Damaged vending machines. "No change" messages on broken ATMs. Pepsi ads sponsoring diabetes research. These images may have little in common, but transmit a widely shared yet subtle sensation — they’re the unsettling reminders of a dark and strange twist in the reality we find ourselves in today. And unfortunately folks, it’s also a pretty bleak one.
Let me present to you the 'Boring Dystopia' subreddit, an online community dedicated to "chronicling how Advanced Capitalist Society is not only dystopic, but also incredibly boring." In case you've never heard of this term, it was coined by the late British academic and cultural theorist Mark Fisher. It refers to the feeling of unease in the form of mildly coercive signs that flourish in a late-stage capitalist society.
We at Bored Panda scoured the online group and handpicked some of the most vivid examples that illustrate there's something not quite right with this world. Continue scrolling and be sure to share your thoughts with us in the comment section below. And after you’re done reading this piece, take a look at our earlier compilations full of dystopian madness right here, here, and here.
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We're All Just Profit Potential
It's so well-written as well, sounds like a passage from a dystopian novel, but the dystopia is our reality.
From A 7-11 In Allen, Tx
Real Nice System We Have Here
To learn more about boring dystopia, we reached out to Macon Holt, Ph.D., a researcher at Copenhagen Business School and author of Pop Music and Hip Ennui: A Sonic Fiction of Capitalist Realism. He told Bored Panda this phrase is related to Mark Fisher’s critical term capitalist realism, "which he used to describe the pervasive belief that capitalism is the only viable form of the political, social and cultural organization following the end of the cold war."
It may be difficult to wrap your head around the term "boring dystopia" but once you get the hang of it, chances are, you’ll start seeing it everywhere. "[It] is more about the aesthetic experience of living in capitalist realism at a point in time when the system appears ever more unsustainable (ecologically, [politically], and in terms of increasing inequality and decreasing standards of living) but in which no other way to organize society has emerged," Holt explained.
“If I Had A Super Power, It Would Be To Fly. I Would Tell Other Children From Around The World To Come And Play With Me And My Sisters, And To Drink Tea Together!” – Mohamad, A Syrian Refugee In Lebanon
Sadly, This Situation Is Only Gonna Get Worse
It's sickening how screwed up the economy is. All we can do is hope it gets better in time, but unfortunately, that seems like wishful thinking. I'm so used to living in apartments (and now a trailer in a trailer park because rents for apartments are ridiculously high) that I have no idea what it's like to live in a house. Maybe one day I'll be lucky enough. But only maybe.
Wait? Am European Lol
While freedom is still a glorified statement against healthcare or weapon laws- my mind humming some lines of Bobby McGhee. and it 's gettin louder everyday
Although most of us grew up imagining a dystopian future full of terrifying end-times scenes, brutal police states, and decadent rulers, it is more likely to consist of mundane and unappealing scenarios. Holt mentioned exciting movies like Blade Runner or The Matrix from the '80s and '90s that offered depictions of going out with a bang, "But as the years in which those images came around, none of the dreams or nightmares came true," he said.
"Instead, space travel is becoming the hobby of billionaires while they ignore the ecological crises they could perhaps help with, AI and robots seem either to be surveilling us while they vacuum or when we click on a link, and the VR worlds of the metaverse are just ways to charge us more rent for spaces that we can't actually occupy."
"Letting The Cat Out Of The Bag", From United Auto Worker, October 1937
This one made me kinda smile, but it is sadly true. 1937 authors knew what was up!
Normal Country
Cool Era We're Living In
The media needs a dose of reality. (also, yes we should allow trans bathrooms)
Typically, the most evident samples of boring dystopia are senseless ads and ordinary images of broken machinery. When asked about other examples of this experience, Holt mentioned we can find it in bureaucracy, "like the terms of a rental contract that forbid tenants to use cooking oil on the stove, so a landlord can keep the deposit if a single drop is found on the extractor fan hood."
"NFTs are perhaps a good example of boring dystopia,” he continued. "If a sci-fi writer were to dream up a situation in which people paid the money they had earned doing actual work for a certificate of verification that they own a .jpeg of a bored ape, their editor would probably say the world the story depicted would be too depressing to publish."
Sign Here
One Day The Masses Might Cotton On
You’re Not Wrong
He also noted that outlets such as Bored Panda draw attention to the conditions of contemporary boring dystopia in its name and try to break up the monotony of the everyday. "In boring dystopia, people are often anxious about work, housing and the future of the planet, and there's very little to alleviate this. As Mark Fisher put it 'No one is bored, everything is boring.'"
Unions Are Needed!
The American Dream: Move Out
Don't assume it's all peaches and daises in Europe, people are broke here too, with the same ridiculous housing costs and everything else, In the U.K. for example we just have universal healthcare, no guns and nowhere near as much racism but it isn't perfect by any means.
2% Of Musk's Wealth Could Help 42m People
Boring dystopia tells us that while capitalism is often labeled as the most efficient economic system out there, it is not necessarily geared toward human flourishing. "Depending on who you ask, it can be argued that in some particular corners of the world at a certain point in history when there was a relatively strong welfare state and high tax regime, capitalism was part of what brought a good number of people out of poverty."
Siri To Stop Bad Cops
Back To School
Honestly heartbreaking that they have to take precautions like that.
Validating Your Employees By A Pointing System
If my boss tried any of that s**t (not that she would), I would sue the company to the ground, holy s**t!
However, other people will point to the historical and contemporary violence, the destruction of the environment, and the inequality and exploitation required to make such "market dynamism" possible. According to Holt, capitalism has only ever been efficient at producing more capital. But "capital doesn't care who holds it. How it is made, what it is spent on or invested in and who gets to decide these things have always been political questions. And the answers to these questions have been, largely, deferred to the market for a long time, which has produced a world of increasing inequality, anti-democratic power structures, ecological ruin and boredom," he told us.
Glad Critical Medical Care Is Being Taken Care Of By Private Companies That Definitely Give A S**t
American Healthcare In A Nutshell
After The Government Let Companies Influence School Curriculums, My Exams Now Look Like This
For some, pictures pointing out our dull dystopian reality could be a source of entertainment. For others, they may create a daunting sense of a lost future. Speaking of the latter one, Holt said that the material things that make people feel that way (skyrocketing housing prices, student-loan debts, insane medical bills — the list goes on) stem from actions at various levels of society. "It is just what happens when the interests of people with power align," he added. "Boring dystopia is the experience of our faith in the future having been betrayed. There is not a quick fix. Instead, to quote Donna Haraway, we have to "stay with the trouble" if we want to commit to a future we can flourish in."
Epstein's Homie
Capitalism At Its Finest. Smh
the $150 is a fair price, giving that they need to do a mass amount of tests (aids on of them) and store the blood. They also do a lot of non-profit support. But charging thousands for a blood transfusion is criminal
Found On Linkedin. Fantastic
"One piece of advice that is really easy for coming to terms with and starting to imagine a way out of boring dystopia would be to read Fisher's Capitalist Realism: Is there no Alternative? It is an incredibly accessible piece of critical theory and is only about 86 pages long. It is a great jumping-off point for finding out more. Read it with friends and talk about it after. It is a great way to feel less alone in a world that seems to be ever more isolating," Holt concluded.
Gen Z And Millennials Are Ruining This Country! How Dare They
Capitalism Leads To Concentrated Wealth. Concentrated Wealth Means Concentrated Power. Therefore Capitalism Is Incompatible With Real Democracy, Which Requires Dispersed, Not Concentrated Power
A Grim Reality Sets In
I feel this. You just work and work everyday with the aim of life or economic status getting better. But it feels as though it never does.
The Way Most People Engage In Online Discussion Today Is On A Handful Of Centralized Platforms Owned And Operated By A Few Very Large For-Profit Tech Companies
Don't Solve The Problem, Just Spend Tons Of Money To Ignore It
Reality Is Often Disappointing
Supercops
Walmart Is Selling “Support Local” Shirts
In The Modern Dystopia, You Become The Ad
State Trooper Fired For Disloyalty Simply For Speaking Out And Telling The Truth
How Might This Have Happened
Reddit, I Just Discovered The Meaning Of Life
Arrested For Holding Up A Blank Sign
Facebooks Re-Brand Did Nothing
Anti-Ai Face Paint
There's an AI technique called universal perturbations which subtly changes pixel values which are entirely indistinguishable to humans but completely mess up classification algorithms. You can even train them to cause the algorithm to mistake you for something specific: like a panda! 🐼
Whoever Made This Billboard Can Shove It Up Their A**
Well anyone in actual poverty wouldn't be able to afford to put up the billboard...
Load More Replies...Adding the bible quote there is all you need to tell you what type of person made the billboard - the same type that hands out a fake 10 dollar bill with bible quotes, to restaurant servers, instead of a tip.
Reminds me of the Chinese recipe for rabbit stew: Step 1, catch a rabbit. The banana brain that put up this bull-board is telling people to make rabbit stew without supplying either rabbits or the means to catch them.
Load More Replies...Ikr how f*****g stupid 😂😂 Maybe if you marry someone like Trump or Musk but even then, the way money goes to money, money GETS with money.
Load More Replies...Well if you're a gold digger and marry someone very rich... It does solve poverty for the person in question.
Load More Replies...Here, I'll finish all the statements: 1)...with your rich parent's money 2)...that your rich parents can get you 3)...to a rich person 4)...your inheritance 5)...by making tax deductible donations
And get a great job because you went to an Ivy league school daddy got your unqualified butt into and now you have all the connections that poor smart people never will.
Load More Replies...How does getting married end poverty? Not everyone can marry someone rich ...
Not ONLY a rich person made this ... I bet they were over 65 and, lastly, probably white ...
Once again the rich, white, American Republican right misusing Bible verses! What Prov 10:4 actually says: He who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent makes rich. It doesn't mention schooling or getting married, etc. It says 'becomes poor' therefore assuming that the person didnt start off already in poverty. Lets face it, most jobs nowadays dont pay enough to save or invest or give back to one's neighborhood. This verse is obviously assuming that things are fair and just. Not in America!
No, it was made by a realist. You don't turn down work just because you don't like the job.
Statistically it is correct not individually. Those things optimize the chance of improving your financial situation. And a little more nuanced and missing a few. So partial truth to push an agenda. Just like everyone else. The other side does the same. Find the truths from each and ignore the rest. Neither "side" has your best interests at heart.
I Googled it. “He who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.” I thought the Bible pretty much had nothing good to say about the rich.
I finished school and so now I'm in poverty and can't afford to save or give back.
Well, you may not like it but what's incorrect about the sign? If you wait till you've finished 1-4 before having kids you reduce your chance of ending up in poverty by 90%...
What bullsh*t! Taking any job won't get you anywhere, but sure helps the manager of the place you work. Get married and even two jobs won't make a decent income. And what if you get pregnant? More expenses. Save? With hardly enough to feed the family? Is that a joke? The only legitimate advice here on this racially biased sign is 1. finish school. The rest depends on money and if you don't have access to a decent job where you can bring home more than just the rent, the rest are pipe dreams.
To all those calling this out as racist, you’re obviously the one with the problem. The alternative to this is to stay home, remain uneducated, feed off the government system, never have any accomplishments and wallow in your own c**p. White, Black, Brown, Asian, Indian —- it doesn’t matter your color —- diamonds come in every color as does trash. Want to make changes ior improvements in your life, this is just a recipe to get started. Sheesh!
I’m more angry at the get married part of the sign. Why must I marry someone? I’m gonna bet they meant it as a “straight” marriage
Yeah let me get married so I can carry a man’s mental load in addition to my own while working 60 hours a week
Get married??? So find someone to leech off of? Why not just say find sugar daddy or sugar mama? Ffs
Let me fix this: 1. Spend 100k+ for school 2. Work s**t hours for s**t pay for years n years in hopes a better paying job will take you in 3. Hope you have time to find love btwn school n work to get married 4. Save until retirement/death 5. Give to ppl who wont give back making 4 harder n longer
Is that seriously a billboard? I know it is but I can't believe it's stating what it's stating.
Holy hell this seems racist as s**t! Seriously, what in the fûck is this nonsense?!
Oh this sucks. This really sucks. Heartbreaking that there are actually people who believe it's that simple, or even possible.
Wtf is this even supposed to mean? What absolute and out of touch idiots. These people need a huge assed reality check.
Wouldn't it be refreshing if whoever is behind "Urban Cure" just printed "OBEY!" 20 feet high next to a dozen mutilated bodies on gibbets?
Proverbs 10:4?? “He who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.”?? This is the stupidest religious ignorance I have seen in some time.
Why the "get married" part? It doesn't usually do much but eat up more cash & cause stress...
It's from a conservative clergy. Against all odds, they're not predominently white. That said, they are all boomers in the pejorative sense, the disconnected-from-reality one. It is a racial-free wide held belief that youth are lazy / entitled, and to be honest I also witness it alot. They do want the perfect job before they consider working for it : Great pay, no drama, perfect schedule, fun. But that's no entry-level job ever. You can be a bit selective, doesn't mean you have to take something you'll be miserable in either. Yes, business are acting up because they abused entry-level employees for far too long and it is biting them back.
If you look carefully at the persons shoulder you will see a reference to Proverbs 10.4 in the 1rst testament. I'm guessing this billboard has some connection with a religious group. Some of which are as out to lunch as many rich people are clueless about the real world.
Well, for many people in my country, this billboard should be very informative. Except to mental or health disability, there are lot of "poverty", where is better not to have job (sooo difficult to get up early), no school (free of fee), no savings (spend all money for alcohol and cigarettes), not to look after children and then complaints only for rasism or bullying. But such billboards are pointless for that.
Agreed although I have a mental health disability and have always worked full time in a job I hate so that I can provide for my family.
Load More Replies...Just checked their website: Republicans using fake "colored" names and stock photos spouting anti-woke values, whatever that is... full of slurs on media that dare to oppose their nazi agenda.
I wonder how anyone thinks this is going to affect anyone. No one will read it and think 'aha! I'll do this'; the only effect it'll have is annoy people who see through ut. The ones you're trying to influence are too busy surviving to give this any thought.
It wont, like you say poor people will be ignorant to it and continue to be poor.
Load More Replies...Texas Lawmakers Posing As Human Beings, After Passing The New Abortion Ban
After Working From Home For Two Years, "Return To Work" Today
Nbc Is Turning Water Into Thousands Of Pounds Of Real Snow For Their 'Once In A Lifetime' Superbowl Coverage... In Southern California... During A Drought
Haha, There Was A Tussle At The Rich People's Gold-Statue Party
“I think I’ll just watch from here. From my balcony. In my million dollar mansion”
Yea... Let's Go Ahead And Bring Back Slavery
Note: this post originally had 130 images. It’s been shortened to the top 45 images based on user votes.
If you are a bit too mad here is a cat to lower your bp. imagesqtbn...sqpCAU.png
Im honestly scared for the future right now
Load More Replies...And sadly our govt might have a escape clause but if anyone decides that they wish to redo our govt people will be hurt
Load More Replies...I hate how in society, especially American society, everyone is just another cog in the machine, and people aren't treated like actual people.
Every time I read or watch a movie about an apocalyptic future, or those articles about "what would you do in a zombie apocalypse?" I'm like "Die. I would happily die. Hopefully fast enough. Why would I fight to live in a frickin' apocalyptic world plagued by creatures who kill everything that makes a sound?!" (A bit off-topic? Mmm, maybe... But that's what this article made me think of, soooooo... 🤔)
oh what the hell. I hate these articles because they make me feel so hopeless and useless but I always read them. I'm scared, so scared for the future. I'm really into sci-fi and dystopia right now, and those realities keep seeming a little more realistic :(
You live in the wealthiest and safest time in the universe.
Load More Replies...Don't have kids. Don't force them into this horrible world.
Load More Replies...If you made it to the end and haven't realized more government isn't the solution, go back and review the pics. And then your life...
This is not about distopia, it's mostly stupidity, and some of them are simply not understanding how the society works, or not understanding that people are living from money. I think mostly collected by r/antiwork, what i basically like, but there are some wild ideas connected to it :D
Today I was explaining a conspiracy theory to my husband (not supporting it just telling him) I found he had never heard of Q Anon, and he had missed the story about the White House invasion. I think I might change to his news source
I was feeling pretty bad today. Depression and anxiety really has its grip on me at the moment. And then I read this article. It reminds me how I can't treat my depression and anxiety issues properly. So I feel a lot worse. I shouldn't be here.
I'm in the same boat. This really makes me feel hopeless, like I'd be better off gone than living on this horrid world
Load More Replies...And only one or two was even about Ukraine. There's so much more that isn't on the list.
I realized today that most everything is "rant -able" nowadays. Except for cat videos, discussion of the real world leads directly to a rant. Every example above is rant -worthy. So, cat videos!
Is this the world we want to live in? Is this the world we want to leave for our grandchildren/grandpets?
Nope. So I'm not having kids. It's the kindest thing you can do. #antinatalism
Load More Replies...My appendix was in the process of bursting yet I had to sit waiting in a shi**y plastic chair in front of a woman to fill out forms on a messed-up computer before being eventually wheeled back for emergency surgery. Had to wait for her computer to go back online with the internal system before I could "complete the intake paperwork" - ie: deal with the financials. I didn't, and still don't, have insurance...
All of this was heartbreaking. This is our reality. What are we leaving for the next generations? Woke? Are we really?
" Holt mentioned exciting movies like Blade Runner or The Matrix from the '80s and '90s that offered depictions of going out with a bang". - - - - I think Holt has not watched Bladd Runner.
I'm about to head into the workforce 2 years... I REALLY don't want to rn
Hahaha, lies, propaganda and fear mongering, 1st world problems as usual. People rather complain then see how good they really have it. =XD
Whataboutism, "appeal to bigger problems" fallacy. Many of them are simply things that are expected in modern Western democracies. America just sucks too much to provide them.
Load More Replies...Left-wing Americans: too proud to learn a trade, too lazy to get a useful college degree, but stupid enough to think socialism/communism will work.
daniel280456: too ignorant to understand the current situation in society, too lazy to look into it, but self righteous enough to speculate societies problems.
Load More Replies...If you are a bit too mad here is a cat to lower your bp. imagesqtbn...sqpCAU.png
Im honestly scared for the future right now
Load More Replies...And sadly our govt might have a escape clause but if anyone decides that they wish to redo our govt people will be hurt
Load More Replies...I hate how in society, especially American society, everyone is just another cog in the machine, and people aren't treated like actual people.
Every time I read or watch a movie about an apocalyptic future, or those articles about "what would you do in a zombie apocalypse?" I'm like "Die. I would happily die. Hopefully fast enough. Why would I fight to live in a frickin' apocalyptic world plagued by creatures who kill everything that makes a sound?!" (A bit off-topic? Mmm, maybe... But that's what this article made me think of, soooooo... 🤔)
oh what the hell. I hate these articles because they make me feel so hopeless and useless but I always read them. I'm scared, so scared for the future. I'm really into sci-fi and dystopia right now, and those realities keep seeming a little more realistic :(
You live in the wealthiest and safest time in the universe.
Load More Replies...Don't have kids. Don't force them into this horrible world.
Load More Replies...If you made it to the end and haven't realized more government isn't the solution, go back and review the pics. And then your life...
This is not about distopia, it's mostly stupidity, and some of them are simply not understanding how the society works, or not understanding that people are living from money. I think mostly collected by r/antiwork, what i basically like, but there are some wild ideas connected to it :D
Today I was explaining a conspiracy theory to my husband (not supporting it just telling him) I found he had never heard of Q Anon, and he had missed the story about the White House invasion. I think I might change to his news source
I was feeling pretty bad today. Depression and anxiety really has its grip on me at the moment. And then I read this article. It reminds me how I can't treat my depression and anxiety issues properly. So I feel a lot worse. I shouldn't be here.
I'm in the same boat. This really makes me feel hopeless, like I'd be better off gone than living on this horrid world
Load More Replies...And only one or two was even about Ukraine. There's so much more that isn't on the list.
I realized today that most everything is "rant -able" nowadays. Except for cat videos, discussion of the real world leads directly to a rant. Every example above is rant -worthy. So, cat videos!
Is this the world we want to live in? Is this the world we want to leave for our grandchildren/grandpets?
Nope. So I'm not having kids. It's the kindest thing you can do. #antinatalism
Load More Replies...My appendix was in the process of bursting yet I had to sit waiting in a shi**y plastic chair in front of a woman to fill out forms on a messed-up computer before being eventually wheeled back for emergency surgery. Had to wait for her computer to go back online with the internal system before I could "complete the intake paperwork" - ie: deal with the financials. I didn't, and still don't, have insurance...
All of this was heartbreaking. This is our reality. What are we leaving for the next generations? Woke? Are we really?
" Holt mentioned exciting movies like Blade Runner or The Matrix from the '80s and '90s that offered depictions of going out with a bang". - - - - I think Holt has not watched Bladd Runner.
I'm about to head into the workforce 2 years... I REALLY don't want to rn
Hahaha, lies, propaganda and fear mongering, 1st world problems as usual. People rather complain then see how good they really have it. =XD
Whataboutism, "appeal to bigger problems" fallacy. Many of them are simply things that are expected in modern Western democracies. America just sucks too much to provide them.
Load More Replies...Left-wing Americans: too proud to learn a trade, too lazy to get a useful college degree, but stupid enough to think socialism/communism will work.
daniel280456: too ignorant to understand the current situation in society, too lazy to look into it, but self righteous enough to speculate societies problems.
Load More Replies...