WEBVTT

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Have you ever tried to picture
an ideal world?

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One without war, poverty, or crime?

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If so, you're not alone.

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Plato imagined an enlightened
republic ruled by philosopher kings,

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many religions promise 
bliss in the afterlife,

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and throughout history,

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various groups have tried to build
paradise on Earth.

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Thomas More's 1516 book "Utopia"
gave this concept a name,

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Greek for "no place."

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Though the name suggested impossibility,

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modern scientific and political progress

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raised hopes of these dreams
finally becoming reality.

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But time and time again,
they instead turned into nightmares

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of war, famine, and oppression.

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And as artists began to question
utopian thinking,

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the genre of dystopia,
the not good place, was born.

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One of the earliest dystopian works
is Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels."

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Throughout his journey, Gulliver
encounters fictional societies,

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some of which at first seem impressive,
but turn out to be seriously flawed.

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On the flying island of Laputa,

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scientists and social planners
pursue extravagant and useless schemes

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while neglecting the practical needs
of the people below.

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And the Houyhnhnm who live
in perfectly logical harmony

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have no tolerance for the imperfections
of actual human beings.

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With his novel, Swift established
a blueprint for dystopia,

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imagining a world where certain trends
in contemporary society

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are taken to extremes,

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exposing their underlying flaws.

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And the next few centuries would
provide plenty of material.

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Industrial technology that promised
to free laborers

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imprisoned them in slums
and factories, instead,

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while tycoons grew richer than kings.

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By the late 1800's, many feared
where such conditions might lead.

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H. G. Wells's "The Time Machine" imagined
upper classes and workers

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evolving into separate species,

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while Jack London's "The Iron Heel"
portrayed a tyrannical oligarchy

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ruling over impoverished masses.

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The new century brought more exciting
and terrifying changes.

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Medical advances made it possible
to transcend biological limits

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while mass media allowed instant
communication

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between leaders and the public.

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In Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World",
citizens are genetically engineered

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and conditioned to perform
their social roles.

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While propaganda and drugs keep
the society happy,

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it's clear some crucial 
human element is lost.

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But the best known dystopias
were not imaginary at all.

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As Europe suffered unprecedented
industrial warfare,

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new political movements took power.

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Some promised to erase 
all social distinctions,

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while others sought to unite people
around a mythical heritage.

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The results were real-world dystopias

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where life passed under the watchful eye
of the State

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and death came with ruthless efficiency
to any who didn't belong.

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Many writers of the time didn't
just observe these horrors,

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but lived through them.

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In his novel "We", Soviet writer
Yevgeny Zamyatin described a future

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where free will and individuality
were eliminated.

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Banned in the U.S.S.R., the book inspired
authors like George Orwell

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who fought on the front lines
against both fascism and communism.

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While his novel "Animal Farm" directly
mocked the Soviet regime,

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the classic "1984" was a broader critique
of totalitarianism, media, and language.

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And in the U.S.A., Sinclair Lewis's
"It Can't Happen Here"

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envisioned how easily democracy
gave way to fascism.

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In the decades after World War II,

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writers wondered what new technologies

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like atomic energy, 
artificial intelligence, and space travel

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meant for humanity's future.

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Contrasting with popular visions
of shining progress,

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dystopian science fiction expanded
to films, comics, and games.

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Robots turned against their creators

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while TV screens broadcast
deadly mass entertainment.

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Workers toiled in space colonies
above an Earth of depleted resources

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and overpopulated, crime-plagued cities.

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Yet politics was never far away.

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Works like "Dr. Strangelove" and "Watchmen"
explored the real threat of nuclear war,

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while "V for Vendetta"
and "The Handmaid's Tale"

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warned how easily our rights could
disappear in a crisis.

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And today's dystopian fiction continues
to reflect modern anxieties

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about inequality,

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climate change,

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government power,

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and global epidemics.

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So why bother with all this pessimism?

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Because at their heart, dystopias
are cautionary tales,

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not about some particular government
or technology,

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but the very idea that humanity can be
molded into an ideal shape.

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Think back to the perfect world
you imagined.

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Did you also imagine what it would
take to achieve?

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How would you make people cooperate?

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And how would you make sure it lasted?

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Now take another look.

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Does that world still seem perfect?