The Society
2015 07 11 | journal
I have an immense love for dystopian and post-apocalyptic fiction - particularly the sort that concentrates on societal constructs. This is why I have read and seen all the Hunger Games books/films, all the Divergent books/films, all the Delirium books and the one attempt that was made to filmise it, and most recently the Matched, Crossed, and Reached books by Ally Condie. I’m not sure I’m going to bother with the books that The 100 is based on.
She does something very interesting with her controlled dystopian society, which I’ve not encountered in a long time. Rather than something that’s controlled to the point of being absolutely colourless and rigid, the controllers of this society (which is actually called the Society), allow enough moments of seeming touches of colour to (in hopes) quell any desire to rebel. However, since this society is controlled by data, by statistics, to the point where your partner in life is chosen for you by that method, they have even predicted acts of rebellion. They’ve determined, so they think, what’s effective in creating happy marriages and happy people - so everyone’s given just enough culture and individual ‘choice’.
There are moments in the third novel that get a little stupid; but, generally, I found the tone/style of writing to be very interesting. And while, yes, there is a teen love story involved, rather than it merely being a straight-up romance like the Selection books by Kiera Cass, the love story is functionally interesting to the plot. There are a number of other very interesting things going on in these books, particularly what passes for "currency’ on their black market, and certain cultural aspects of how the rebellion manifests itself. I will not plot drop, however.
If you’re thinking that there’s a lot of Young Adult novel stuff going on there, it’s true. There’s an awful lot of YA dystopian fiction around these days. Almost makes you wonder if they aren’t preparing the little buggers for a wretched future on an overpopulated planet that’s stripped of resources and gasping for clean air to breath.
I also read a lot of YA dystopia because, quite frankly, I haven’t been finding any A dystopia to read or watch, that isn’t merely bad sci-fi. Someone recommended the film Snowpiercer to me last year sometime, which I couldn’t even get all the way through. Sure it’s dystopian, but it’s done in an over-the-top A Boy and His Dog kind of way. I couldn’t get into the story, the characters, nothing. I was told to expect this to be "dystopia for adults"; which, quite frankly, only serves to reinforce my thoughts that no one’s writing effective dystopia for adults. (Also, John Hurt’s in that film, and I love him; so the fact that it was awful was a little frustrating from the fangirl perspective.)
If it’s out there, please tell me where to find it.