Brave new world? Dystopias in film and literature

Orwell's allegorical novella "Animal Farm" was published 75 years ago, on August 17, 1945. It was also later adapted into cartoon versions (above, a film from 1954). Referring to the chaos and the trauma of World War II in this political satire, the author reveals his bleak view of humanity — which can also be read in another one of his well-known books, "1984."

Published in 1949, George Orwell's novel "1984" also painted a grim picture of a totalitarian surveillance state no one could hope to escape. Yet the English writer and journalist (1903-1950) could not have imagined the kind of control the internet would one day have. The photo shows John Hurt in the 1984 film adaptation.

Unlike utopias, dystopias depict a gloomy view of the future. They emerged as a side effect of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, and questioned people's faith in technology and progress at the time. The 1932 futuristic novel "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley created a dystopia that still today stands for the horrors of totalitarian rule.

Herbert George Wells (1866-1946) was a science fiction literature pioneer. His 1895 novel "The Time Machine" took a critical look at Victorian society. His protagonist (the photo shows Rod Taylor in the 1959 film adaptation) travels toward an uncertain future with the help of a secret invention. Beware the Morlocks!

Fahrenheit 451 is the temperature at which paper supposedly self-ignites. This is what Ray Bradbury called his 1953 novel about a country where people are not allowed to own or even read books. Free thinking is considered dangerous and antisocial. In Francois Truffaut's film adaptation, this fire brigade uses flamethrowers to destroy the written word.

Fritz Lang's 1927 silent movie "Metropolis" is set in a fictional major city. Mankind is split into two classes: One class indulges in luxury, the other toils at huge machines in the underworld. Lang's epic opus had mix reviews at the time of its release. Today, the German film exploring the impact of technical innovation is considered a masterpiece, a pioneer of the dystopian genre.

It is breathtaking to see how Polish-born Stanislaw Lem foresaw the technical upheavals of the 21st century. In stories and novels like "The Futurological Congress," "Golem XIV" and "Solaris" he focused on key philosophical and ethical questions. Where does total automation lead? His prognosis was none too optimistic.

Franz Kafka's work defies clear interpretations. Yet the texts of the linguistic purist (1883-1924) are often regarded as dystopian responses to an alienating modernist bureaucracy. This is especially true of the 1915 novel "The Trial." Today, we refer to situations like those described by Kafka — bizarre, nightmarish — as kafkaesque.

The Canadian author catapulted the literary genre of dystopias straight into the streaming age. Atwood's novels "The Handmaid's Tale" and "The Testaments" show life in Gilead, a totalitarian state created in America by religious fundamentalists in the wake of environmental disasters. Adapted into a hit TV series starring Elisabeth Moss (picture), the story now inspires activists around the world.

Where is the land that provides for its citizens, where people are happy? Thomas More lived in 16th-century England, the era of the Renaissance and the Reformation, but also of the discovery of the New World. In More's book, a sailor outlines an ideal society. He and More debate private property and social equality. "Utopia" established the literary genre of utopian fiction.