In my Uni class #ALC708 this week we were talking about the lenses of Dystopia and Utopia that allow us to explore the extremes of thinking around social media and online presence. Being and avid Sic-fi and fantasy fan I had to pinch my self out of my own utopia as released that i was in class and allowed to engage with the subjects of the day dreams that got me in so much trouble during high school, the 17 year old me would just not believe that this is what the 47 year old me was doing.
the dream of Utopia and the nightmare of Dystopia have always been exciting worlds my imagination to play in and so many times to escape to in a world that always seemed to want to drag me into its pragmatic reality. I recall parents teachers and even some friends swinging from facepalm to hair tearing at my seemly pointless flights of fancy. In all honesty there have been many times I have asked myself why I cant just grow up and live in the real world like normal people.
So is there any value in Utopian/Dystopian fantasies? The level of perfection and brokenness makes all such scenarios “no place”in reality. But then without the dream of the Utopian united federation of planets could Roddenberry have inspired the Ipad or the flip phone. Do communities formed in the walking dead hold up for us a mirror of the horrors of human greed and apathy and give us a glimpse of the best can be even in the worse of situations.
I know such thoughts are not every ones cup of Earl grey Tea Hot! but for me its nice to be studying in a field where I can feel such pondering and imagination can also be of practical use to reality.
This is a great post, thank you. Really helps me think this whole dystopia/utopia thing through. I read a lot but not science fiction. Time to branch out I think!
Kerry