Preface
Today's post is a bit different. You see, next Monday will mark the five-year-anniversary of Donald J. Trump being elected as President of the United States. For better or for worse (read: for worse), this was a monumental historical occasion to live through, so I figured that I should reflect upon the Trump era with a post. And it just so happens that the perfect post already existed - I just hadn't posted it yet. You see, in the weeks leading up to the 2020 election, I wrote two different posts depending on the outcome. Since Biden won, I posted my list of the Top 10 Party Movies, but had Trump won, I had a post fueled by fury and despair all ready to go - the Top 10 Dystopian Movies. Thankfully, I didn't have to post it - but then again, why let a perfectly good post go to waste? So, five years after Trump being elected into office, and one year after his re-election loss, here is the Top 10 Dystopian Movies list that I would've posted last year, if Trump had won. The text, as it appears below, was written in October-November of 2020, for the event of a Trump victory.
Top 10 Dystopian Movies
Totally unrelated, here's a list of the best dystopian movies. For whatever reason, my mind has recently gone a lot towards the events of cinema and literature that features bleak societies, crumbling democracies, police states and such - the genre started to feel more relatable around 4 years ago or so, and somehow I've felt even more of an itching to discuss the genre during the last few days. Go figure.
Anyways, these films are interesting takes on what life would look like if humanity chose a path of populism, corruption, violence and hatred - quite far-fetched, I know, but bear with me.
Here are my honorable mentions: I Am Legend (2007), Looper (2012), The Hunger Games (2012)
10. Mad Max (1979) and Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
The Mad Max films take place in a strange dystopian hellscape where the poor can't even afford basic necessities like food and health care, while the tyrannical rulers fight to maintain the status quo. The films take an interesting look at crime, as well as a strange, violent police force that sometimes just brutally murders people. There's even a scene where a character rapes someone and gets away with it due to a broken justice system. Can you imagine??
9. Blade Runner (1982) and Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
Blade Runner, as well as its critically acclaimed sequel, takes a philosophical look at the very essence of humanity. The films take place in a divided society, where the very lives and human rights of certain groups are questioned. It might be hard to picture a world in which different people have different amounts of value and their society questions their rights, but if you just suspend your disbelief, this set of far-out films will amaze you.
8. 12 Monkeys (1995)
12 Monkeys is a sci-fi thriller where the main hero travels back in time to prevent the spread of a deadly disease. It's crazy to think that a real-life government would allow the spread of such a virus, but this movie will show you just how chaotic a scenario like that would be. So if you feel like just forgetting about reality for a while and watching an action-packed film about a fatal disease rampaging across the land while a scientist who tries to prevent it is largely ignored, this is the escapist movie for you.
7. V For Vendetta (2006)
V For Vendetta is all about a scary, tyrannical government that is willing to do anything to keep in power, while trampling on the freedom of their subjects. One of the creepiest parts of the film's milieu is the narrative of a media company that is in cohorts with the government, thus spreading their agenda to regular people as a form of propaganda. Watching movies like this makes one very thankful for the unbiased and reliable media that we have here in the real world. Can you imagine what would happen if some crazy lunatics had a popular media network that always defended their actions and portrayed them as saints to everyone listening?
6. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange is an interesting look at how far criminal justice should go. It takes place in a dystopian society where the government uses extreme measures to punish criminals, calling into question the morality of their justice system. At least the main character who undergoes said treatment is an admittedly horrible person - the film's story would be a lot darker if those unjust measures were used on more innocent people based on arbitrary factors like their wealth of the color of their skin. Now that would be real dystopia.
5. Metropolis (1927)
All the way in the 1920's, Fritz Lang had quite a vision with this film - the oldest movie I've ever seen, as of now. It predicts a grim future where billionaires and huge corporations run the world, with all sorts of means of corruption and greed fuelling their actions. As they make more and more money, the environment is trampled on as it doesn't seem to be anyone's priority. Quite dark stuff - thank goodness that it's just a movie, am I right?
4. Planet Of The Apes (1968)
SPOILER ALERT: I cannot discuss this sci-fi classic without discussing its iconic plot twist - you've been warned. What seems like a strange film about a distant planet where monkeys rule everything becomes a surprisingly poignant dystopian story, when the final scene reveals that the titular planet is actually our very own Earth but in the future.
This has some insane implications: the twist ending implies that humanity never overcame its tendencies for violence and the inexplicable urge that some humans have to just destroy the shit out of each other. We should all look for signs of this potentially happening in real life, such as major nations using more and more money on their military spending so that they can continue to destroy the shit out of each other on a regular basis. Then again, the film also implies that the inhabitants of earth end up forgetting their civilized manners and going back to a primitive habits in their society and leadership - there's no way that could happen, right?
3. Terminator II: Judgement Day (1991)
I mean, it's just a bunch of people shooting at each other. Everyone has a ton of guns. It's strange that no one in the film does anything about the fact that everyone has a ton of guns and people keep getting shot. I'm sure if that were going on in real life, someone would do something about such a problem. I mean, what kind of group of sociopaths could just sit by as people keep getting shot time and again without having the slightest urge to restrict the availability of guns?!
All in all, Terminator II is a great action film.
2. The Matrix (1999)
This cool and zany Keanu Reeves film barely feels like a dystopian flick with all of its stylistic choices and badass action sequences. The film is mainly remembered for elements such as kung fu, entertaining visual imagery and Keanu saying "Whoa", but there is a serious backdrop to all of this. The Matrix takes place in a hellscape where everything is dark, hackers hold a scary amount of power, the very essence of human rights (not to mention freedom of speech and even free will) is questioned, and no one even seems to care about preserving what little is left of our nature. Far out, man. Thankfully this stuff is reserved for the sci-fi movies and not real life.
1. The Black Mirror (2011-Present) Season 2 Episode The Waldo Moment (2013)
Yes, yes, I know - it's a TV episode and not a movie. But in this particular genre in this particular context, nothing will ever come close to beating this Black Mirror episode from 2013. Sure, the premise where a foul-mouthed caricature from television gets into politics and his campaign succeeds despite his lack of experience and horrible rhetoric, is extremely far-fetched and something that could never happen in real life. But imaginative fictional tales like this serve as a stark reminder of how grateful we should be to live in a world where qualified and well-intentioned people always win elections. Just imagine the implication if this Black Mirror story about a populist TV celebrity winning an election happened in real life! Really makes you think.
Thank you for reading! Next week's Thursday is November 11th, and I will celebrate the eleventh day of the eleventh month by ranking the eleven greatest moments of popular Stranger Things (2016-Present) character Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown). So, on 11/11, be sure to tune in for my ranking of the Top 11 Eleven moments!
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