Dystopia in Postmodern Literature

11/19/2010

Wells, Vonnegut, and many others wrote it. The canonical literature list includes it. It is the strongest possible way to write social commentary--and yet, here in the contemporary U.S., there seems to place for it. The typical reader calls it "depressing." Everyone seems to want that happy ending. I sympathize with those who want a "happily ever after" in all thay they read, really I do; however, happy endings to not affect change. They do not reflect the realities of life and society. "Happily ever after," when it all comes down to it, only exists in fairy tales. Yes, there is a place for it--but there is also a place for change, for gritty reality, and for statements about the complacency in society.

Many of my works break against the current trends, in the belief that mainstream fiction is primed once more for speculative, more intellectually stimulating works. My novels are for an audience that is ready to be shocked, to be intrigued, and to be made to think about the world in a different way. Yes, this can be depressing at times, but it is also necessary. Without a focus on the negative, we cannot focus on creating the positive. Without dystopia, all that remains is complacency.

So, what do you think? Is America ready for something new and different? Is America ready to think? Ready to face reality? Ready for change? I think so ... but I'm interested in what you have to say about it.

11 Comments

Fiona McGier link

11/19/2010 11:28:09 am

Alas Lisa, I fear you are giving the American public more credit than they deserve. Thinking is something not done much by people who sit slack-jawed, drool cups firmly in place, watching reality TV by the hour; if they read at all, it is the puerile pablum produced by mass marketers. What you are talking about is literature that makes the reader put it down and think, "Damn! That was interesting...makes me have thoughts I've never had before. I like that!" But just like with any other form of entertainment, your tastes are not those of the masses. We who enjoy having our largest sex organ (the brain) tickled, are what is referred to by marketers as a "cult" audience. The plus side is that cult fans are fervently loyal to whomever can supply that "fix" of brain-teasers. So those who do find you, will stay.

Dana link

11/19/2010 11:37:53 am

I think there will always be people ready to think, but I believe at this point (I think Fiona makes some harsh but realistic observations about the American Public) that you'll need to feed it to them surrounded by more palatable stuff... such as erotic, etc. YOu're an amazing writer and I have faith you can do it. I also agree with Fiona that you will have your readers for anything you write... so go for it!

Tommy

11/19/2010 12:56:00 pm

Isn't it strange how the History Channel can put on a "documentary" about the end-times and the coming of the anti-Christ and get good ratings. Even so-called "smart" media has begun to cater to the drool cups.

Janice Seagraves link

11/20/2010 05:53:22 am

God, I know so many people who do not read outside of high school. In high school the reading was only for assignments nothing else. They watch TV. That's it.

Not that's depressing.

Janice~

Lisa Lane link

11/20/2010 10:32:08 am

I do not mean to demean any particular reader groups, as we all have different tastes. I just don't see why readers should always expect a happy ending, and I would like to hear more from those who might shed more light on this perspective.

Many of my favorite works are dystopia--many of them with endings that are far from happy. Kurt Vonnegut Jr.'s CAT'S CRADLE, for example, is an amazing commentary on greed and human corruption--and it also happens to end with the world freezing completely over and all of life being extinguished in an instant. The book is brilliant. To suggest the story would need a happy ending would defy all that Vonnegut meant to relay through that very disturbing climax.

Perhaps television is partially to blame--and a part of it might also be the inability of far too many teachers to convey the beauty and the power of literature. Required reading doesn't instill a love in literature, but a true passion and understanding of the multiple layers within a text might. I didn't know too many of those kinds of teachers back when I was growing up, and I have only seen a decline in our educational system since my high school days. Any American educators out there care to chime in?

MelB

11/20/2010 10:07:12 pm

It is so easy to blame television and the drool cups, but I think that oversimplifies the situation. Americans do read, kids read. You have only to look at sales for books like Twilight and Harry Potter to know that. It's more a matter of what people are reading.

I think Americans prefer happy endings because we have been raised since the cradle that good triumphs. We tell ourselves that if we work hard we will succeed. That things turn will always turn out right in the end, etc. Americans generally have a can do attitude and reading about a world that comes apart with no way to fix it just doesn't jibe with what we are taught. We also have to have someone to root for, where to place our loyalties so to speak. And Americans do not like it when our team loses.

We are also in the midst of an economic crisis and many are looking for an escape. Why read about hopeless characters and worlds that freeze over when there are plenty of depressing things going on in our own lives. That's only adding to the misery. So we escape for a time into other people's problems and a happily ever after.

HEA's touch a chord deep within Americans. Just look at the popularity of not only romance, but of inspirational fiction. Dystopian lit just doesn't touch people the same way. We're more apt to respond from the gut and the heart than we are the brain. Things that hit us emotionally are what we remember more than what hit us intellectually for the most part. That is just human nature.

I love dystopian lit and would love to see more of it out there. I think there is a hopeful shift in reading attitudes with the popularity of The Hunger Games trilogy, Forest of Hands and Teeth, etc., so who knows what the future holds for this type of fiction.

Lisa Lane link

11/21/2010 02:44:45 am

Great points. I must ask now: How long does the constant desire for escapism and HEAs have to prevail before it can be viewed as a symptom of complacency?

This question came about because recently I have had test readers read both the novel version and screenplay adaptation of one of my dystopias, and both had a problem with the tragic ending. I don't know why I found this to be so disturbing (my thanks to the readers, BTW) but I really feel the need to sort this question out now.

I really want to believe there is a place for the disturbing and profound, just as there is a place for happy endings. I would love some more thoughts on the subject.

MelB

11/21/2010 03:37:40 am

Americans are very complacent and we've seen in the last decade that complacency shaken. However, I don't think it has been rattled to the point of giving up on HEA's and turning to other, darker endings, at least not anytime soon. Americans hold on to tradition and our way of thinking tighter than a mother holding her child's hand in a crowd. It may take a a little longer for us to start turning away from so many happy endings. It all ebbs and flows though. I do see a definite shift toward darker imagery and endings in story and film.

Are your books available at Amazon? I would dearly love to read some of your work.

Lisa Lane link

11/22/2010 09:24:50 am

I do hope mainstream literature is shifting ... I know even Vonnegut was dubbed "depressing" and "fatalistic," although many people still understood his message.

Mel, all of my currently published works are erotica--although I'm working hard to change that (all of my erotic works include literary "Easter eggs" for those looking for a deeper read, although the language is very illicit and not at all representative of my literary works).

It is not easy to find a suitable home for dystopia, but I'm not giving up anytime soon.

MelB

11/23/2010 04:46:40 am

My current published works are all erotica as well and I, too hope to expand into other, more literary realms.

I wish you all the best and do not ever give up on your dystopian literary dreams. It has a very important place in the reading spectrum. Hopefully, more people will come to recognize that.

Kate

11/23/2010 08:24:26 am

I think there is definitely a place for the disturbing and profound, particularly in literature. There is also a place for happy endings. I think that MelB is correct in stating that we as Americans have been trained to believe that "good" naturally triumphs over "evil," and that this is a huge part of the problem. This mindset leads to the upholding of dualisms that create the illusion that there is only one right way to end a story -- with "happily ever after," but we have to keep in mind that our own assumptions as Americans contribute to what that phrase actually means.

Harry Potter defeats Voldemort ... happily ever after. But only because we assume that Harry Potter is in the right, and we know nothing redeemable about Voldemort or his lot. The prince marries Cinderella ... happily ever after. But ony because we assume that she'll lead a happier life as a married woman, and that he'll be good to her. "Happily ever after" is very much a cultural thing.

The same goes for "sad" or "depressing" endings. I remember some years ago when I first finished a video game called Final Fantasy X. The hero of the story was only a dream and faded away after he served his purpose -- no future life, no marriage to the love interest, "no happily ever after." Americans everywhere were disappointed, because they wanted to see the boy and the girl together. However, in Japan where the game was made, the ending was considered beautiful. Perhaps said, but beautiful nonetheless. This is an example of how culture plays into our views on the matter.

So, in short, we see endings that don't result in picture-perfect happiness as "depressing" because of our assumptions. Perhaps challenging our points of view on this can help us see that the social commentary could lead to its own "happily ever after." I'll refer here to Lisa Lane's own dystopia novel. Perhaps it doesn't appear to be outwardly happy, but the message itself could be a good, uplifting one if we allow it to be (these endings are, after all, ususally a call to action).

Just my ramblings for the day. :)

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Dystopia in Postmodern Literature

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