Utopian and Dystopian Fiction

Utopia and Dystopia are genre of speculative fiction that explore social and political structure. Utopian fiction portrays a setting that agrees with the author's ethos, having various attributes of another reality intended to appeal to readers. Dystopian fiction (sometimes combined with but distinct from apocalyptic literature) offers the opposite: the portrayal of a setting that completely disagrees with the author's ethos. Many novels combine both, often as a metaphor for the different directions humanity can take, depending on its choices, ending up with one of two possible futures. Both utopias and dystopias are commonly found in science fiction and other speculative-fiction genres, and arguably are by definition a type of speculative fiction.

The history of dystopian fiction can be traced back to reaction to the French Revolution of 1789, and the prospect that mob rule would produce dictatorship. Until the late 20th century, it was usually anti-collectivist. Dystopian fiction emerged as a response to utopian fiction. Utopian writers based their writing on perfect patterns and organized societies; however, at the outset of the 19th century, writers began to recognize the impossibility of such utopic scenarios and an anti-utopic wave gripped literature.

The beginning of technological dystopian fiction can be traced back to E.M. Forster's "The Machine Stops". Forster is widely accepted as a pioneer of dystopian literature. M. Keith Booker states that "the Machine Stops," We, and Brave New World are "the great defining texts of the genre of dystopian fiction both in [the] vividness of their engagement with real-world social and political issues, and in the scope of their critique of the societies on which they focus."

Another important figure in the development of dystopian literature is H.G. Wells, whose work The Time Machine is also widely seen as a prototype of dystopian literature. Post World War II, even more dystopian fiction were produced. These works of fiction were interwoven with political commentary: the end of World War II brought about fears of an impending Third World War and a consequent apocalypse.

Modern dystopian fiction draws not only on topics such as totalitarian governments and anarchism, but also pollution, gobal warming, climate change, health, the economy and technology. Modern dystopian themes are common in Young Adult (YA) genre of literature.

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