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
Here in Italy you donate blood for free..it goes directly to hospitals and hospitals don't charghe you for bloody trasfusion...
Load More Replies...In Canada, it cost the healthcare system about $500 per unit of blood, mostly for testing to make sure it's safe. Of course we would never charge the patient. The price difference makes me think the US price is mostly markup and profit.
Still they only test a couple ones, they do it like in a factory 1 every x units to maintain quality standards. Those $500 are mostly profit too
Load More Replies...Facing a serious operation that may need blood transfusions, ask the surgeon if you can store your blood in advance. If it's not needed, have the hospital donate it.
Never even thought of this before. Would certainly be nice to have your own blood used if possible. While transfusions are very safe these days..mistakes still happen. And there is no downside to this option. You don't need your own blood?..someone in need gets it!
Load More Replies...This isn't actually true. Speaking as someone who HATES this healthcare system, the Red Cross is not charging for the blood. They are just taking reimbursement for the costs of drawing, testing and processing the blood. They are a good organization. The hospital, on the other hand ...
I think that is what they said. Red cross charges the hospital for the work and tests they did and the hospital rack up the price after
Load More Replies...Just to expand on my comment, health care is ridiculous for animals too. I took my cat in cause she's not eating. Just the exam, an x-ray, an ultrasound and two medications was over $500 dollars. And yes, the enema was $28. For an ENEMA. I could have got one for a dollar at Walmart and stuck it up her butt. (Also he couldn't find the problem. Surgery would be the next step, but that ain't happening.)
Load More Replies...The "donor" could be paid $50, or $100, per "donation", and then Red Cross could charge$200 or $250 to the hospital, which in turn can STILL charge their thousands with minimal difference. Closer scenario to a win win.
Great way to get people to lie on the form and het bloed that's contaminated with stuff. Paying for blood donations is stupid.
Load More Replies...i just got a pen for donating my third gallon of blood. and only sometimes i'll get a tshirt. but why am i surprised.
I got a long sleeved T-shirt and a pin for 5 gallons.
Load More Replies...sell ur plasma instead. at least u het a little something back for it. i sold mine fpr abt 5 mo, so i could buy my xbox.
Here if you donate blood it is free if you ever need blood, otherwise is will cost you a litle
As a general rule I like it, but what about those of us who can't donate? Especially an edge case like me--I'm not disallowed by **current** rules. At the time my malaria infection of 40 years ago was a permanent prohibition and with good reason--I had a flare-up more than 20 years after the last time I set foot in the malaria zone. Once again it's supposedly gone--supposedly. Being familiar with it and since it's a mild strain it's not a big issue to me but if a blood recipient got it it might very well go unrecognized. The local blood lab doesn't even know how to do the proper blood smear test for it and how many docs would recognize it?
Load More Replies...It's not "here" that is the problem. It is the system. Where does the $150 come from? Does it simply cover costs? Storage, transport, testing, etc. If that is the case, fair. But the hospitals have little excuse. They're ran poorly. But also, they are handled poorly by law and insurance. Yes Administrators and others make way too much. But that is just small time compared to the insurance rackets bleeding everyone dry. But they get away with it because of the horrid tort law and other regulations. Everyone extra involved outside the doctor and patient is trying to get their piece of the pie. Deserved or not. And making sure their piece is big enough compared to the others. Laws and people are the problem, like everything else.
So... About all the money red cross has donated to them... And the fact that the CEO has a net worth of over 1.75 million.... NO. THEY SHOULD NOT CHARGE HOSPITALS FORYOUR BLOOD. USE UNITED BLOOD SERVICES AND SAY SCREW THE RED CROSS!!!!!
So move to a place where a blood transfusion when you need it to save your life isn't an option and save the rest of us from having to listen to your complaining as you pickup your Starbucks and tweet away on your phone. Or, put the phone and the latte down and work to put yourself in a position to change it.
Red Cross is shady AF. When you donate to the Red Cross for a specific tragedy (earthquake, tsunamis in 3rd world countries, etc.), they re-route those funds to WHATEVER they want, including executive bonuses. Do your homework before you donate.
...you do know they don't just like, pour it all into a huge tank and let you swim in it right? There's a lot more involved than just the movement of blood.
You wouldn't hate it if your choice is between death or paying $1000 to literally stay alive. You saying your life isn't even worth $1000?!
that is NOT the fault of the Red Cross - they do great work That's the inflated overcharges by the hospitals and then they cry 'overhead'
At least here, if you donate blood and then need some the same year, you get it for free.
In California, blood donations are not compensated. Unless you count a juice box and a cookie.
Looks like someone JUST NOW found it that the Red Cross isn't very charitable. It's a FOR-PROFIT charity.
If you're having surgery, you can "donate" your blood to the hospital a few weeks beforehand, and they'll have it on standby in case you need it. I know this doesn't help if you're in a car wreck or something, but it's a nice buffer if you have a procedure coming up and things go awry.
We give our blood free here and it is free to receive it if you need it. Australia
The Red Cross simply became a corporation. Whenever there is money involved, there will be greed from the people who oversee it.
Unbelieveable for me (I am German 🇩🇪). Blood transfusions are free here, of course.
Nah, they're not. You just don't get billed for them with general insurance. If you got private insurance you get a detailed bill. That, again, is mostly paid by insurance. But it tells you the prices for everything.
Load More Replies...Uhh, so if they're just selling our blood why can't we sell it to them ourselves? I know you can sell plasma, which tends to be a bit painful and definitely uncomfortable to do but I've never heard of being able to sell one's donated blood. Maybe, just maybe, if they actually passed some of those dollars onto the people they're literally BLEEDING for profit, they'd get a lot more people willing to donate blood.
Yeah cause they take your blood and dump it directly into someone else. They don’t have to process, separate, test, or store it. Think people.
A price that should be free if you donate blood at all. I used to donate blood every 8 weeks until I got a blood cancer and could no longer donate.
And yet they get you to donate your blood for free. I doubt the cookie & juice they give you afterwards costs them $150
In Germany if you donate blood to the Red Cross you get a blood donor pass that grants you blood donation even if in probs with healthcare. Sadly dut to low blood-iron I can't donate anymore :-/
Are they buying my blood for $150 and then have the nerve to overcharge me for it? I realize I might need a transfusion and will be paying thousands of $$$ for my own blood.
Local problem for the US. Rest of the world happy to keep hanging on to their 8 pints for as long as possible.
Roommate was charged for blankets after a fire. They had no money, so no blankets for the kids.
Load More Replies...This is almost beginning in the UK. The 'Blood Transfusion Service' (only in England) is privately owned and sells blood to the NHS. Most people are unaware of this. The company that Mitt Romney owned are the people who bought it - what a surprise..
No. Blood donation is not privatised. Blood donation in England is run by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT). A number of news stories have circulated over the years about privatisation. The stories refer to the sale of a UK firm, PRUK, which worked with plasma products and was part-sold to an American company. PRUK did not collect blood donations.
Load More Replies...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**
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...