The Dystopian Geography
In: Edgelands: A Collection of Monstrous GeographiesSearch for other papers by Elisabetta Di Minico in
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Dystopia is the dark, disenchanted opposite of the optimistic utopia. It describes the worst of all possible realities, where people are heavily manipulated, conditioned and repressed. In such degenerative and fictitious societies, geography becomes a ‘tool’ as any other to control the population: it is not just a physical factor, it is also a political, economical and a social agent, because regimes can use architecture as propaganda or intimidation. Indeed, scenery is one of the key elements of dystopian fears and settings are obscure and suffocating. Usually authors insist on descriptions that include dark colors, like black or gray. Dystopian cities embody injustice and terror and they physically trap citizens in delusional and claustrophobic realities. In these contexts, individuals and buildings are tied together up, psychologically and symbolically. Architecture is perceived like an huge and imposing organism able to swallow men. Intimidated by alienating urban majesty, people feel increasingly powerless. In this way, it’s easier for the system to abolish individualism and confine the shapeless mass that lives in these distorted worlds. The deeper the dystopia is, the more geographic limits are delineated and fixed, while outside the metropolitan borders, usually, there is liberty and hope for a better society. Nature is primitive and chaotic, but, at least, there is still place for free will. I will analyze how monstrous geography contributes to dystopian works, starting from a general introduction of the genre and focusing on its best examples, as George Orwell’s 1984, Ayn Rand’s Anthem or Fritz Lang’s Metropolis. The geography of the habitat of a given community seems to reflect the society it belongs to, since urbanism can show states’ livelihood conditions, traditions, governance of a state and many more. If reality is infected, geography will recognize and assimilate the infection.