My Favorite Dystopia

 “Blessed be the New Founding Fathers for letting us Purge and cleanse our souls, Blessed be America, a nation reborn.” A country where unemployment is at the lowest of one percent, a community where crime is technically at zero, and a government that allows rape, murder, and any crime deemed legal for one night out of the year. Though what appears to embody a “perfect” country, it is a place where Americans fear for their lives, and a place where monstrous citizens take out their insanity on the innocent and poor.
The Purge is one of my favorite dystopian movies because of the irony that is captured throughout the film. There is not one thing splendid about the country; in fact, it is a place based on survival of the richest. The majority of the people killed, raped, and robbed are the people and families who do not have money to buy home security systems or weapons. Similarly, it is the same, if not worse, of a community where crime is always illegal. Whether a man rapes a women once a year or multiple times a year, they are still the same vile rapist. The government, in a sense, gives the morbid citizens a silver spoon in unleashing their abhorrent cravings for crime and unlawful activity. This movie appeals to me because it is such a contradictory of a perfect country, and superiority the wealthy has over the poor is similar to the early 1800’s where the rich had all the power. Though the government states this is a way to “cleanse our souls”, it is nothing but a place filled with corruption. What once appeared as an “American dream” is more of an “American nightmare” instead. Although the movie is quite gory and unrealistic, the movie displays the dark and ill nature of high society which periodically could relate to the world today.
   Although I did not recognize my affinity for dystopias until beginning this class, I find myself intrigued in the irony and degeneration of a place or humanity that follows the genre. I also find myself captivated in stories that have dystopias within the characters. For instance, the novel The Great Gatsby is one of my favorite stories because there are two dystopian occurrences in the story. First, it is a setting of no moral structure, where self-gratification fuels everyone. Reality is masked with flashy parties and extravagant attire, and war was not even thought about. Secondly, Gatsby himself creates a dystopian world upon himself. The oversized mansion and the glamourous parties were all for Daisy; Gatsby’s love for Daisy empowered everything in his life and well being, which ultimately destroyed his life in every aspect. Although the novel is not classified as a dystopian genre, I appreciate text where dystopias arise because they typically stem from love, a craving for greater good, and good intentions, but in turn end in ruin and despair. I particularly enjoy the juxtaposition between love and dystopias, such as the case of Gatsby and Daisy, because romance novels are one of my favored genres.