I got into a discussion recently about dystopian fiction and post apocalyptic fiction. I prefer the latter, maybe because dystopian fiction really scares me. Something about the repressive societies depicted, think Orwell’s 1984, just isn’t fun for me. Post apocalyptic fiction often depicts harsh living conditions and scary lawlessness, but I guess I would almost always pick personal freedom over being required to conform.
This got me thinking about the many different versions of the future depicted in books and movies. Fiction requires conflict, so there is always trouble of some sort brewing. But which version of the future would be you least want to live in? Would it be the mandatory early death dome society of Logan’s Run or the zombie apocalypse of The Walking Dead?
After giving it some thought, I’m thinking the world in the Chronicles of Riddick would top my list. Even if you discount the nasty necromongers vanquished in the film, you still have whole races (the Furians) that have been destroyed, terrible ice planets, bounty hunters at every turn, and underground prison worlds. Not much to recommend it in my book.
What fictional future would you least like to call home and why?
Smart Girls love SciFi 
I think ‘The Book of Eli’ would be close to the top in my list, but maybe not the winner because there are no zombies. Hm… That’s a good question, though!
Book of Eli was not my favorite movie, but it wouldn’t be so bad living in that future if you could live in the sanctuary they found in the end. 😉 I wouldn’t like the starving part. The crazy people eating other people was just creepy. But, hey,maybe I’d be thin for the first time in my life! LOL.
Blade Runner. Seemed like it could actually be one possible future. But..maybe The Matrix would be the worst.
Yeah, the Matrix is a pretty awful concept–but at least most people aren’t sufferring too much.
Hey -aren’t you supposed to be resting your eyes!
Yes…burning…ow.
I’m with Julia on The Matrix being a messed up situation. But definitely anything with zombies or where we’re reduced to eating each other. Those would be my worst of the worst. I think I could handle losing technology and having to go into uber survival mode, and I’d even be willing to face critters or other humans trying to off me to survive themselves. But undead and/or eating each other crosses my “GAH! NO WAY!” line 🙂
Cannibalism is definitely on my to avoid list!
The world depicted in Kevin Costner’s “Waterworld” immediately came to mind, I get seasick and if the only way to live was on a device that floated would not make it! However when the group of misfits that his character eventually throws in with finds land and it is beautiful and lush with Waterfalls and Wild Horses and fresh fruit growing wild that scenario I could handle!
That makes me think of the world of Heather Massey’s Once Upon a Time in Space. A really lousy world right up until the end. Then, hope for a better future. The power of heroes/heroines! 😉
As bad as 1984 is, I’d have to say the world of The Road by Cormac McCarthy would be the one I’d want to avoid most. That was one of the more depressing books I’ve ever read. At least Winston had some spunk!
Good choice!
Anything with zombies in it would be the first on my list. LOL.
And I have to agree with Jackie. Waterworld would not be a happy place for me because I can’t swim.
Not all zombies are equal. The lumbering dumb ones aren’t so bad. And they have the advantage of keeping the bad non-zombies at bay.
IDK Charlie. I am not sure I like any of those places. Soylent Green might be okay if you didn’t account for eating reconstituted people. And no Logan ran for a reason. However, once they got outside it was pretty nice. I certainly do not like zombies in any form or fashion. Riddick’s worlds do look rather challenging but for the common everyday person– making baskets or soap or bread might be okay. I’ve read some good options. I might like water world. I love the water. Good thoughts.
We don’t really know much about how the ordinary people live in Riddick’s world so it might not be so bad for them. Main characters tend to attract more problems. 🙂
I wouldn’t want to live in the future shown in the Terminator movies. Living underground and being chased by robots is fun in a movie but not so fun for real. Having food allergies would also add to the challenge of staying alive.
I have to agree – no terminator future for me. Being hunted is never fun and living underground would be awful.
Mad Max seemed pretty gritty and harsh….not something I’d look forward to!
LOL – no thunderdome for me!
Now how did I miss this post? I would hate any future with zombies. Sorry but they are the next worst creatures after vampires to me.
A few years ago while I was still with a dance company, we created a contemporary ballet dance drama that featured a post apocalyptic theme. I loved it! It had a rather grim and war-torn setting but came across fantastic on stage, and it was so much fun to dance.
Very cool–I’ve never seen a post-apoc themed ballet!
I Am Legend/The Omega Man strikes me was being a pretty miserable exsistence. The Postman would also rate high on my chart of bad, miserable futures.
At lease in I Am Legend he only had to worry about the nights. So lonely though.
Very true. Lonely nights. Oh speaking of odd and different dystopian/post-apocalyptic stories have you seen “Repo. The Genetic Opera?” Another strange one (and not one of my favorites) is “A Boy and His Dog.” with Don Johnson and Jason Robards. Very odd movie. But post-apocalyptic.
@ Checkmann111 – I’m not familiar with those titles, but I did watch a lot of late night post-apoc movies in the 80s. Too many to recall. The first one sounds interesting. I’ll have to go look it up.
The first one is actually a musical. Gory, but waayyyy over the top. Paul Sorvino, Anthony Head (Giles, Buffy the Vampire SLayer), Sara Brightman and Paris Hilton are just a few of the folks in the movie.
The second one (An Boy and His Dog) is about a young man (played by Don Johnson) who has a telepathic link with his dog in a post WW IV (yes Post WW IV) world. He finds an underground world populated by survivors and learns that he is needed because most males are now sterile. It’s based on a Harlan Ellison story. Naturally there is alot of nasty, biting satire.