Dystopian Science Fiction: Warnings Against Dangerous Futures

Credit: Pixabay

I apologise for another late posting but there was a birthday in the family on Saturday and I wasn’t able to get this post done in time. 

To me science fiction is not only fun entertainment but also a warning against dangerous futures and an encouragement for hopeful ones. Dystopian science fiction does a lot of the former, or at least the good ones do. Yet it’s too easy, especially with blockbuster films, to look at science fiction too much as escapist entertainment and not enough for the warnings it poses. An example of this is the controversy over the new TV series that debuts September 26, "Ring Nation”. There’s been a lot of concern that shows like this blur the demarcation line between entertainment and reality which is something that much science fiction literature, film and television have warned against. They are warnings that we mustn’t take too lightly. 

The ’Ring Nation’ Controversy

"Ring Nation" is a new reality TV series by Amazon and MGM that looks at funny and amusing situations caught on the doorbell security camera app called Ring. There have been complaints that this show will be one step closer to a surveillance police state. Many of these complaints are fueled by the fact that the studio, Big Fish, that produced the series also had come out with a controversial police reality show. I, at least in general, agree with these complaints. However, I more so believe the series will be that much closer to a surveillance state only if we don’t keep in check shows of its type and the technology they’re based on. 

So, I'm not saying that “Ring Nation” will be a bad thing within itself as much as I hate reality shows. Too many of them trivialise and turn into entertainment real peoples’ personal problems. I think the way this show is being produced comes across as clever and really creative all in the name of fun, “Candid Camera”- “America's Funniest Home Videos”-style of entertainment. Although, I stopped watching “America’s Funniest” years ago when it seemed to get too sadistic over people’s pain-inflicting accidents. 

However, there’s a legit concern that shows like “Ring Nation” will cause people to take the potential abuse of widely used surveillance technology too lightly. In doing so, we both as individuals and a society can become insensitive to other people’s problems. Although MGM claims that the show obtains user consent before airing footage, civil rights advocates are saying otherwise. I admit that I don't know how much is true on either side. However, the real problem that I'm seeing is that if we get too hooked on these shows, we’ll allow the technology that they’re based on to violate people’s individual rights. 

Dystopian Science Fiction That Compares to the Controversy

This is too comparable to dystopian science fiction that has predicted this sort of thing almost since the beginning of the 20th century. George Orwell's novel, "1984", has been used as an iconic reference for whenever society is in danger of turning into a surveillance state. Ray Bradbury's mid-20th century novel, "Fahrenheit 451", portrays a dystopian future of surveillance entertainment which includes the chase-down of a supposed criminal, and it also portrays the desensitising of humanity because of such entertainment. More recently, Cory Doctorow's 2008 novel, "Little Brother", has portrayed a similar dystopian future of surveillance, one where everyone suspects everyone else as a criminal. 

In TV, the Netflix anthology series, "Black Mirror", has several episodes about near-future surveillance societies. These episodes include ones about societies that use the technology for mass entertainment and the stupefying of a people as a result of it. I myself quit watching the series when I had too soon discovered that it’s too much about shocking people with vulgarity than it is about telling a good, intelligent story. A little like what reality TV already does which is kind of ironic of this series, isn’t it? However, the "White Bear" episode is one of the few good ones, not to mention scariest, that I've seen and really liked. 

The problem with “Ring Nation” isn’t necessarily the show itself. The problem is that if we don’t listen to the warnings of dystopian science fiction then shows like “Ring Nation” can get out of control to where they becomes too normalised leading to a fascist, surveillance state. We already over-depend on our smart phones and smart home devices including Ring-like security systems. By no means am I saying any of these devices are wrong within themselves. What I am saying is that if we depend on them too much, especially for pleasure, it can lead to tolerance of an Orwellian society where everybody has to watch their every move and speech because they are being watched, if not by government then by everybody else. 

When I write science fiction, particularly about dark futures or mad innovations in technology, I do so to both entertain and warn readers of what can happen if we as a society aren't careful. But I can't make anyone heed the warnings, that's up to each individual reader. However, I hope readers will see the warnings in stories such as one that I'll be including in my upcoming book of short fiction, "Bad Apps". It's called “The Simulator” and is about what can happen if we get obsessed with VR entertainment, regardless of how unlikely the event itself in the story is to occur. 

If you want more details on my upcoming book, "Bad Apps" and more expanded details on topics such as the one in this post, subscribe to my newsletter, "Night Creatures' Call". It's free!

Will you be watching "Ring Nation"? Will “Ring Nation” be watching you? Do you think it’s an example of techno society going dystopic and therefore comparable to dystopian science fiction?

Until next time . . .