It seems like every day a new far-fetched, highly exaggerated scenario from a movie comes to life daily, in the form of breaking news. Between AI taking over and our attention spans rapidly decreasing, more and more dystopian films have started to look like mockumentaries.
Here is a list of some of the dystopian movies that are highly reminiscent of the current issues in our world, which I think is why it is important to revisit them or take a look for the first time.
#1. Idiocracy (Mike Judge, 2006)
From the mind behind Office Space and Beavis and Butt-head, Mike Judge’s Idiocracy is a classic dystopian satire. In this film, Joe Bauers (Luke Wilson), a regular-joe, is selected to participate in a secret hibernation program for the government. Unfortunately, he is left forgotten and stays frozen for hundreds of years. When he is miraculously found, he wakes up to a world where the average IQ has decreased by a significant amount due to low attention span and robots doing everything for humans. Joe instantly becomes the smartest man on earth. This movie takes our parents’ “the phone is making you dumb!” advice to a whole other level. Also Terry Crew’s President Camacho has a big resemblance in character to a certain someone in the oval office.
#2. The Purge (James Demonaco, 2013)
This is an action/suspense franchise that explores how far the government would go in order to keep “peace” at a low cost. Set in the year 2022 (funny, I know), after the U.S crime rate blows up, the government comes up with a plan. For a single day of the year, no crimes will be prosecuted, in order to “cleanse and rebirth as a nation.” The purge movies always involve a group of everyday people attempting to survive the 12 hours of punishment-free crime. While iconic, these movies are also a great reminder that combating fire with fire won’t lead to any advancement and that the government often seems willing to do anything but fix the country.
#3. The Eternal Sunshine of A Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004)
Joel (Jim Carrey) is a middle-aged man who feels taunted by his monotonous life. He is tired of the routine, and feels like he is just an overall boring guy with no real interests or passions. One day on his way to work, he meets Clementine (Kate Winslet), a bright orange-headed girl that is the exact opposite of Joel. She is hyper-active and always keeps a playful attitude. They are exact opposites, which is the main reason for their instant attraction.
As their relationship progresses, this same characteristic that bonded them starts to tear them apart; Clem is exhausted of Joel’s constant pessimism and mundane attitude while Joel is exhausted of Clem’s overly emotional and un-serious moods. This breaks them apart, but they can’t stay away from each other for long; it becomes a brutal cycle. This leads them to seek help with a doctor that has a technology capable of wiping selected memories from a person’s brain without repercussions. This leads to a vicious cycle of meeting, falling in love, getting tired of each other, and wiping their memories. I debated whether to include this film because it isn’t exactly dystopian, but it’s relatable: in a world where moving on to the next thing has become the norm, The Eternal Sunshine reminds us that fixing does not involve moving on, but working together.
#4. The Platform (Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia, 2019)
In this Spanish film, prisoners are sent to a large, industrial tower called the “Vertical Self-Management Center” where they are placed in floor cells in pairs. They are fed through a system where a platform is lowered from the top with plenty of food to feed the inmates. Since everyone tries to eat as much as they can, the people on the lower levels are left to starve, leading to inhumane acts. Every month, convicts switch floors, which means your overall health relies on your level. This movie makes a great allegory for our world’s food and wealth distribution system.
#5. Her (Spike Jonze, 2013)
A robot apocalypse is not as crazy as it used to sound, and one of the first things they’d go for is human connection. That is why I think this film is scarier than it initially was, a decade later after its release. Her tells the story of Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix), a writer at a hand-written letter service that sends heartfelt messages for people who are uncreative or busy. He feels extremely lonely, as he doesn’t have a partner, and spends his days wondering what it would be like to be the one asking for his services and not the one writing. One day, he is met with the news that a new company has developed an AI operating system designed to be emotionally available and become a partner. At first Theo is hesitant, but decides to try nonetheless due to his loneliness – his worst mistake. This movie is amazing not just because of how entertaining it is, but also because of how realistic it has become. The AI, Sam (Scarlett Johansson), becomes a vital part of Theo’s life and he relies on her to be emotionally stable: a theme that resonates with many people today.
