The word “dystopia” refers to a society that would be less than ideal for its inhabitants, and often times, it is downright frightening.
Over the years, we have witnessed a number of fascinating alternative realities brought to life on both the big and small screen. That being said, while these captivating places may hold our interest as viewers, they are not realms in which we would care to dwell in. In fact, as the term itself implies, living in these fictional communities would be an absolute nightmare for most. With that in mind, it’s time to take a look at the ten worst dystopias in film and television.
The Handmaid’s Tale
The Handmaid’s Tale is a Hulu series that takes place in an alternative version of the United States that has been taken over by a faith-based totalitarian regime known as Gilead. This version of the world is also plagued by unusually low birthrates.
Gilead’s government is cruel to anyone who isn’t a part of the organization (and even some who are), particularly women. Fertile women are forced to become childbearing slaves who are regularly subjected to abuse, including having their mouth’s sewn shut. Those living under the regime exist under martial law and can be killed or tortured on a whim.
The Man In The High Castle
Amazon Prime’s series, The Man In The High Castle, presents an alternative version of history in which the Axis Powers won World War II.
The western portion of the United States is run by Japan, while the Nazis rule in the east. After Washington DC was hit with an atomic bomb, the show begins with an aging Hitler ruling roughly half the world.
As one might imagine, in this instance, the US is a dystopian nightmare. Americans live under a fascist regime that can (and often does) murder them at will. The show offers an eerie glimpse into what the world might have been like had the Allied Powers lost WWII.
Black Mirror
Originally produced in the United Kingdom, Black Mirror is a Netflix anthology in which each episode presents an alternative version of reality.
The majority of the episodes feature futuristic societies that would undoubtedly qualify as dystopias. Installments like “USS Callister” shows us a civilization where a programmer clones his co-workers in Star Trek-like simulation and abuses them. Season 4’s “Hang The DJ” features a walled-off society in which people are required to be romantically paired by a digital coach in relationships that have an expiration date.
For dystopia connoisseurs, Black Mirror offers several bizarre and often terrifying examples for your viewing pleasure.
Children Of Men
Children of Men is a film set in the not too distant future (2027), in which the United Kingdom is the world’s last remaining functioning government. After roughly twenty years of infertility, society is on the verge crumbling.
The movie presents a bleak future in which the human race appears to be headed toward extinction. In this world, there are violent gangs, a massive refugee crisis, and a general sense of lawlessness. Moreover, the fact that there may only be one living child on the planet makes things seem even more depressing. That being said, Children Of Men is a highly entertaining film that features a well thought out dystopia
Planet of The Apes
It’s fair to assume most people would prefer to avoid a planet ruled by apes who have managed to conquer and enslave the human race. While the premises for the films seem a bit silly on the surface, they explore several complex themes, including race, animal rights, and even the cold war.
The monkey-based dystopia was designed to help us think about how we treat each other and the creatures who inhabit the planet alongside us. Still, themes aside, being ruled by animal overlords is no one’s idea of a good time. Thus Planet of the Apes is a planet best avoided.
The Purge
The Purge is a popular film franchise and television series that takes place in a dystopian America. The premise is that for one day, all crimes are legal for a 12 hour period. This national holiday is designed to get rid of (or “purge”) what the society considers to be unproductive emotions like hate and rage.
Unsurprisingly, a lot of bad things happen in the 12-hour stretch, though some emerge as heroes of sorts. Still, the idea of a holiday in which one can be subject to any crime, without the perpetrator suffering consequences of any kind, is unsettling, to say the least.
Terminator
The Terminator franchise offers a look into a future in which the world has been overrun by killer robots. These bots are controlled by an artificial neural network known as Skynet, which has driven the human race to the brink of extinction.
Those fortunate enough to be alive in this bleak vision of tomorrow are struggling to survive on a daily basis. In order to stay alive, one would need to fend off synthetic intelligent machines that are extremely dangerous and equally difficult to destroy. In other words, this is a dystopia in which human life is fragile and often short.
The Walking Dead
The zombie apocalypse is a concept that’s been explored in a variety of genres, including film and literature. However, AMC’s The Walking Dead offers a unique take on a world where zombies roam the land.
Sure, the undead are a significant threat to the show's protagonists, but as the series evolves, it becomes clear that other survivors are far more dangerous than the walkers. In essence, the show presents humankind as its own worst enemy in a time of crisis. Surviving in this dystopia would be incredibly difficult. If the flesh-eating zombies don’t get you, then one of the devious human factions likely will.
The Hunger Games
In the end, Katniss Everdeen made it a much better place. That being said, at the start of the film series, Panem (the world in which the Hunger Games occurs) was a prime example of a futuristic dystopia.
Panem was a totalitarian society where several small districts were essentially subservient to the capital. Moreover, as an annual punishment for a past rebellion, each district was required to provide a young male and female to compete in a televised fight to the death. While living under an authoritarian regime would be awful in its own right, Panem would be a particularly scary place for those living in the districts who could be forced to compete in the games.
The Leftovers
The HBO original series The Leftovers presents a truly unique Dystopia in which around two percent of the world’s population (140 million people) disappeared in an event known as “The Sudden Departure.”
The event put the world in a state of chaos in which fanaticism rules the day and resulted in the formation of several cults. What makes The Leftovers universe so different is that no one really knows what caused things to go haywire, as the origin of the departure isn’t explained until the very end of the show. This lack of knowledge creates a constant uneasiness among the population, who fear a similar event could happen again. Sometimes the unknown can be the most frightening thing of all.