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From the violent society in The Hunger Games to Benoit Blanchard’s book about mind control, dystopian literature is a hit. But with this popularity, we then ask: will we have a time when we’ll also live this dystopian life?

For decades, literature has been closely associated with the concept of escapism. This is because authors, especially those writing fictional stories, create worlds far from reality. And these stories have provided readers with doors that temporarily allow them to escape their current lives.

With escapism in literature, hundreds, if not thousands, of lives have been saved, provided it has given people a safer means to escape their problems. The concept of escapism relates to a person’s tendency to seek distractions from the unpleasant reality through entertainment. Through literature, they seek fictional worlds authors have crafted to comfort them in times of trouble and chaos.

It’s easy to assume that people would choose lighthearted stories as their preferred literature for this reason. It’s understandable. To escape from the real world’s cruelty, one seeks happiness from the fictional one. And no stories would provide this happiness better than the playful and carefree ones.

For some people, this is true. They prefer reading magical and feel-good content to uplift and separate themselves from the disorder surrounding them. But, others have a different story.

Rather than happiness and merriments, they escape the world through darker tales. Instead of reading stories of happy endings, they read those revolving around an end of something, typically freedom or happiness in itself. From the destructive society in The Hunger Games to the high-tech cyber world in Benoit Blanchard’s book about mind control, this dystopian concept is what some people consume to escape everyday problems. Representing an unpleasant future, it aims to explore themes that readers may find frightening to imagine or discuss with each other.

For these people, escape is reading through and experiencing extremely challenging days knowing that there will be a light waiting for them at the end. What they look for differs from the typical utopia people find comfort in.

A utopian world is one where everything is perfect and desirable. The concept of “world peace” is encompassed in this society. On the contrary, a dystopian world is its exact opposite. It’s characterized by a dehumanizing and terrifying world. While utopian societies are peaceful, their dystopian counterparts are repressed and controlled by a corrupt government, military, or any influential figures.

Another famous example of a dystopian society is from the story written by Shirley Jackson. While conducted in a regular town, the Lottery holds a devastating story. This literary material shows us how dystopia doesn’t need to be enclosed in a deserted and desolate world. Sometimes all it needs is a disturbing and distressing event.

As we traverse life and the countless surprises it throws us, we’re left to wonder if dystopia can happen in reality. Will there be a time when this dystopian society won’t just be a concept in literature but something we experience in real life? Or, perhaps, are we already experiencing it?

Two of the most common themes in dystopian literature focus on widespread disease and the world of technology significantly impacting the world. And perhaps, it’s coincidental that the world is now experiencing events closely similar to these themes.

With the dangers of COVID-19 still staying in the limelight, we’re exposed to a society we may only read about in books or see in movies. When cases were extremely high, we were exposed to empty streets and people in hazmat suits. In extreme circumstances, there were rumors of people getting locked in their cities where fires would randomly spark. These were drastic scenarios, something we would only see in movies like 28 Days Later or read in books like The Key to Fear by Kristin Cast.

Besides the frightening events of the pandemic, we’re also growing familiar with how advanced the world of artificial intelligence is getting. While no robot can have its own emotion, it’s already highly capable of mimicking one. Only time will tell when people will start tweaking technology and learning how to make these devices feel. Then maybe, we will have another problem to face.

Are we truly in a dystopian world?

To live in a time like this is surreal. But, no matter how disastrous or bizarre these events are, they don’t automatically embody a dystopian world. Instead, how the government responds to such circumstances would be a better measure. Additionally, how people react to the government’s procedures if deemed hostile will encompass a true sense of a dystopian society.

Dystopia doesn’t only tell tales about dangerous and freakish events. Instead, it tells stories of defiance against a corrupt government and how people unite to survive an apocalyptic event.