Thursday, April 28, 2011

In a dystopian film, which is better, truth, or happiness? In dystopian films like 1948, THX, Soylent Green, The Matrix, War of The Worlds, etc.,...

Unfortunately I didn't realise that I had to move this question to a different group, so here is my answer again!


Very interesting question! I think your proposed thesis statement would be an excellent one if you look at a variety of dystopian films and consider how this conflict is presented and resolved. Certainly from my point of view the overwhelming verdict from dystopian films would be that truth is better than happiness. Think of how unaware humans are presented, for example, in films like The Matrix. It is clearly suggested that it is much better to be aware and fighting for your life rather than ignorantly happy and not really living life at all. In all dystopias, both film and novels, this seems to be the clear message - yes, you can live a happy life, but the protagonists of these dystopian worlds strongly suggest that in these world you are not actually "living" a "life" at all, as that happiness is only achievable through the destruction of what we think of as "life" in the first place.

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