Utopian and Dystopian literature both present to their audience a style which highlights the issues of

their society. Utopian pieces provide an alternative for these issues, presenting the ideal of a perfect
world. Dystopian pieces show the opposite extreme, the composer taking something they
disapprove of in their society and hyperbolising it to create a world that we can recognize, but has
lost all the integrity that we know. Despite being at completely opposite ends of the spectrum,
Utopian and Dystopian texts share common elements, which is most often the themes that the
values that they are analysing, including the importance of religion, the consequences of modern
medicine and the importance of human relationships.

The theme of religion is one widely analysed throughout literature, this being the toleration of other
religions and the importance it holds in any society. This is explored by Thomas More in his 1806
novel Utopia. Utopia was written from the context where the Church of England was breaking away
from the Catholic Church, priests were corrupt and not loyal to their lord or their morals, and people
where split as to who to follow and what to believe. One of the conventions of Utopian literature is
to provide a seemingly perfect solution to the problems in society, and so Thomas More created a
world with complete religious tolerance. “Though there are many different forms of religion among
them, yet all these, how various so ever, agree in the main point.” More expresses his ideas through
dialogue, this makes the text seem more personal, and the responder is able to further identify with
the themes being presented, as it is structured like an explanation. It is argued that the world that
Hythloday describes isn’t More’s idea of a perfect world at all, being a Catholic man; but through this
theme, we are able to see where More mirrors the society in which he lives, linking to his ultimate
purpose, to enlighten the audience to what the human race is capable of. Regardless of whether
Utopia was what More believed was the true model of a perfect life, he shows to the responder that
he believes humans are capable of harmony, and provides an alternative.

The importance of religion is also explored in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. This novel varies
from many dystopian texts, as rather than being introduced to the story as a failed society, we see a
group of people make a genuine attempt to form a civilisation, and essentially create their own
dystopia. A symbol of religion in the text that is created by Golding is that character of Simon. Simon
in the novel is the one who help the small children find their food, provides solutions to the
problems, tries to enforce peace, and sometimes makes what can be interpreted by the responder
as prophecies; such as when he says to Ralph “you’ll make it out ok.” This significance of this symbol
in the text lies in its destruction. When Simon discovers a truth on the island, that there is no beast
to fear, he goes to tell the group, but they are in such a sadistic state, that they confuse him for
some sort of monster, “There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and
claws.” Golding is showing the responder the effecting of not accepting religion into your lives. After
Simon’s death, the island grows increasingly out of control, there is not hope remaining. Even the
title is a religious reference, “the lord of the flies” translated in Hebrew to the devil. In contrast to
creating a solution through his writing, Golding follows the conventions of Dystopia to hyperbolise
his society’s neglect of religion to warn of its consequences.

More recent dystopian texts address more modern themes, such as the abuse of science in
medicine. This issue in a modern context remains very controversial; no one knows where the line
should be drawn with use of medicine. In Francis Lawrence’s I Am Legend, we are exposed to a
world where science has become responsible for the complete destruction of the human race. In the
opening scene of the film, a television broadcast is shown; “TV Personality: And how many people
have you treated so far? Dr. Alice Krippin: Well, we've had ten thousand and nine clinical trials in
humans so far. TV Personality: And how many are cancer-free? Dr. Alice Krippin: Ten thousand and
nine. TV Personality: So you have actually cured cancer. Dr. Alice Krippin: Yes, yes... yes, we have.”
Lawrence uses a close up of the doctor’s face, to show that she is joyous and proud, indicating to the
audience that this was an important moment for the human race, a mark of achievement. Lawrence
then cuts immediately to a wide angle panning shot of post-apocalyptic society three years after that
broadcast. It is set in New York city, so there are land marks that the responder is able to identify
with, and yet the city has been taken over by nature, the building are damaged and empty, and
there is no people in site. Lawrence purposefully makes this abrupt change of setting to shock his
audience. The film I Am Legend is criticizing how medicine is too trusted in a modern society, and
Lawrence, through his visual techniques and dialogue, is attempting to shock his audience, and warn
them that human beings are capable of creating their own doom.

Andrew Niccol’s film Gattaca mirrors the theme of science and medicine, but focussing on the
progression of genetic profiling. Niccol was trying to reach an audience who were a part of a
revolution in science; technology was leading to breakthroughs in the study of genetics, where even
the seemingly impossible act of cloning a living specimen had been achieved. The question of
morality still remained though, and is still prevalent today, where should the line be drawn, when
have be as humans, tampered with nature too much? The protagonist in Niccol’s film, Vincent, is one
of the few people in his society conceived naturally; other people are created, designed for
perfection through genetic profiling. Because Vincent was not designed, he is deemed by society as
“invalid”. Niccol uses the birth of Vincent’s brother, Anton, to highlight to the audience that Vincent
is at a disadvantage. One scene, in a flashback of Vincent’s childhood, shows Vincent’s father
measuring Anton on a wall, to record how much he has grown. Vincent is not in the shot, his family
is in the background looking happy when Niccol uses a close up shot of the wall, to show that Anton
is younger, and taller than Vincent, and you can see Vincent’s hand rub his own measurement off
the wall. Niccol is showing his audience that in Gattaca, science has taken over the world to a point
where a healthy human being has to pretend to be someone else in order to achieve his goals. One
variation of traditional Dystopian conventions in Gattaca is Niccol’s use of hope throughout the film,
such as in the dialogue “I am here to tell you that it IS possible.” Niccol, as per the conventions of
dystopia, shows and warns his audience of the consequences of an abuse of science and technology,
but he also provides hope, informing his society that it is not too late to change the path the world is
headed in.

Whilst Gemma Malley’s 2008 Novel The Resistance does mirror the abuse of science in society,
another prominent theme is the importance of relationships. In the world the Malley creates,
science has found a cure to old age, and as a result; children are no longer an option. The world is
over populated and has little-to-no resources remaining, so any child that is born is taken into
captivity.
The protagonist in the story, Peter, is an adolescent who has become part of a resistance, trying to
recover what is left of the world. Malley shows the responder that the people in her world (based in
England), because of this scientific breakthrough, are no longer appreciative of the importance in
human connections. “My daughter and I always wanted to travel to Germany, I spose we will get
around to it someday. Mind you I haven’t seen her in five years now...” Malley highlights that in her
Dystopia, taking away the urgency to live, and the fear of death, causes people to lose all drive.
There is no longer a time limit, no longer a reason to get things done, because you have forever to
try. This contrasts with Peter’s story, Peter who is not immune to aging, and who relies on support
and love to get him through, the way human nature intended it. Malley makes comment on the
natural order of things, warning her audience of what we are capable of creating if we ignore the
development of new relationships. Vulnerability is an important part of the human condition.

The importance of relationships is also prominent in Gattaca. Vincent appears to the audience as a
very independent character, one who has surpassed all expectations and managed to achieve what
was seen as the impossible dream. However, upon reflecting the film, the audience can identify all of
the people who helped Vincent along the way, the most significant of these being Germone. Niccol
uses wide angle shots of Vincent and Gerome’s house to show the audience that is does not look like
a house at all; it is like a science lab. Throughout the film, you constantly see Gerome adding DNA
samples to the lab, samples which Vincent uses to pass as a “valid” member of society. There is great
contrast between the characters of Vincent and Gerome, one wanting to achieve the best but being
discriminated by society, and the latter seen as the perfect specimen but not having the spirit to
achieve anything at all. What is most important is that neither character could achieve what they
desired in the film without each other, emphasising the importance of human relationships shown in
the dialogue; “I got the better end of the deal. I only lent you my body. You lent me your dream.”
Vincent achieving his dream at the end of the film provides a message to the responder, that if you
have faith in the human race, and rely on other people rather than on technology and medicine,
there is hope left for the world.

Through mutual values composers of Utopian and Dystopian literature are able to express pointed
messages to their audience criticising the flaws in their society.