Utopia and Dystopia in German Literature and Film

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INTRODUCTION - The Concept of Dystopia: Historical Evolution and Contemporary Relevance

İrem Atasoy

Dreams of a perfect society, known as utopia, and its negative counterpart, dystopia, have been enduring subjects of literature, art and cinema for ages. Utopian and dystopian narratives function as cultural artifacts that reflect collective aspirations, hopes and fears regarding future developments of humanity. Modernist discourse frequently characterizes utopias as idealized models which represent a perfect society living in harmony. According to this assumption, utopian impulses are always born from dissatisfaction of the individuals with the present. They symbolize a yearning for a better world, a hopeful vision of what could be. Therefore, the imagination of utopias is a response to reality, offering potential solutions to its societal, economic, enviromental, political and educational issues. In this sense, utopias are conceptualized as idyllic realms and associated with alternative models for constructing superior societies. Despite their aspiration towards perfection, utopias are inextricably linked to the imperfections of reality. Thus, they always end up with corruption. When we associate the concept of utopia with the tradition established by Thomas More’s seminal text from 1516, we see that he juxtaposed the term “utopia” with its Greek counterpart “eutopia2 ” to underscore the unattainable nature of an ideal society (cf. Sargent, 2013, p. 11).



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