ABSTRACT
Dystopias and utopias are underutilized probes for gaining a synoptic view of cultures everywhere. In the same way that war is more interesting than peace, dystopias are often more arresting and attractive than accounts of cultures working well. There’s a shortage of humor in dystopia; this less-serious film can be a springboard for entering the world of cross-cultural comedy and humor as well. Classic literary dystopias, such as Brave New World, vie with films old, for example Metropolis, and new, for example The Hunger Games, to reveal the seamy side of cultures. A range of cultural observers have characterized recent US history as dystopian. Dystopias are preeminently cinematic, and many lists of dystopian films are available online. There purport to be gaming simulations of both utopias and dystopias; exercise care when accessing. An approach could be to find, read, and compare the many dystopian authors not well known in the United States.
