Classic Dystopian Films for the Sci-Fi Geek

Above (clockwise): Metropolis (1927), Mad Max (1979), Planet of the Apes (1968), Gattaca (1997)

A dystopia is defined as “an imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded one.” What makes dystopias so interesting—and a corner stone of the sci-fi genre—is the fact that they are often the representation of a path our current world could take. If the wrong person is in power, what might happen to the world we now know? If we run out of resources, how will we cope? Here are just a few classic dystopian films every fan of the genre should watch.

A Clockwork Orange
1971

This Stanley Kubrick classic is based on the novel of the same name by Anthony Burgess, and it’s not for the faint of heart. Following Alex (played by Malcolm McDowell) and his band of delinquent “droogs” on their crime spree through a dystopian Britain, the film touches on youth gangs, juvenile delinquency, psychiatry, rape and what is called “ultra-violence”. When Alex is captured, a team of doctors attempt to “rehabilitate” him using a form of controversial psychological conditioning. A Clockwork Orange has been called both disturbing and thought-provoking in how it makes you consider what morality really means.

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Tags: dystopia, dystopian films, Sci-Fi, science fiction

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