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While popular movies and TV shows paint a dystopian future full of surreal landscapes, totalitarian governments, and post-apocalyptic scenes, it is more likely to consist of unappealing and mundane scenarios. In fact, once you look past the meticulously curated universe of social media, it may seem we’re already living in it. Senseless ads, broken machines, canned dinners, dreary headlines — we’re constantly bombarded with chilling reminders of the "boring dystopia" we find ourselves in.
While it may be hard to wrap your head around this phenomenon at first, you gradually get the hang of it. And then start seeing it everywhere you look. Here’s where the prominent corner of Reddit called 'A Boring Dystopia' enters the picture. "A subreddit for chronicling how Advanced Capitalist Society is not only dystopic but also incredibly boring," as the moderators describe.
When you think of it, the group seems to be the unofficial mirror of our society by sharing the most upsetting, ridiculous, and all too real examples of modern-day dystopia that prove something's not quite right with this world. Below, we wrapped up the newest batch of their posts to give you a reality check and hopefully inspire you to fix the near future. So continue scrolling and upvote as you go!
Psst! When you're done with this list, be sure to check out Bored Panda's earlier pieces full of dystopian madness right here, here, and here.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Welcome To America
Paul Macdonell 3 years ago
Silly rabbit. You just listen to us old entitled white guys ... we know what's best. God is directing us for your salvation.
RELATED:
#2
There’s No Hate Like Christian “Love”
august is mentally unstable 3 years ago
they're killing adults, people with actual lives, to prioritize unborn fetuses. and once they are born, they stop caring. i'm convinced now that everyone just wants control.
#3
Explained Nice And Simple
In case you've never heard of "boring dystopia" before, the term was coined by the late British academic and cultural theorist Mark Fisher in 2015. It refers to the bland and mildly coercive signs that flourish in a late-stage capitalist society, which give out pervasive feelings of unease, discontent, and isolation.
That same year, Fisher started a Facebook group that documented these signs as a way to become more aware of the world around us. Members got the chance to share pictures of rarely seen England and the page quickly filled with eerie images of broken machinery, ragged shop signs, and cameras closely monitoring decaying streets.
The group brought together examples of "Silicon Valley ideology, PR and advertising which distracts us from our own aesthetic poverty, and the reality of what we have." All of this was accompanied by a description: "Neoliberal England is a boring dystopia. Here's why."
#5
And Yet They Manage Our Life
Paul Macdonell 3 years ago
And corporate American shows a great willingness to take any kind of government handout when the economy tanks. But my God don't call it socialism.....
#6
Is This Signs Of A Healthy Economy?
"[The group] wasn't that well thought-out at the start, to be honest," Fisher said in an interview with Vice. "I'd never done a Facebook group before." See, he shut down the community when he noticed it started to become like any other group on the platform.
"It was just recirculating 'content' and sending links, keeping people inside what I would call capitalist cyberspace instead of looking outside at their own environment. It felt like it was reinforcing the condition it was intended to displace," Fisher explained. Although many felt it was an untimely end for the popular group, 'A Boring Dystopia' sprung up in its wake soon after. The subreddit was created in 2016 and has already amassed over 750k devoted members eagerly waiting for the newest posts.
#7
Tax The Churches
#8
And The Cycle Continues
#9
‘Bout Sums It Up
"Boring Dystopia was partly about the fact that no one can care about stuff any more," said Fisher. "It's not that they don't care, but in a city like London, or any intensely pressured urban metropolis — add to that the pressures of capitalist cyberspace and people just feel like they perpetually have no time."
"Our resources for caring are depleted, and that has aesthetic consequences," he added.
#10
"Pepsi Family"
#11
From Mad Magazine, 1968
#12
Little Girls Are Braver Than Some Of These Cops
Previously, 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, to learn more about this phenomenon. According to him, "boring dystopia" is related to another term introduced by Fisher — "capitalist realism". He used it 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."
"Boring dystopia 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 told Bored Panda.
#13
Who Else?
Little Wonder 3 years ago
The government here (Australia) gave out some cash during the pandemic to stimulate the economy. Every person I know who qualified for the cash used it on the dentist.
#14
Maybe We Laugh So We Don't Cry. Or Rage
Csaba Hegedűs 3 years ago
Why. Are. People. Writing. As. If. One. Word. Was. A. Whole. Sentence.
#15
Lock Up The Poor
Kylie Mountain 3 years ago
Absolutely. Can't pay bail, exorbitant 'court fees,' thousands of dollars to an ankle monitor company? You're stuck in jail.
Although we may imagine a dystopian future similar to exciting movies like Blade Runner or The Matrix from the '80s and '90s that offered depictions of going out with a bang, it is more likely to consist of mundane scenarios. "As the years in which those images came around, none of the dreams or nightmares came true," Holt 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."
#16
Indeed
#17
How Much Have You Contributed To The Modern Day Feudal System?
#18
America Is The Best Country In The World!
While this list involves some of the most evident examples of boring dystopia, Holt mentioned bureaucracy is also a common one. "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."
#19
It Sucks
#20
The True Perspective
#21
Attention: Homeless
He also noted that our beloved Bored Panda also draws attention to the conditions of contemporary boring dystopia in its name and tries 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.'"
#22
Modern Problems Require Modern Solutions
#23
Enjoy Another Recession And Global Warming Child
Sydneywhite 3 years ago
Australia is thinking about bringing back the baby bonus payment to get people to have more kids....because you know a small payment will solve all the reasons people dont want to have kids.
For some, pictures pointing out modern-day 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 no 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."
#24
When Your Boss Is A Robot
#25
America - Solving The Real Problems!
#26
Maximum Price, Minimum Quality, Ideal Suffering Of The Peasants
Philly Bob Squires 3 years ago
Yup, a 50 cent candy bar now costs $2.50 and is an ounce smaller. "New and improved" though!
"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.
#27
"He Has Some Pretty Old Ideas About Things"
#28
What A Dream
Paul Macdonell 3 years ago
A crippling injury that results in a litigeous windfall. The American Dream....
#29
Interesting
cecilia kilian 3 years ago
When fiction meets reality, like "The Handmaid's Tale". Next chapter, "Soylent Green"?
#30
We Need To Stop And Reverse The Fingers
Maria Veronica 3 years ago (edited)
And this is the bad news: no matter at all our everyday little sacrificies, there´s not reversing to the collapse if the world still working this way
#31
You’re Supposed To Like Working
Kylie Mountain 3 years ago
Let me tell you, it's not because I have a deep passion for opening boxes of overpriced plastic merchandise. It's because my parents aren't millionaires.
#32
Quality Healthcare
#33
I Wouldn't Be Able To Afford A House Anyway, But Might Give A Try?
Eline 3 years ago (edited)
Oh look at this! They made a mess, but it's our fault? When my aunt was my age, she bought a house. Today, i'm not earning enough with my job to pay a rent of a little appartment. I can pay grocerries to help my mum and pay a restaurant for her birthday, but without my mum, i'll be in the streets.
#34
Our Society Is Flawed And Rotten To The Core
#35
He Really Just Came Out And Said It
#36
Can We All Agree It’s Time To Tax Churches?
#37
Can You See It?
#38
2meirl4meirl
JoyfulZebra 3 years ago
That's not correct. We can change the future. The future is not static. We change it through our present actions.
#39
Ah Yes, The American Healthcare System™
#40
Basically
Nancy Doughty 3 years ago
Actually, he (the orange turd) was an extra of sorts. Would only allow the inside of his hotel to be used if he was in the movie. I believe his scene has been cropped now.
#41
Organize And Join A Union
#42
"The Circumstances"
DrBronxx 3 years ago (edited)
Reminds me of the period of the late 60s to 1998 in Northern Ireland, which were called "The Troubles". Growing up in Belfast, that name was normal. It never struck me until I moved away, and talked about it with others, how polite that term was. Looking back, it's more like a term that the mainland gave to its little shame off the west coast.
#43
Can't Have Anything
Billy Harrelson 3 years ago
When did my sixth grade social studies teacher get a job setting Amazon policy. Seriously. Dude would joke about how your eyeballs needed to be "swimming in their sockets" before he'd let you go pee, especially if you were a girl. People about pissed their pants he was such a d**k.
#44
Small Town Texas Politician Shares The Real Reason Police Are Armed
Moezzzz 3 years ago
He's not wrong. My brother is an officer here in Texas. He's probably one of the best people I know- far better than myself. He was once caught on camera ( this dude was going around to different stations to "provoke" or "see if he'd get arrested" for filming the exits of said station. He'd done it a few times at other places and got what he was after, but the minute I saw my brother talking to him, man, I was so proud of him. Everytime the dude would call him a pig or tell him "you can't do anything to me!!", my bro just talked in a normal voice. Calmed him down and asked what he was REALLY doing. Then explained that filming the exits of a government building makes him look like a terrorist, or that he wants to hurt people. Dude was doing it to sue those stations that would arrest him. That was the day I knew he was in the right position. He's an Army veteran, Purple Heart recipient and my hero.
#45
A Grim Reality Sets In
Paddling Panda 3 years ago
The Boomer Generation are so plentiful versus the Gen X'ers, there will be no CPP or OAS by the time I get to 65. There are literally not enough of us paying into the federal pension plan to ensure there's enough money for us when we get to that age. So. I will work until I die. Period.
#46
A Boring Police State Dystopia
JoyfulZebra 3 years ago (edited)
Funny how crazy conservatives talk about the "Radical Left" trying to make the U.S. into the USSR or Nazi Germany, when we already have a similar police state because of ultraconservative policies.
#47
Daaamn, What A Good Ideea
#48
A Straight Up Scam
Cooter McCoughlin 3 years ago
That's so awful to do to someone who is looking for a job and probably doesn't have that money to begin with. On the other hand, it is a very creative scam they got going on there. I'll give 'em that!
#49
Accidentally Accurate
#50
USA Be Like
#51
Nobody Wants To Fish
#52
I Hope More States Do The Same
#54
Necessities Are Now A Privilege Many Do Not Have In The USA
3 Owls In A Coat 3 years ago
This!! This was me yesterday! I bought a small amount of food and toothpaste and paid my phone bill and then felt guilty for the rest of the day cause that was a huge chunk of my paycheque
#55
Yeah.. Selling VCR's And Microwaves! I'm College Educated And I Make $15.00
indiecognition 3 years ago
Is the problem the rarity of a living wage, or that people don't want VCRs anymore?
#56
It Be Like That
indiecognition 3 years ago
You can take two moneybags and the person off the top track, and still have the same outcome.
#57
“Nothing Happens” And There’s Micro Plastic In The Rain Now…
#58
A Jeff Bezos Mural With Surveillance Cameras For Eyes
#59
Owing Money For A Book You Wrote
#60
Living Well Is Not Profitable
#61
How Do You Prove You’re Jewish?
ADHORTATOR 3 years ago
I guess the only reason was that the kosher food was more expensive (maybe just some cents) than the standard one...
#62
Just Wow America
#63
How
#64
Corporations Will Save Us!
Cooter McCoughlin 3 years ago
Probably because it's cheaper than maternity leave. I have a hard time trusting these decisions aren't for the benefit of the corporation
#65
Sneaky And Evil
#66
The Whole Thing Is A Scam
#67
This Is Why We Don't Believe Republicans When They Say They Care About Mothers And Babies
#68
This Year, Give Your Special Someone The Gift Of Accessing The American Healthcare System
Missy Missy 3 years ago
This is atrocious. I can book a Drs appointment, request prescriptions and a medical certificate for work online for $30. I'm paying for the certificate and script because the Dr is covered by Medicare. Thank God for socialised healthcare.
#69
Instead Of Addressing The Wage Crisis, Quebec Has Turned To Child Labour
Queen Boudicca 3 years ago
There was a time when one paycheck was enough to support a family. Then, we had to have two paycheck to survive. Now, they want us to send out our children to work as well. When is it too much?
#70
Think I'm Getting Scammed Here
Philly Bob Squires 3 years ago
I want to know why I can pay $1600 a month to pay someone else's mortgage on a home (rental) but a bank doesn't think I can afford $1000 for my own. Now for a car.... I can BUY a car with OK credit but can't rent one! Go figure.
#71
You Are Your Landlords Breadwinner
#72
Just A Bench In The Richest Country In The History Of The World
#73
Modern Fall
#75
Absurd
T. Unnamable 3 years ago
Posing as if they were in an action movie just before the big event. In real life? Oops, sorry, not my job to confront armed killers.
#76
Americans: We Need A Third Party! The Third Party:
#77
A Boring And Exploitative Dystopia
#78
The Rhine, The Yangtze, The Po
Delta Dawn 3 years ago
Silver lining: when the rain does come it’s a 1000 year deluge that may put out the raging wildfires
#79
A Boring And Dangerous School Dystopia
#80
Enjoy Your Freedom!
#81
Comically Evil
#82
Nothing Like Hearing Boomers Casually Reminisce About Their Childhood Only To Realize They Were Abused And Traumatized
#83
The Hidden Cost
#85
The Reality Of Life In Hong Kong - Many Live In A Home No Bigger Than A Coffin - The Coffin Homes Of Hong Kong
#86
People Using A Park As Designed? Unacceptable!
#87
Yeah... Not So Great
#88
C'mon, People, Bootstraps!!!
#89
Varying Degrees Of Dystopia. Both Regimes Claim The Other Is Pure Evil. There Is, However, Only One Coin
Chucky Cheezburger 3 years ago
Yep.Opposite sides of the same coin, and both have one goal. To get as much money and power as possible. Only difference is the methods they use.
#90
A Casual Reminder
#92
A Kid Raised $500,000 To Buy Bulletproof Vests For Police Dogs
Raven Sheridan 3 years ago
Makes more sense to raise the money to buy them for his classmates.
#93
One Of The Worst Headlines Ive Come Across
#94
Excellent Advice For Dealing With The Cost Of Living Crisis
Cooter McCoughlin 3 years ago
There is definitely not going to be more sex if there's less washing. This article is flawed right from the start
#95
Interesting Times I Guess
#96
Corporate Greed
Charlie the Cat 3 years ago
At John Lewis (retail store in the UK), after working there for 25 years they give you 6 months off on full pay.
#97
Ohhh
King of Goose 3 years ago
"United States Plastic Corp". Sure, Christ is the answer, not limiting plastic pollution and decreasing the use of fossil fuels to save the environment. /s
#98
Taco Bell Instructing Its Employees What They Can And Cannot Say On The Workers' Own Social Media
Luisa Madrigal 3 years ago (edited)
How bout instead you make employees WANT to post all that good stuff
#99
Citizen Of World's Sixth Largest Economy Needs A Meal That Doesn't Have To Taste Good As Long As It Doesn't Require Electricity To Make It
Little Wonder 3 years ago
Food banks in the UK are reporting that people are declining things like potatoes as they can't afford to actually cook them.
#100
Better Watch What You Say Folks... Homeland Security Is Watching You
Cooter McCoughlin 3 years ago
Well she did encourage people to burn down federal buildings and slaughter politicians. This letter kind of feels like she's getting off easy. I mean we are living in a world where this kind of thing could easily happen. I agree that they're all scum bags but maybe let's just wish they lose their jobs and the buildings get like a sewer leak...something like less murdery ya know?
#102
This Is Genuinely Disturbing
Falcon dimi 3 years ago
In Belgium we had some mass shooting in supermarkets by a gang (bende van Nijvel). It was in 1982, 1983 and 1985. It is still a well known event and still chocking.
#103
Just Shut Your Pie Hole And Shower. Anyway, Pentagon Heres Your $850 Billion Budget
#104
We Did It
Raven Sheridan 3 years ago
Meanwhile, Sacagawea weeps for her land, her people and their future.
#105
Capitalism In Decay
#107
Thanks I Hate This Terrifying New Level Of Karen
#108
We Have Reached Gas Prices They Thought Would Be Apocalyptic Back In 2007 (I Am Legend)
Brent Hollett 3 years ago (edited)
Actually those aren't "apocalyptic". That's just what they thought gas would cost in 2021 (when the movie is set). The prices were the values *before* the zombie outbreak. They didn't suddenly raise prices when the customers were asking for brains, and the speed of the outbreak meant they didn't raise the prices because of an emergency. Someone at that studio props department was spot on.
#109
Then: 'You Don't Need Money To Be Happy!' Now: 'Actually, You Don't Need To Be Happy At All'
#110
"Just Vote!" Welp
Alicia M 3 years ago
The reason Biden hasn't done yet is because we don't have enough Senators to get it done. Two Democratic Senators, both from very Republican states, consistently side with Republicans on most issues, completely negating our majority. We need to elect more Democrats to get a bigger majority in Congress if we want to change anything, period. Long story short, we don't have a large enough majority.
#111
It Is 2023, The FDA Has Fined Nestle $320,000 For Using Cocoa Laborer Remains In Its Crunch And Kit Kat Recipes
#112
We’re Screwed
indiecognition 3 years ago
From what I gather, Caro Caro makes this level of cheese security necessary
#113
You Can't Learn If You Are From A Poor Country
RP 3 years ago
Proving that you have enough living funds to study overseas is standard practice at universities across the world for any international student. Assuming that a person cannot pay based on their country of origin and not giving them the same chance to prove that they can as everyone else... that's racisim. On the other hand, Covid really did put everyone is some very new and strange positions that are too complicated to be summed up in a screen shot. Maybe there is more to this
#114
Planned Marital Obsolescence
#115
What A Tedious Bastard
Harlan Bleiler 3 years ago
I “steal” about 6-7 hours a day. But I’m still doing the job they asked me to do. But I’m certainly not doing more than they asked me.
#116
50+ People Waiting In A Queue To Visit A Rental Studio In Amsterdam
#117
I’m So Glad Joe Biden Codified Roe vs. Wade Like He Said He Would, Things Could’ve Been Bad Otherwise
Brent Hollett 3 years ago
Fun fact: He said he would, if the voters delivered a Senate that would pass the bill so he could sign it. He can't codify Roe vs Wade by himself.
#118
Graph Goes Up Means World More Gooder
#119
US Fascism On Full Display
Add New Image
What do you think ?
sasha_k 3 years ago
more like American who lives in dystopian nightmare... In my country I'm still allowed to have an abortion, and i have free health care
Aunt Riarch 3 years ago
I'm sure it's only a matter of time in my country
Load More Replies...
Curry on... 3 years ago (edited)
I was talking to a woman who vacationed in several places in Europe. She went to England, France and Brussels. She said the food was so fresh in each of those places and that there were laws that control the amount of processed food sold. Then I thought about it...they offer health care to the people. It's to the government's benefit to keep the people healthy. Meanwhile, back at the ranch...
Pittsburgh rare 3 years ago
What that woman failed to mention (probably because she wasn't aware) is that the price of those groceries has become so exorbitantly expensive over the past 8 months that people are switching to refined carbs and crappy food that is more affordable. Of course and as usual, southern Europe is taking the blow harder than northern Europe despite being the producers, due to stagnant wages and structural unemployment.
Load More Replies...
2picklesinabun 3 years ago
It's easy to be doom and gloom when you look for it. Just like it is to share all the good in the world. I'd rather choose to look at the good than suffer sucking in all the negative stuff.
Satan Laughs 3 years ago
Thank you! What happened to all the cool art threads, BP??
Load More Replies... sasha_k 3 years ago
more like American who lives in dystopian nightmare... In my country I'm still allowed to have an abortion, and i have free health care
Aunt Riarch 3 years ago
I'm sure it's only a matter of time in my country
Load More Replies... Curry on... 3 years ago (edited)
I was talking to a woman who vacationed in several places in Europe. She went to England, France and Brussels. She said the food was so fresh in each of those places and that there were laws that control the amount of processed food sold. Then I thought about it...they offer health care to the people. It's to the government's benefit to keep the people healthy. Meanwhile, back at the ranch...
Pittsburgh rare 3 years ago
What that woman failed to mention (probably because she wasn't aware) is that the price of those groceries has become so exorbitantly expensive over the past 8 months that people are switching to refined carbs and crappy food that is more affordable. Of course and as usual, southern Europe is taking the blow harder than northern Europe despite being the producers, due to stagnant wages and structural unemployment.
Load More Replies... 2picklesinabun 3 years ago
It's easy to be doom and gloom when you look for it. Just like it is to share all the good in the world. I'd rather choose to look at the good than suffer sucking in all the negative stuff.
Satan Laughs 3 years ago
Thank you! What happened to all the cool art threads, BP??
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