Transcript DYSTOPIA: - Joann Maher

Introduction to
Fahrenheit 451
By: Ray Bradbury
DYSTOPIA:
The future through the eyes of fiction
writers
What is a dystopia?

Dys = difficult, bad

Topia = place

In practical terms, a dystopia is a vision of
the future that is bleak or dismal. It is also
usually a cautionary tale, a story that warns
us what could happen if certain trends
continue.
Dystopian vs. Utopian
Literature
Utopian literature describes an ideal
imaginary world. The term comes from
Thomas More’s Latin work Utopia,
written in 1516.
 Dystopian literature paints the
opposite of the ideal world, a place that
is highly unpleasant.

What should be private and
what should be public?

One of the central questions of most
dystopias is how much power a
government should have on its citizens,
and on what results when people in
power abuse it or when the government
becomes too powerful.
Some of the most famous dystopias:
1984 - George Orwell’s grim vision of Big Brother and ultimate
government control.
 Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury’s vision of a world where books and
ideas are dangerous, and firemen burn books instead of putting out
fires.
 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley’s vision of a world where genetics are
manipulated and all people stay within their own class. The
government is your parent!
 A Clockwork Orange - Stanley Kubrick’s film about the ultimate
acceptance of violence in a society.
 The Island - a film where clones are farmed as spare parts for
‘real’ citizens.
V for Vendetta - a film where the government has surpressed all
dissent and controls all aspects of peoples’ lives.

Common elements:
Over-controlling government
 A specific group that is outcast or
oppressed
 At least one individual who questions
the system
 An eventual attempt to revolt or
overthrow the government

What happens when government has no
checks and balances?
When one person has all the power?
When rights are taken away for the
purpose of serving
“the greater good” ?
Historical Context
Written in the 1950s
 World War II (1939-1945) had just ended;
the US had dropped the first atomic
bombs on the Japanese cities of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
 Bradbury was influenced by the book
burnings of the Nazi regime in Germany
during the 1930s
 Political repression and dictatorship
in Soviet Union and fascist Spain even
after World War II when books were
banned and intellectuals persecuted.

 By
1949, communism had spread to
Eastern Europe and China
 After World War II, Europe & US versus
Soviet Union in COLD WAR. The threat
of nuclear war increased.
 By mid-1950s, nearly 60% of Americans
were members of the middle class;
More $$$ to buy.
Consumerism = Success
The electronics industry became the 5th
largest industry. Television had a
widespread impact in American homes
 The US became an “automobile culture” in
the 1950s.
 The increase in prosperity after the war
led to an increased passivity and
conformity. Jobs were plentiful and the
common adage of the time period was:
“follow orders, you will succeed”. (ie.
Montag at beginning).

Published during McCarthyism era
 Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s hearings which
investigated spread of communism
through government infiltrators led to an
atmosphere of fear and distrust in the US.
 In the early years of filmmaking,
censorship was allowed on the grounds
that movies were entertainment and not
an expression of free speech.
 Sen. McCarthy’s hearings into the political
background of artists led to the
“blackballing” of several prominent
Hollywood writers during the 1950s

In an essay in 1953, Bradbury commented:
“Some nights, when the wind is right, the
future smells of kerosene”.

In 1979, Bradbury discovered that his
editors had censored language in 75
separate sections of Fahrenheit 451
without his knowledge or consent.
“Students, reading the novel which, after all,
deals with censorship and book-burning in
the future, wrote to tell me of this
exquisite irony”.
Now that you’ve seen Future Fright,
write a 150+-word paragraph response
to the movie. Discuss any thoughts or
feelings it brings up, and also consider
how it may relate to any current events
that you are aware of.