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.
This post may include affiliate links.
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
“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
"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)
Sign Here
One Day The Masses Might Cotton On
You’re Not Wrong
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
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!
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
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
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
Big Banks Using Heavily Edited John Stuart Mill Quotes In Their Advertising
…and Justice For All
What is wrong with you people. I thought you loved protesting fascists and hated terrorists...like you used to.
What Y’all Think Bout This Is This The Right Place ?
Manager Refuses To Allow Employee To Go To College Graduation Ceremony
I Had To Update The Amount It Costs To Do This If You’re Not Handy, But Thought You’d All Enjoy This!
speechless, jaw dropped, they look left, right, then left again, then stare into space, drop the mike, and walk off the stage . . . bewildered
The Military Gets Hundreds Of Billions Of Dollars A Year, Yet Soldiers Have To Beg Civilians For The Right To Call Their Families
I know someone who was in the US Army during the invasion of Iraq, and she said the military contractor they worked with was so absurdly over-funded that if a vehicle broke down they'd dump it in the desert, set it on fire, and buy a new one rather than fix it. They spent the whole operation throwing money around however they pleased and wasting it on other unnecessary crap, because they had "justify" the budget they'd been given.
How Is Underpaid Child Labor Legal?
This Is Veterans Row. A 3 Block Homeless Camp In West L.a. Where Homeless Veterans Live In
Making An Obscene Profit During A Crisis, Late Stage Capitalism
Amazon Won’t Support Your Kids Ball Team
At Least 6 Amazon Employees Died Yesterday, Jeff Bezos Hasnt Said A Word About Feeling Bad Or Expressed Any Sympathy Towards The Families Of His Dead Employees. Yet He Has Time To Tweet About Space
He just can't see them as people, for him they are just numbers ._.
Modern Poetry
I Typed Your Symptoms Into The Thing Here, It Says You Have Problems In Your Justice System
18,000 Flights Had Been Flown Empty To Keep Airport Slots
"Only A Limited Amount Of People Will Get To Remain On Earth"
Meh
All these big companies usually act like criminals in time of peace. It's just logic that in time of war they instantly start to act like war criminals.
Not Sure If People Have Already Posted About This Here
This Was What Kaiser Permanente Gave To Their Nurses To Recognize Them During Nurses Week
Outshine The Owner, Earn $15/Hr
So Are We Just Watching Reality TV?
People In Mn Calling Each Other Instead Of Cops
Call me and I'll come Febreeze the bad guys in the face like I do with a spider. Spritz spritz now they'll find you with your scent of lavender.
Seen In Brooklyn. This Isn’t Clever, Doordash. Just Sad
Ah yes, making fun of poor people. The greatest way to advertise s/
“Normal” People
Worried About What Future? There Is No Future
You Know It Was Coming
Tesla Corp Will Decide When To Adjust Your Seat
Your Pr Moves Are Like Your Food: I'm Not Buyin It
No, you can't even eat the garbage because we make impossible garbage cans now so the poor people can't reach inside to get stuff out.
Great Success For Homeless Students
I feel so torn on this. It's so sad but a someone who's lived in my car having a place to park overnight and actually sleep along with having access to restrooms, showers and wifi is actually a complete game changer.
Greedy Manufacturers Absolutely *shocked Pikachu* When Their Subscription Cash Grabs Malfunction
Why there isn't just a tank in each printer, where you put standardized ink into ... like, you know, pens had that feature since 1700's ... you don't need to buy Ford gasoline, or GM gasoline, or Mercedes Gasoline in order for your car to run correctly, but just any gasoline, because it is a standardized stuff, with set features, that has to meet standards. Like ink has to anyway already ... just don't change out the tank with it all, but just sell in bottles and refill. Reuse bottles, of course, because that way, all material and energy used to make the bottle is done for like 50 times of use ... instead of a silly and stupid one. We need a law to make this mandatory, as capitalism itself doesn't care, and therefore needs boundaries that are not for sale or up to negotiation - they accept it or leave the game.
Amazon Safety Practices
We’re Really At That Point
Tyranny Of Capitalists
"I Need To Evict Tenants So I Can Make More Money!" - Man Literally Standing In Front Of A Private Jet
Poor little rich boy. Doesn't know where his next hostile takeover is coming from.
Steven Donziger Saying Goodbye Before Being Sent To Prison For Filing A Lawsuit Against Chevron For Decimating Indigenous Rainforests
Uh... no. "Donziger was found guilty in July of six counts of criminal contempt of court for withholding evidence in a long, complex legal fight with Chevron, which claims that Mr. Donziger fabricated evidence in the 1990s to win a lawsuit he filed against the oil giant on behalf of 30,000 Indigenous people in Ecuador."
Man
No Subtlety Anymore
Anti-Racism Mural In Cardiff, Wales Being Painted Over As McDonald's Advertising Space
I Guess Torrenting Is A Form Of Protest
Even Your Friendly Neighborhood Piggly Wiggly Is Turning Into A 1920's Sweatshop. Public Sign On The Wall By The Cashiers
The Cost Of Our Enjoyment This Sunday. How Dare We
The Internet Is Forever
How can someone think those innocent random villagers were at fault when some terror organisation nesting in their country kills soldiers?
The "Come Back To The Office" Propaganda Is In Full Force
London’s Smallest Microflat Up For Sale At £50,000 For 7 Square Metres
It's Honestly Just A Black Mirror Ripoff At This Point
This Guy Is A Libertarian, By The Way
An Interesting Title
Ok, just like with the McDonalds one above. Blame whomever is in charge of approving this instead of the company advertising their product.
"Justice" In America
Wait you can get arrested...for doing the right thing?! When did that happen in the hunger games...oh this is real life. My bad
Hittable Faces
This Dystopia Is Boring, I’m Plugging In
The fact that the only kind of solace that can be found for him is not even real is devastating
People Using Human Suffering As Reaction Content..
Why don't we put """lunkers tv""""" in the warzone and see what he thinks about it
24 Hours Is Not Enough! Work/Life Balance Will Make You Fail! Your Existence Is To Work!
Burger-Flipper As A Career
Keep Your Identification In Plain Sight So The Police Don’t Shoot You When You’re Following Orders To Retrieve Your License And Registration
Love how cops will ask to see your license and then immediately assume you're actually reaching for a gun instead of the exact thing they're asking for, so then they just shoot you dead and now you need a special baggy because the cops are just paranoid and trigger happy.
Honor Their Sacrifice
I Think The Fact That Texas Roadhouse Employees Are Forced To Wear This To Work Is Very Dystopian
Jesus Christ I Need To Stop Looking At The Nyt
Nothing To Add
Each Of The 8 Stadiums At The World Cup In Qatar Will Have Air Conditioners To Battle The Hot Temperatures And To Keep The Air Clean.
In my highschool, before corona there was NEVER any soap in the girls bathrooms. As much as we complained they would never fill them up. It took the school a whole ass global pandemic to realise that we needed soap in the toilets. And constantly told us the importance of washing our hands. Well of course we all wanted to wash our hands thoroughly, but because of you that privilege was taken away.
People Actually Think Like This
The Irony
An Entry Level Part Time Job Should Not Require Two Years Of Experience
Do Not Enjoy Meals During Your 13 H Shift
I Was Told This Only Happens Under Communism
Where is this happening? I haven't travelled at all since covid and the shelves just stay bare here or they fill the spots with things they have more of. I'd be so grumpy if I got faked out and walked acrossed a store to a display thinking there was a product there and it was just cardboard.
Millions Unemployed Because Automated Software Can't Understand Nuance Or Context
Welcome To Britain In 2022, Where You're Actively Discouraged By The Government From Giving Homeless People Money
I know a lot of homeless people and for the ones that actually want to get off the street, it is a good thing to give money to homeless charities, but also giving a dude on the street a fiver when you see them isn't a bad thing either, this is more about keeping them out of the area, keeping it looking nice for the people spending money.
Capitalism Reinventing Itself -- Or So They Say
My Local Small Town Grocery Store Is Running Out Of Food. Their Main Supplier Shut Down Deliveries, Due To A Covid Outbreak Among Their Whole Workforce. My Town Is In Trouble
There's Money To Be Made Making It Look Like You're Productive When Working From Home
A Capitalist And Very Boring Dystopia
Next!
Yay Corporations Taking Over Towns
*****. Would Work Here Again!
Rublux
Get Your Rolls Before The Covid Gets Ya
A Missile Booster Stuck In A Crosswalk At Kharkiv's Kinniy Rynok. Used To Buy Sausage There, S**t's Crazy
Does a missile booster just make the missile faster? Like... is it safe to go near (will not blow up.)
Thank You Indeed
Thank you for literally making a whole PLANET be boiled, we indeed thought that's impossible but you did it nonetheless!
You Did It! Congratulations!
Microapartment In Koszalin, Poland (2.5sqm / 26.9 Sq)
I don't mind a small apartment if there's places to go outside. But also, this is too small.
Dna Is The New Oil
Oh, GREAT, the conspiracy theorists were right ... What's going to happen next, lizardmen in the government, microchips in vaccines or moon Hitler? This world is a mess ...
Marketing To Millennials
Sigh*
*laughs Nervously* What The F**k?
What A Depressing Article
Not Even Hiding It Anymore. High Ranking Us Official Officiates Oil Oligarchs Daughters Wedding
"US Official" and "Oil Oligarch"? Really phrasing that to make it seem sinister. It's Ivy Getty and she married a fashion photographer. The entire way this is phrased - "Not even hiding it any more" - is rhetorical bollocks. What was being hidden in the first place? That a rich family from California knows a California Congressperson?
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...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...
