image via i09
The future looks bleak. At least according to futurists, economists, and science fiction authors (as well as pretty much anyone else). Seems we are getting closer and closer to Mad Max than we may actually think. Though a great many of us love playing through war torn and battered future landscapes in video games, and reading or watching them on TV, did you know those dystopian science fiction worlds have rules? Writer Annalee Newitz over at i09 has put together a very solid list that shows some of the basic rules that all fiction set in a dystopian world must follow. In talking about class systems she makes some brilliant points:
It's not enough to call the groups "haves" and "have-nots." They each need peculiar, evocative names like The Aspiring and The Disdained. Or they should only be known by the place they come from, like Quadrant 6 or The Outer Rim.
The piece is wonderfully written, and shows us that even lawless, brutal, dystopian societies that are crumbling have unspoken rules to follow. By the way, did I mention how bad the traffic was today in Quadrant 6 on my way to work? Man, we need to do something with The Disdained. Their highways are a mess.