Distopia
While thinking about the idea of possible parallel universes, I came to the thought that the future is, in a way, a parallel universe. It is impossible to know how or what the future will become. Just imagine being a poor peasant back in the Middle Ages and being told that in the future men will walk on the moon, or that a person in China will be able to speak to a person in Europe as if they were standing in front of them. They would most likely assume the person saying this is mad. The future is always in question so I decided to examine the idea of a distopia future as a parallel universe. A distopia is basically a utopia (perfect world) that has absolutely no individualism. All privacy is eliminated for the sake of peace and security. Although we fiercely defend our privacy today, futurists have predicted worlds that enter into this realm of distopia. By examining their societies and the trends in cultural change during their times, these futurists present definite possibilities of a world without individual freedom. Although I have yet to have read it, George Orwell's 1984 is a novel that is often spoken of when examining the paths our culture is taking. In the novel, an individual is monitored at all times by "big
brother", a computer that searches for any evidence of social unrest. Even thoughts are monitored. Any thoughts against society, called "thought crimes", are immediately identified and the person thinking is arrested. Examples of this type of monitoring seen today could be: government agencies tapping phone lines throughout the nation listening for certain "key" words indicating terrorist activities, or the ability of online hackers to steal a person's identity and use it against the person. Irrational fears are stemming from everywhere and leading people to abandon individual privacy for security and stability. This trend is steadily increasing throughout the world as time and technology advances. The distopia portrayed in H.G. Wells, The Time Machine, seems at first a paradise. In the novel, a young man invents a time machine and transports himself into the far future. When first entering this world, he finds a perfect world. There is no murder, no money, or even a societal hierarchy. But when another race of humans enters, it is seen that this perfect society of humans is actually a herd of animals the other race uses for food. This upside down world was caused by a c
Some common words found in the essay are:
George Orwell's, Soviet Union, Middle Ages, HG Machine, , future parallel universe, future parallel, parallel universe, fahrenheit 451, perfect world, security stability, human society,
Approximate Word count = 802
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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