4 People Share Screenshots Of Dystopian Nightmares Being Presented As ‘Feel Good’ Stories
A dystopia is an imagined state or society in which there is great suffering or injustice, typically one that is totalitarian or post-apocalyptic. Like the one in The Road (2006), by Cormac McCarthy or V for Vendetta (1982-1989) by Alan Moore. And we might be already living in it. You don’t need to accidentally stumble upon a secret government laboratory to start thinking that way too. Reading the news will suffice.
People on social media have been sharing stories that the media publishes as ‘feel good’ but sound like dystopian nightmares instead. Continue scrolling to check them out and let us know what you think about them in the comments.
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Similar thoughts have been bugging people for a few years now. As reported in 2017, Penguin Random House has seen a 9,500 percent sales increase for George Orwell’s 1984 after Donald Trump’s inauguration. That was enough to push the book to the top spot on Amazon’s bestseller list. The publisher also saw enough demand for It Can’t Happen Here, Sinclair Lewis’1935 satirical novel about an authoritarian president, to reissue a paperback edition in December 2016—and then double down with a robust second print run a month later.
At the same time, Ben Rybeck, the general manager of Brazos Bookstore in Houston, Texas, said copies of 1984 and other similar titles were “flying” off the shelves. Book Loft in Columbus, Ohio, sales manager Glen Welch had also seen unprecedented demand. “All of a sudden, these books started taking off,” Welch, who describes the store’s customers as an even split between liberal and conservative, told WIRED. “I haven’t seen this before, in my 10 years here.”+
Part of the appeal of such books is simple escapism. Like writer Charley Locke pointed out, dystopian fiction enables readers to taste a darker timeline, albeit one that a protagonist invariably triumphs over. The world could be a lot worse, they think while turning one page after the other. But there’s more to it. A dystopian worldview, whether derived from fiction or real-world events, can have therapeutic value—no matter which side of the aisle your politics belong on.
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Dystopian literature has long given authors a way of making sense of the world around them. For example, Orwell conceived of 1984 under the looming threat of the Soviet Union, and Margaret Atwood wrote The Handmaid’s Tale after the elections of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher.
“We can work our way through problems by telling stories better, at times, than by writing philosophical treatises,” Chris Robichaud, an ethicist at Harvard who teaches a course on utopia and dystopia in fiction and philosophy, explained. “You look to fiction to see how people are wrestling with serious problems.”
That’s valuable for readers as well, especially when the current political climate is so divided. “We can’t look at dystopias as merely some bad slippery slope argument,” Robichaud said. “Rather, they challenge us: What are the values in this dystopia, and what do they say about our values right now?”
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Explanation:
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Here’s what people have to say about all of this
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Instead of basic universal healthcare there's GoFundMe. Seriously, why the hell are some people against universal healthcare. It works damn well in many countries.
I think because Americans don't want their tax money to be used for anything that does not directly improve their own personal situation. They think they'll be paying for stranger's healthcare, never considering they might one day need help themselves.
Load More Replies...Reading this, you actually become to realise that America is actually the sh*t hole country, and not this wondrous place you envisaged when you were young.
it has his good parts, just don't get sick or poor or speak something other than english and ow yeah don't be non caucasian :p
Load More Replies...Let it be clear that the dystopian USA only exists because voters support politicians who do not hide that they really don't care about the poor, the homeless, the needy or the sick. If your motto is : "Screw the people in need, we've got to look after ourselves, our families and our own interests", you stand a real good chance of being elected president.
Perhaps it should be a federal crime to lie to one's constituents.
Load More Replies...Skipped to the end to say this: Be born into the top 1% of wealth-holders, and you'll be just fine. Otherwise, yeah, this. And it sickens me to see it worsen over time. Like it wasn't bad enough in the 1980s.... just keeps going further into the cesspit of "WTF-ness". How I hate seeing the potential for good/great get pi**ed away for temporary profit/politics. PATRIOTISM IS GIVING A DA*N ABOUT THE NEXT GENERATION, not just your own sorry a** ----- my gramps
In the US people have been conditioned to, among other thing, not think beyond the immediate story, to not question the information being presented, and to see a negative ulterior motive when social policies are presented to them. They see demons when the idea of government provided healthcare is brought up, nor never take the next step in asking if corporate provided healthcare is better. The irony is it's right there in front of them. The government's role is (should be) to provide maximum services at the least cost. A corporation's role is it make the most money, which generally means at the expense of service. People fear the government making decisions about their healthcare all the while never batting an eye at the fact that their employer makes a decision as to what healthcare is available and an insurance company makes the decision about what type of healthcare they will get and when they get it. It's bad
They don't provide the most services for the least cost! They buy $1500 hammers and give money to breeders just for breeding and build 20 million dollar bridges to no where. Reagan was right government is Not the solution it is the problem. They are untrustworthy, period end of story!
Load More Replies...I somewhat disagree with the post title for some posts (exceptions including the donating billionare post). These are heartwarming stories, about people helping eachother in a distopian nightmare in which they're the victums. It's important to keep helping eachother while we try and fix the system, please don't undersell the accomplishments of those who help because some media tries to use it to divert from the problem. It's terrible that we need to help eachother, but it's wonderful that we do
... what an effed up system! Damned, dear Americans, get your stuff sorted! Stop treatin healthare as if it was a some luxury vacation - the right to own guns is sacred, but the right to remain alive is something you have to be able to afford? Cannot be true, I'd think if I considered the world a reasonable place... But I don't ... can't ... sadly, I can't. No one can.
it works well in the UK, its only a couple of percentage points on your income and my Mum, Dad, brother, sister, my wife, kids, my extended family, my friends, everyone I meet in the street, in shops, cafes and bars are all covered
The last guy doesn't seem to understand that with "gold" level health insurance he would still end up with thousands in co-pays. People need to stop pretending that anything other than universal Healthcare is somehow acceptable. I have great insurance through my hospital job and it is still WAY cheaper to use goodrx for my medication...
Soooo… what happens when the teacher and nurse run out of their co workers sick days? They go to work? That is awful
Just one question. What happens when a person runs out of sick days? For example that teacher who had cancer. His colleagues donated their sick days, fine. And what will happen if he is still ill when there are no more days to donate? Does he have to return to work even if he is still very sick? Is he fired? It's really inhumane. The poor man is battling cancer and he also has to worry about all this s**t.
Here are his options... [A] Use his vacation time or any other time offs he has (I am assuming he had none left for this story) [B] He can return to work [C] Not return to work and not get paid in addition to risking getting fired (read definitely get fired) and lose his employer provided health insurance so no health care for him.
Load More Replies...The right counts on these types of arguments when it comes to any discussion of healthcare reform, or similar issues.
Kid literally thinks he can buy friends like he's Richie fkn Rich >_<
But using the orphan crushing machine is patriotic 😅😞! Damn, these stories make me want to cry!
We as humans, have lost all understanding of what it means to actually be, human,,with empathy, compassion and understanding. There are those who are true humans. They will save the world, and not expect thank you's. This should help us be better humans, but some will never learn. I have to say, I had a sadly screwed up sense of charitable donating I did. To help with taxes. It changed my heart, when the new tax laws came. I had a comeuppance for my soul. You donate to help, and you help until you can't . So, now,when I donate, it is with a heart and soul to help, and I help when I can. So, lesson learned, and I feel like a better human being.
I pointed this out to a US acquaintance in 2005 talking about charitable contributions for hurricane Katrina. I got quite a passionate speech on how I didn't understand the country. The bottomline is everyone has to earn their keep. It did change my perspective however on why it is the way it is. In any democracy, you need a sizeable portion of the population to demand change. I guess I'm finally seeing it in the past few years.
It still puzzles me how orphan crushing machine are Socialist, come to think of it, how come America think there is such a thing?
That was written to mean the opposite Suzanne. The orphan machine, as written, is an allegory for the lack of social security in the US and unfettered capitalism in general. Where they mentioned socialism, they were talking about how right wingers categorize any sort of relief to that inequality. Hope that clears it up.
Load More Replies...Instead of basic universal healthcare there's GoFundMe. Seriously, why the hell are some people against universal healthcare. It works damn well in many countries.
I think because Americans don't want their tax money to be used for anything that does not directly improve their own personal situation. They think they'll be paying for stranger's healthcare, never considering they might one day need help themselves.
Load More Replies...Reading this, you actually become to realise that America is actually the sh*t hole country, and not this wondrous place you envisaged when you were young.
it has his good parts, just don't get sick or poor or speak something other than english and ow yeah don't be non caucasian :p
Load More Replies...Let it be clear that the dystopian USA only exists because voters support politicians who do not hide that they really don't care about the poor, the homeless, the needy or the sick. If your motto is : "Screw the people in need, we've got to look after ourselves, our families and our own interests", you stand a real good chance of being elected president.
Perhaps it should be a federal crime to lie to one's constituents.
Load More Replies...Skipped to the end to say this: Be born into the top 1% of wealth-holders, and you'll be just fine. Otherwise, yeah, this. And it sickens me to see it worsen over time. Like it wasn't bad enough in the 1980s.... just keeps going further into the cesspit of "WTF-ness". How I hate seeing the potential for good/great get pi**ed away for temporary profit/politics. PATRIOTISM IS GIVING A DA*N ABOUT THE NEXT GENERATION, not just your own sorry a** ----- my gramps
In the US people have been conditioned to, among other thing, not think beyond the immediate story, to not question the information being presented, and to see a negative ulterior motive when social policies are presented to them. They see demons when the idea of government provided healthcare is brought up, nor never take the next step in asking if corporate provided healthcare is better. The irony is it's right there in front of them. The government's role is (should be) to provide maximum services at the least cost. A corporation's role is it make the most money, which generally means at the expense of service. People fear the government making decisions about their healthcare all the while never batting an eye at the fact that their employer makes a decision as to what healthcare is available and an insurance company makes the decision about what type of healthcare they will get and when they get it. It's bad
They don't provide the most services for the least cost! They buy $1500 hammers and give money to breeders just for breeding and build 20 million dollar bridges to no where. Reagan was right government is Not the solution it is the problem. They are untrustworthy, period end of story!
Load More Replies...I somewhat disagree with the post title for some posts (exceptions including the donating billionare post). These are heartwarming stories, about people helping eachother in a distopian nightmare in which they're the victums. It's important to keep helping eachother while we try and fix the system, please don't undersell the accomplishments of those who help because some media tries to use it to divert from the problem. It's terrible that we need to help eachother, but it's wonderful that we do
... what an effed up system! Damned, dear Americans, get your stuff sorted! Stop treatin healthare as if it was a some luxury vacation - the right to own guns is sacred, but the right to remain alive is something you have to be able to afford? Cannot be true, I'd think if I considered the world a reasonable place... But I don't ... can't ... sadly, I can't. No one can.
it works well in the UK, its only a couple of percentage points on your income and my Mum, Dad, brother, sister, my wife, kids, my extended family, my friends, everyone I meet in the street, in shops, cafes and bars are all covered
The last guy doesn't seem to understand that with "gold" level health insurance he would still end up with thousands in co-pays. People need to stop pretending that anything other than universal Healthcare is somehow acceptable. I have great insurance through my hospital job and it is still WAY cheaper to use goodrx for my medication...
Soooo… what happens when the teacher and nurse run out of their co workers sick days? They go to work? That is awful
Just one question. What happens when a person runs out of sick days? For example that teacher who had cancer. His colleagues donated their sick days, fine. And what will happen if he is still ill when there are no more days to donate? Does he have to return to work even if he is still very sick? Is he fired? It's really inhumane. The poor man is battling cancer and he also has to worry about all this s**t.
Here are his options... [A] Use his vacation time or any other time offs he has (I am assuming he had none left for this story) [B] He can return to work [C] Not return to work and not get paid in addition to risking getting fired (read definitely get fired) and lose his employer provided health insurance so no health care for him.
Load More Replies...The right counts on these types of arguments when it comes to any discussion of healthcare reform, or similar issues.
Kid literally thinks he can buy friends like he's Richie fkn Rich >_<
But using the orphan crushing machine is patriotic 😅😞! Damn, these stories make me want to cry!
We as humans, have lost all understanding of what it means to actually be, human,,with empathy, compassion and understanding. There are those who are true humans. They will save the world, and not expect thank you's. This should help us be better humans, but some will never learn. I have to say, I had a sadly screwed up sense of charitable donating I did. To help with taxes. It changed my heart, when the new tax laws came. I had a comeuppance for my soul. You donate to help, and you help until you can't . So, now,when I donate, it is with a heart and soul to help, and I help when I can. So, lesson learned, and I feel like a better human being.
I pointed this out to a US acquaintance in 2005 talking about charitable contributions for hurricane Katrina. I got quite a passionate speech on how I didn't understand the country. The bottomline is everyone has to earn their keep. It did change my perspective however on why it is the way it is. In any democracy, you need a sizeable portion of the population to demand change. I guess I'm finally seeing it in the past few years.
It still puzzles me how orphan crushing machine are Socialist, come to think of it, how come America think there is such a thing?
That was written to mean the opposite Suzanne. The orphan machine, as written, is an allegory for the lack of social security in the US and unfettered capitalism in general. Where they mentioned socialism, they were talking about how right wingers categorize any sort of relief to that inequality. Hope that clears it up.
Load More Replies...
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