Aditi Bhatnagar--Blog Post 7

The source I have selected for Unit 3 is I am Legend. This film takes place in New York City after a virus, initially made to cure cancer, unfortunately, formed a strand that either killed people or turned the people into predatory mutants. It managed to kill the majority of the population with the exception of the zombie like humans the virus created. However, the main character Robert Neville, who is a scientist, managed to survive because he was somehow immune to this virus. As the lone survivor, he attempts to use his own blood in search for a cure for the virus while protecting himself against the mutant humans.

This film should be interesting to me personally because in Unit 1 I studied the dystopian ideas in reference to individuality versus the lack of diversity both. These ideas can be seen between the individuality found in the sole survivor of the human race and the uniformity in the mutated humans. In addition, this film seems to display a clear division in society which I briefly examined in Unit 2. This is also found in the division between the protagonist and mutant zombies. Although this movie draws many parallels to dystopian themes I have studied in the past, I think it will present know dystopian ideas I have not studied such as the sense of hope that society will improve as well as the theme of violence.

Hollan Southwick Blog Post 7

I am choosing to work with The Giver by Lois Lowry as my primary source for Unit 3.  The Giver is a book about a young boy named Jonas.  At first, it appears that Jonas and the rest of his community lives in a utopian society.  They live in a community that follows "Sameness" - no color, no pain, no memories, and no emotion.  The idea of Sameness is for everyone to be equal and maintain order.  As the story unfolds, however, Jonas's world seems to become more and more like a dystopia.  Jonas has been selected to take the job of "Receiver of Memory," which means that he will be given memories of times before Sameness.  This is the most important job in this society. 

I believe this book will be the most interesting to analyze because it is originally laid out as a utopian society in the beginning of the book.  Once you continue to read, however, there is evidence of dystopian characteristics.  For example, it becomes clear to the reader that the government in Jonas’s society is partially tyrannical.  They take away a person’s individuality and compose rules that everyone must follow, such as taking a “medication” a necessity.  This medication is used to stop people from seeing color; they can only see black and white.  Therefore, one of the most important details in this book is color, which I find fun to analyze.  

Reilly Crabbs - Blog Post 7

For section 3 of this course I have decided to work with the book “Uglies” by Scott Westerfeld. This book in set in an undisclosed time in a future dystopian society. This society separates people into two groups: Uglies and Pretties. Uglies are basically modern day humans while pretties are genetically modified perfect specimens of humans. On one’s sixteenth birthday they become a Pretty and live a seemingly “blissful” life. Tally, the protagonist, anxiously awaits her turn to become a Pretty and along the way befriends another Ugly named Shay. Shay, however, rebels against societal norms and escapes the society with a group of defect uglies to live “real life”. The government then forces Tally to  find Shay and the other runaway Uglies and bring them back to face punishment or never become a Pretty herself.
I think this will fit my interests because it takes modern concepts, such as body dysmorphia, and takes it to a whole new level. Also, the surrounding areas in this society were destroyed due to oil mishaps, violence, and contamination. This is an exploitation of modern concepts as well which I wrote about in Essay 1. There is a lack of real emotion in the Pretties which was what my Essay 2 focused on. When an Ugly becomes a Pretty the scientists change more than just their looks. They also alter their mental states so they’re oblivious to the corruption. It will be really interesting to explore this concepts more in a reading of choice where I have more freedom to interpret.

Jordyn Kopelson- Blog Post 7

I have chosen to work with the film, The Giver. The Giver takes place in a futuristic society that is run by “the Elders”, where there is no pain, fear, war, hatred, color, music, love, etc. Therefore because of these absences, everyone is portrayed in an extremely uniformed manner. Within this community, “the Elders” control almost all aspects of ones life, as they chose whom one can marry, who their children will be, and what job they will be “assigned”, and when one is ultimately “released” from the world. Yet, despite the uniformity that prevails, Jonas, the main character is seen as “different”, where he has different colored eyes than most and has the unique ability to perceive color. Jonas then receives the job as the Receiver of Memory, where he receives memories from the “Giver”, which reflect what life was like before their community was created. Overall, once Jonas is exposed to the other side of the world, the side filled color and emotions, he is able to see through the system that “the Elders” have created and realizes that he must escape, in order to find the real world that lies outside of this oppressive society.

This film fits my interests within the dystopian genre very well, as I am extremely interested in futuristic societies. I enjoy seeing how different people perceive the future, where I then like to make my own predictions. Also, I think the overall concept of this film is very clever. I am really interested in seeing what specific memories Jonas is able to see and how much they differ from the life he currently lives in. Within this film, it seems that the authoritative state is taken to the extreme, as everything in ones life is planned out for them, where there seems to be absolutely no exceptions to the rules. In addition, I am curious to see why certain people, like Jones, have light colored eyes and have special powers that the majority of citizens do not possess. This aspect within the film is similar to Divergent, as Tris is also born with a “unique” virtue. Lastly, I am interested in seeing the development of the various relationships within the film, especially between Jones and the “Giver”, and also between Jones and the little boy, Gabriel.

Mary Sluder - Blog Post 7

The source I am choosing to analyze for the final unit is the movie I Am Legend. The protagonist, Robert Neville, is a scientist who is seemingly the only person left in New York City that is not affected by a man-made virus that turns humans into zombies. He was unable to stop the spread of the virus, so he goes throughout the city looking for other possible survivors, all while searching for a cure. The odds are not in his favor, as the zombie population is growing and they're also getting smarter.

This aligns with my interests in the dystopian genre because it is about a man working for what he believes in against all odds. He finds a sense of hope in this catastrophe and is doing all he can to cure this virus. Also, I love that he still has his dog with him. It aligns with an element of dystopia in that the dog is the hope that he has to go on, that he is not the only one left on Earth and he can find a cure. The dog is a symbol of hope and offers a connection to the old life he had before the virus. In midst of a catastrophe day by day, Robert finds hope to keep trying to find a cure.

Tyrus Tucker- Blog Post 7 (Snow Piercer)

        Snow Piercer is a post-apocalyptic dystopian narrative. A majority of life is now dead and frozen over because of a failed climate change experiment. The people who are still left alive are traveling around the world at a high speed, on a train. In this train a drastic class system is established; the further back from the main engine you go, the lower the class gets. Of course the basic dystopian plot is established; the rallying and overturning of the higher class controlling everything, condemning a certain group of people to a life of hardship. What makes the scenes particularly interesting though is the cramped and confined spaces of the train cars themselves, constantly keeping you on edge as you watch it.

Charlotte Humphrey - Blog Post 7

Primary Source: The Giver by Lois Lowry

Summary: The Giver by Lois Lowry is a novel that takes place in the future, in a society that has eliminated all evils. At the age of twelve, all members are assigned a job based on their natural talents and/or interests. The main character, Jonas, has just turned twelve and has been assigned the job of “the receiver of memory”. In this job, Jonas receives the memories of the past from “The Giver”, memories that are not shared with everyone and must be passed down between “Givers” so they can be kept. While this is happening, Jonas’ father is taking care of a newborn named Gabriel, who is struggling to grow and develop at the same rate of the other babies, which puts him at risk of being “released”; it is then that Jonas realizes being “released” is to be killed. Jonas then embarks on a journey to save Gabriel, in which the book ends with a very large cliffhanger.

Dystopian Genre: This novel exhibits a number of dystopian genre themes and ideas. Basic characteristics including the lack of knowledge beyond their own society, complete governmental control and an almost dehumanization of the members of society all attribute to the dystopic utopia created in the novel. The society is highly restrictive, administering medicine and controlling life and death, as well as assigning spouses and children and giving little to know information about anything besides what is of the utmost importance. The “total equality” creates “no humanity” and in turn causes Jonas to rebel in the one way he can, by trying to save Gabriel from being released.

Victoria Lipinski Blog Post 7

The primary source I chose is the film I am Legend. This movie is about a survivor of a man-made virus that is now left alone in New York City. This virus turns people into mutants who are bloodthirsty, known as The Infected. The main character, Robert Neville, is an intelligent scientist who is looking for other virus survivors while also trying to figure out a cure using his own blood. The Infected lurk in the shadows and wait for Robert to make a mistake. Robert is aware that his odds of surviving are slim, let alone finding a cure to this outrageous virus.

I am Legend will fit into my interests within the dystopian genre due to its division of society and lack of diversity. There is a clear separation within the classes. They consist of The Infected, and Robert Neville. It also includes the aspect that the protagonist has a special trait that is unlike the rest of the characters. For this film, it is that Robert Neville is immune to the virus. The film first came out in the year 2007, and was set in the year 2009. This plays into the futuristic aspect of dystopian worlds. This film fits many qualities of dystopian narratives.

Jorie Pollard Blog Post 7

The primary source I am choosing to work with is the movie Snowpiercer.  This film takes place on a train after an environmental experiment goes wrong and creates a second ice age. The humans who survived the fatal experiment live on the train which is separated by classes. This fits in with the dystopian genre because it takes place in a futuristic world. Also, the separation of classes within the train suggests it’s a dystopian world because those at the front have significant more power than those at the back which are the lower classes. At the front there is a clear leader that delegates this. The separation creates tension between classes which leads to violence another characteristic of dystopia.

Blog Post 7 due 11/6

By this Friday, choose the primary source you would like to work with in Unit 3. See the List of Primary Sources for suggested sources to choose from. If you pick your own source, it must be a work of fiction written in the past 20 years, with strong dystopian elements.

In this post, identify which source you have chosen to work with and provide a brief summary (100-200 words) about what this source is about and how you think this will fit your interests within the dystopian genre (another 100-200 words).

Note: you do not have to have read the book/watched the film by Friday. You only need to do enough research to select a source.