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Utopias Becoming Dystopias 29763 Views


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Description:

This video defines utopias and dystopias, and investigates how a utopia might become a dystopia. Can a seemingly perfect world actually be a dystopia in disguise?

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:01

“Utopias Becoming Dystopias” a la Shmoop. Wherever you live, it’s far from perfect.

00:12

You might have too much traffic.

00:14

Excessive pollution.

00:16

The most fun place to hang out in your neighborhood might be the Bingo & Cross-stitch Hut.

00:24

Or you might live in a place with real problems… like persecution based on race or religion,

00:32

or…war. What if there was a perfect city?

00:36

A… utopia?

00:38

No traffic.

00:38

Clean air.

00:40

Awesome hangouts.

00:41

A place where everybody is beautiful and always young.

00:47

People of every race and religion would get along. There’d be no war, just peace and

00:51

happiness for everyone.

00:53

Perfection, right?

00:54

But wait, there’s no traffic because no one has a car… what if we want to leave?

01:03

Sure, it’s got awesome hangouts, but we’re… kind of tired of just hanging out…

01:10

What if they bulldozed all the parks to make room for the movie theater, the bowling alley,

01:14

the Cantonese-Greek Fusion Restaurant and Hibachi…

01:18

What if the powers-that-be went even further to make society perfect? What if everyone

01:25

had to wear the same perfect clothes?

01:30

What if there’s no race conflict because only one race is allowed?

01:34

And… what if there’s no conflict between people of different religions because the

01:38

government only allows one religion?

01:45

What if there’s no war because there’s only one government that controls every iota

01:49

of every person’s life?

01:50

Something is seriously wrong with this picture.

01:53

We’re beginning to think this place isn’t a utopia at all.

01:57

Maybe… something’s rotten under all the apparent perfection. There must be a word

02:03

for such a place...

02:04

Oh, yeah...dystopia.

02:06

It’s not perfect – it’s controlling and oppressive.

02:09

In the end, the line between a utopia and dystopia might be a lot finer than we think.

02:16

And suddenly we might realize that there may have been better, though more complicated,

02:21

answers to the world’s problems.

02:24

And maybe, deep inside… we might just miss the Bingo & Cross-stitch Hut.

02:28

That is …if the powers-that-be haven’t had our memories erased.

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