

Truth

[RichRed]

Agree. However, I immediately followed that up by starting Victoria at my wife's suggestion, and it was pretty difficult to adjust to Rufus Sewell's character in Victoria after watching TMINTHC!

I haven't seen that one, but Sewell also had a role in an episode of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel that was decidedly un-Obergruppenfuhrer-esque. It was jarring after getting used to the John Smith character.

[klw]

I rewatched V for Vendetta recently. It really holds up well and takes on a new meaning with the virus implications. I have not read the original graphic novel however.


Brazil should get consideration if for no other reason than the plastic wrap cosmetic surgery,


One not mentioned but was very creative is Wall-E.

[Rojo]

Two that I'm surprised haven't been mentioned:

Looking Backward: Probably the first dystopia, by Pledge of the Allegiance author Ralph Bellamy's brother Edward Bellamy.

The Iron Heal: This isn't Jack London's best (and I'm a huge London fan), but I think this is another case of Orwell appropriating London.

One not mentioned but was very creative is Wall-E.

I've hyped Wall-E for a few years. I think it gets the current historical drift pretty well. I think a lot of dystopia fits into two categories:

A) Mad Max - everything's fallen apart.

B)1984 -- just the opposite, a fascistic nightmare.

Brave New World and Wall-E aren't really either of those.