A
PERFECT


WORLD?



UTOPIAS
AND

DYSTOPIAS







-1-
INDEX


HSC
PRELIMINARY
COURSE 4

TEXTS,
CULTURE
AND
VALUE 4
ELECTIVE
RUBRIC 4

KEY
TERMS 5

A
PERFECT
WORLD 5

THE
KEY
TEXTS
SET
FOR
STUDY 6
FOCUS
QUESTIONS 6

DYSTOPIAS:
DEFINITION
AND
CHARACTERISTICS 7

CHARACTERISTICS
OF
A
‘TYPICAL’
DYSTOPIAN
SOCIETY 7
TYPES
OF
DYSTOPIAN
CONTROLS 7
THE
DYSTOPIAN
PROTAGONIST 7

VARIETIES
OF
UTOPIAS 8

ECOLOGY 8
ECONOMICS 8
POLITICS
AND
HISTORY 9
RELIGIOUS
UTOPIA 9
SCIENCE
AND
TECHNOLOGY 10
FEMINISM 10

GREEK
AND
ROMAN
MYTHS 12

THE
GOLDEN
AGE
/
ELYSIUM 12

AN
EXCERPT
FROM
THE
INTRODUCTION
OF
CAREY’S
THE
FABER
BOOK
OF
UTOPIAS,
PUBLISHED
IN

1999: 14

QUESTIONS 14
EXCERPT
FROM
LITERATURE
OF
TRAVEL
AND
EXPLORATION 15

BIBLE
EXTRACTS 19

GENESIS
1 19
GENESIS
2 19
GENESIS
3 20

CONVERSATIONS
ABOUT
THE
INTERNET
#5:
ANONYMOUS
FACEBOOK
EMPLOYEE 21

-2-
QUESTIONS 24
BACKGROUND
INFORMATION
ON
THE
“1984”
MACINTOSH
COMMERCIAL 27
1984
BY
GEORGE
ORWELL 27
FAST
FACTS
ABOUT
THE
“1984”
MACINTOSH
COMMERCIAL 27

SCENE‐BY‐SCENE
SUMMARY
OF
THE
“1984”
MACINTOSH
COMMERCIAL 28

METROPOLIS
(FRITZ
LANG,
1927) 29
BRAZIL
(TERRY
GILLIAM,
1985) 29
I,
ROBOT
(2004) 29
GATTACA 29

REFERENCES 33

-3-
HSC
PRELIMINARY
COURSE





Texts,
Culture
and
Value



Students
should
examine
each
text
to
determine:

• How
the
language
of
the
text
shapes
and
reflects
its
values

• Why
the
text
is
valued
and
in
what
context

• What
is
the
relationship
between
the
text
and
its
culture

• To
what
extent
the
cultural
values
of
the
text
have
changed
or
maintained




Elective
Rubric



Utopias
and
Dystopias



In
this
unit
students
explore
texts
which
relate
to
the
concepts
of
utopias
and
dystopias.
Utopias

were
and
are
used
in
literature
to
satirise
and
critique
society.
Utopias
are
typified
by
the
author’s

idealization
of
key
paradigms
such
as
politics,
class,
religion
and
law.
The
portrayal
of
an
ideal

commonwealth
has
a
double
function:
it
establishes
a
standard,
a
goal;
and
by
virtue
of
its
existence

alone
it
casts
a
critical
light
on
society
as
presently
constituted.
Over
time,
there
has
been
a
shift

towards
the
composition
of
dystopias
which
serve
the
same
satiric
and
allegoric
purpose
in
a
form

that
rather
than
idealizing
certain
values,
the
presentation
of
a
dystopia
shows
the
effect
of
a
world

with
differing
or
an
over
emphasis
on
certain
values.




The
study
of
these
texts
examines
and
explores
the
composers’
values
and
the
impact
of
context.
It

will
also
show
the
transformation
and
the
shift
in
the
genre
and
form
over
time.



Echoing
the
standards
of
the
HSC
prescriptions,
students
are
required
to
study
at
least
three

of
the
prescribed
texts,
two
of
which
must
be
print
texts,
as
well
as
other
texts
of
their
own

choosing.
In
their
responding
and
composing
they
explore,
analyse,
experiment
with
and

critically
evaluate
their
prescribed
texts
and
a
range
of
other
appropriate
examples.
Texts

should
be
drawn
from
a
range
of
contexts
and
media,
and
should
reflect
the
concerns
of
the

Romantic
period.

English
Stage
6
Prescriptions
2009‐2012
Board
of
Studies
NSW,
Sydney


-4-
Key
Terms



TEXTS
are
communications
of
meaning
produced
in
any
medium;
including
sound,
film,

electronic
and
multimedia
representations.
They
may
be
extended
unified
works
or
a
series

of
related
pieces.
It
is
a
collective
noun
used
to
refer
to
this
variety
of
forms.




CULTURE:
the
social
practices
of
a
particular
people
or
group,
including
shared
beliefs,

values,
knowledge,
customs
and
lifestyle.




POPULAR
CULTURE:
cultural
experiences
widely
enjoyed
by
members
of
various
groups

within
the
community.




VALUE:
to
estimate
or
assign
worth
to
a
text;
to
consider
something
to
have
worth.




APPROPRIATION:
The
process
whereby
a
text
has
been
taken
from
one
context
and

translated
into
another.
The
process
of
translation
allows
new
insights
into
the
original
text

and
emphasises
contextual
differences
between
the
two.




CONTEXT:
The
range
of
personal,
social,
historical
and
cultural
conditions
in
which
a
text
is

composed
AND
responded
to.





A
Perfect
World



1. Go
through
the
description
of
the
course.


2. Read
the
various
excerpts
about
utopias.


3. In
small
groups,
design
your
own
utopia.


a. Give
it
a
name.


b. A
political
system.


c. Social
structure
–
consider
class
and
family.


d. Work
and
law.


e. Basic
economics.


f. Education

g. Anything
else
you
think
it
may
need.


4. Present
this
to
the
class.



To
help
brainstorm
ideas
for
your
perfect
societies:


If
you
could
live
anywhere
in
the
world,
where
would
you
live?


Why?
What
about
this
place
appeals
to
you?

Describe
your
perfect
life.

Who
would
you
want
with
you?

What
would
you
do
every
day?

How
would
you
make
money?

What
kind
of
rules
would
you
follow
(or
not)?


-5-
Introduction



Utopia
is
a
name
for
an
ideal
community
or
society,
that
is
taken
from
Utopia,
a
book
written
in
1516

by
Sir
Thomas
More
describing
a
fictional
island
in
the
Atlantic
Ocean,
possessing
a
seemingly
perfect

socio‐politico‐legal
system.
The
term
has
been
used
to
describe
both
intentional
communities
that

attempted
to
create
an
ideal
society,
and
fictional
societies
portrayed
in
literature.
"Utopia"
is

sometimes
used
pejoratively,
in
reference
to
an
unrealistic
ideal
that
is
impossible
to
achieve.
It
has

spawned
other
concepts,
most
prominently
dystopia.




The
word
comes
from
the
prefix
"not",
and
τόπος,
"place",
indicating
that
More
was
utilizing
the

concept
as
allegory
and
did
not
consider
such
an
ideal
place
to
be
realistically
possible.
The

homophone
Eutopia,
derived
from
the
Greek
εὖ,
"good"
or
"well",
and
τόπος,
"place",
signifies
a

double
meaning
that
was
almost
certainly
intended.
Despite
this,
most
modern
usage
of
the
term

"Utopia"
assumes
the
latter
meaning,
that
of
a
place
of
perfection
rather
than
nonexistence.



The
notion
of
utopia
has
been
represented
in
many
acient
texts
including
The
Republic
by
the
Greek

philosopher
Plato
and
the
Biblical
books,
Genesis
and
Revelation.
The
Republic
is
the
earliest

surviving
European
writing
on
the
idea
of
utopia
(although
of
course
the
term
utopia
did
not
exist

until
More’s
writings).





The
key
texts
set
for
study

Utopia
by
Thomas
More

Fahrenheit
451
by
Ray
Bradbury

Gattaca
by
Andrew
Niccol




Students
will
examine:


• The
features
of
these
stories


• The
values
of
each
society

• The
context
and
values
of
the
composers

• The
values
we
bring
ot
the
texts
as
21st
century
responders





Focus
Questions

1. Why
is
the
notion
of
utopia
fascinating
to
Western
cultures?
Is
it
also
of
interest
to
other

cultures?
What
are
the
ways,
and
the
reasons
why,
utopian
texts
are
culturally
significant

and
valued?


2. What
is
the
purpose
of
utopian
texts?
Do
the
composers
intend
to
create
an
ideal
which
is

unattainable?
Does
the
utopian
text
create
a
workable
blueprint
for
a
new
and
better

society?
Is
the
purpose
of
the
work
to
satirise
the
composer’s
own
society
by
postulating
a

better
or
worse
world?


3. What
is
the
context
of
the
utopian
text?
The
composer’s
own
personal,
social,
historical
and

cultural
conditions
have
influenced
the
creation
of
the
text.
Why
is
this
more
prominent
in

this
genre
than
other
genres
of
texts?
The
responder
also
brings
his/her
own
context
to
the

examination
and
understanding
of
the
text.


4. How
does
the
composer
represent
his/her
concept
of
utopia?
How
does
the
representation

shape
and
reflect
values?



-6-
Dystopias:
Definition
and
Characteristics


Utopia:
A
place,
state,
or
condition
that
is
ideally
perfect
in
respect
of
politics,
laws,
customs,
and

conditions.


Dystopia:
A
futuristic,
imagined
universe
in
which
oppressive
societal
control
and
the
illusion
of
a

perfect
society
are
maintained
through
corporate,
bureaucratic,
technological,
moral,
or
totalitarian

control.
Dystopias,
through
an
exaggerated
worst‐case
scenario,
make
a
criticism
about
a
current

trend,
societal
norm,
or
political
system.



Characteristics
of
a
‘typical’
Dystopian
Society


•
Propaganda
is
used
to
control
the
citizens
of
society.


•
Information,
independent
thought,
and
freedom
are
restricted.


•
A
figurehead
or
concept
is
worshipped
by
the
citizens
of
the
society.


•
Citizens
are
perceived
to
be
under
constant
surveillance.


•
Citizens
have
a
fear
of
the
outside
world.


•
Citizens
live
in
a
dehumanised
state.


•
The
natural
world
is
banished
and
distrusted.


•
Citizens
conform
to
uniform
expectations.
Individuality
and
dissent
are
bad.


•
The
society
is
an
illusion
of
a
perfect
utopian
world.





Types
of
Dystopian
Controls


Most
dystopian
works
present
a
world
in
which
oppressive
societal
control
and
the
illusion

of
a
perfect
society
are
maintained
through
one
or
more
of
the
following
types
of
controls:


•
Corporate
control:
One
or
more
large
corporations
control
society
through
products,

advertising,
and/or
the
media.
Examples
include
Minority
Report
and
Running
Man.

•
Bureaucratic
control:
Society
is
controlled
by
a
mindless
bureaucracy
through
a
tangle
of
red

tape,
relentless
regulations,
and
incompetent
government
officials.
Examples
in
film
include

Brazil.


•
Technological
control:
Society
is
controlled
by
technology—through
computers,
robots,
and/or

scientific
means.
Examples
include
The
Matrix,
The
Terminator,
and
I,
Robot.


•
Philosophical/religious
control:
Society
is
controlled
by
philosophical
or
religious

ideology
often
enforced
through
a
dictatorship
or
theocratic
government.



The
Dystopian
Protagonist


•
often
feels
trapped
and
is
struggling
to
escape.


•
questions
the
existing
social
and
political
systems.


•
believes
or
feels
that
something
is
terribly
wrong
with
the
society
in
which
he
or
she
lives.


•
helps
the
audience
recognizes
the
negative
aspects
of
the
dystopian
world
through
his
or
her

perspective.



-7-
Varieties
of
Utopias



More's
Utopia
is
largely
based
on
Plato's
Republic.
It
is
a
perfect
version
of
Republic
wherein

the
beauties
of
society
reign
(eg:
equality
and
a
general
pacifist
attitude),
although
its

citizens
are
all
ready
to
fight
if
need
be.
The
evils
of
society,
eg:
poverty
and
misery,
are
all

removed.
It
has
few
laws,
no
lawyers
and
rarely
sends
its
citizens
to
war,
but
hires

mercenaries
from
among
its
war‐prone
neighbours
(these
mercenaries
were
deliberately

sent
into
dangerous
situations
in
the
hope
that
the
more
warlike
populations
of
all

surrounding
countries
will
be
weeded
out,
leaving
peaceful
peoples).
The
society
encourages

tolerance
of
all
religions.


Some
readers
have
chosen
to
accept
this
imaginary
society
as
the
realistic
blueprint
for
a

working
nation,
while
others
have
postulated
More
intended
nothing
of
the
sort.
Some

maintain
the
position
that
More's
Utopia
functions
only
on
the
level
of
a
satire,
a
work

intended
to
reveal
more
about
the
England
of
his
time
than
about
an
idealistic
society.
This

interpretation
is
bolstered
by
the
title
of
the
book
and
nation,
and
its
apparent
equivocation

between
the
Greek
for
"no
place"
and
"good
place":
"Utopia".



Ecology



Ecological
utopias
describe
new
ways
in
which
society
should
relate
to
nature.
They
react
to
a

perceived
widening
gap
between
the
modern
Western
way
of
living
that
destroys
nature
and
the

traditional
way
of
living
that
is
thought
to
be
more
in
harmony
with
nature.
According
to
the
Dutch

philosopher
Marius
de
Geus,
ecological
utopias
could
be
sources
of
inspiration
for
green
political

movements.

Ecological
utopias
or
utopias
that
have
important
ecological
components
in
them:


• Utopia
(book),
Thomas
More

• Walden,
Henry
Thoreau
(1854)

• News
from
Nowhere,
William
Morris
(1891)

• Garden
Cities
of
To‐morrow,
Ebenezer
Howard
(1898)

• Walden
Two,
B.
F.
Skinner
(1945)

• Island,
Aldous
Huxley
(1962)

• Ecotopia,
Ernest
Callenbach
(1975)




Economics



Economic
utopias
are
based
on,
not
surprisingly,
economics.
Most
intentional

communities
attempting
to
create
an
economic
utopia
were
formed
in
response
to
the
harsh

economic
conditions
of
the
19th
century.

Particularly
in
the
early
nineteenth
century,
several
utopian
ideas
arose,
often
in
response
to
the

social
disruption
created
by
the
development
of
commercialism
and
capitalism.
These
are
often

grouped
in
a
greater
"utopian
socialist"
movement,
due
to
their
shared
characteristics:
an

egalitarian
distribution
of
goods,
frequently
with
the
total
abolition
of
money,
and
citizens
only
doing

work
which
they
enjoy
and
which
is
for
the
common
good,
leaving
them
with
ample
time
for
the

cultivation
of
the
arts
and
sciences.
One
classic
example
of
such
a
utopia
was
Edward
Bellamy's

Looking
Backward.
Another
socialist
utopia
is
William
Morris'
News
from
Nowhere,
written
partially


-8-
in
response
to
the
top‐down
(bureaucratic)
nature
of
Bellamy's
utopia,
which
Morris
criticized.

However,
as
the
socialist
movement
developed
it
moved
away
from
utopianism;
Marx
in
particular

became
a
harsh
critic
of
earlier
socialism
he
described
as
utopian.
(For
more
information
see
the

History
of
Socialism
article.)
Also
consider
Eric
Frank
Russell's
book
The
Great
Explosion
(1963)
whose

last
section
details
an
economic
and
social
utopia.
This
forms
the
first
mention
of
the
idea
of
Local

Exchange
Trading
Systems
(LETS).

Utopias
have
also
been
imagined
by
the
opposite
side
of
the
political
spectrum.
For
example,
Robert

A.
Heinlein's
The
Moon
Is
a
Harsh
Mistress
portrays
an
individualistic
and
libertarian
utopia.

Capitalist
utopias
of
this
sort
are
generally
based
on
free
market
economies,
in
which
the

presupposition
is
that
private
enterprise
and
personal
initiative
without
an
institution
of
coercion,

government,
provides
the
greatest
opportunity
for
achievement
and
progress
of
both
the
individual

and
society
as
a
whole.

Another
view
that
capitalist
utopias
do
not
address
is
the
issue
of
market
failure,
any
more
than

socialist
utopias
address
the
issue
of
planning
failure.
Thus
a
blend
of
socialism
and
capitalism
is
seen

by
some
as
the
type
of
economy
in
a
utopia.
For
example,
one
such
idea
is
to
have
small,
community‐
owned
enterprises
working
under
a
market‐based
model
of
economy.
Such
a
model
of
market‐based

Communism
itself
was
in
theory
supposed
to
create
a
"classless
utopia",
but
no
communist
state
has

ever
reached
that
point.


Politics
and
history



Political
utopias
are
ones
in
which
the
government
establishes
a
society
that
is
striving
toward

perfection.


A
global
utopia
of
world
peace
is
often
seen
as
one
of
the
possible
endings
of
history.
Within
the

localized
political
structures
or
spheres
it
presents,
"polyculturalism"
is
the
model‐based
adaptation

of
possible
interactions
between
different
cultures
and
identities
in
accordance
with
the
principles
of

participatory
society.


Religious
utopia



Religious
utopias
are
based
on
religious
ideals,
and
are
to
date
those
most
commonly
found
in

human
society.
Their
members
are
usually
required
to
follow
and
believe
in
the
particular
religious

tradition
that
established
the
utopia.
Some
permit
non‐believers
or
non‐adherents
to
take
up

residence
within
them;
others
(such
as
the
Community
at
Qumran)
do
not.


The
Islamic,
Jewish,
and
Christian
ideas
of
the
Garden
of
Eden
and
Heaven
may
be
interpreted
as

forms
of
utopianism,
especially
in
their
folk‐religious
forms.
Such
religious
utopias
are
often

described
as
"gardens
of
delight",
implying
an
existence
free
from
worry
in
a
state
of
bliss
or

enlightenment.
They
postulate
freedom
from
sin,
pain,
poverty,
and
death,
and
often
assume

communion
with
beings
such
as
angels
or
the
houri.
In
a
similar
sense
the
Hindu
concept
of

Moksha
and
the
Buddhist
concept
of
Nirvana
may
be
thought
of
as
a
kind
of
utopia.
In
Hinduism
or

Buddhism,
however,
utopia
is
not
a
place
but
a
state
of
mind.
A
belief
that
if
we
are
able
to
practice

meditation
without
continuous
stream
of
thoughts,
we
are
able
to
reach
enlightenment.
This

enlightenment
promises
exit
from
the
cycle
of
life
and
death,
relating
back
to
the
concept
of
utopia.

However,
the
usual
idea
of
Utopia,
which
is
normally
created
by
human
effort,
is
more
clearly

evident
in
the
use
of
these
ideas
as
the
bases
for
religious
utopias,
as
members
attempt
to

establish/reestablish
on
Earth
a
society
which
reflects
the
virtues
and
values
they
believe
have
been

lost
or
which
await
them
in
the
Afterlife.


-9-


In
the
United
States
and
Europe
during
the
Second
Great
Awakening
of
the
nineteenth
century
and

thereafter,
many
radical
religious
groups
formed
utopian
societies
in
which
all
aspects
of
people's

lives
could
be
governed
by
their
faith.
Among
the
best‐known
of
these
utopian
societies
were
the

Shakers,
which
originated
in
England
in
the
18th
century
but
moved
to
America
shortly
afterward.
A

number
of
religious
utopian
societies
from
Europe
came
to
the
United
States
from
the
18th
century

throughout
the
19th
century,
including
the
Society
of
the
Woman
in
the
Wilderness
(led
by
Johannes

Kelpius),
the
Ephrata
Cloister,
and
the
Harmony
Society,
among
others.
The
Harmony
Society
was
a

Christian
theosophy
and
pietist
group
founded
in
Iptingen,
Germany,
in
1785.
Due
to
religious

persecution
by
the
Lutheran
Church
and
the
government
in
Württemberg,
the
society
moved
to
the

United
States
on
October
7,
1803,
settled
in
Pennsylvania,
and
on
February
15,
1805,
they,
together

with
about
400
followers,
formally
organized
the
Harmony
Society,
placing
all
their
goods
in

common.
The
group
lasted
until
1905,
making
it
one
of
the
longest‐running
financially
successful

communes
in
American
history.
The
Oneida
Community,
founded
by
John
Humphrey
Noyes
in

Oneida,
New
York,
was
a
utopian
religious
commune
that
lasted
from
1848
to
1881.
Although
this

utopian
experiment
is
better
known
today
for
its
manufacture
of
Oneida
silverware,
it
was
one
of
the

longest‐running
communes
in
American
history.
The
Amana
Colonies
were
communal
settlements
in

Iowa,
started
by
radical
German
pietists,
which
lasted
from
1855
to
1932.
The
Amana
Corporation,

manufacturer
of
refrigerators
and
household
appliances,
was
originally
started
by
the
group.
Other

examples
are
Fountain
Grove,
Riker's
Holy
City
and
other
Californian
utopian
colonies
between
1855

and
1955
(Hine),
as
well
as
Sointula
in
British
Columbia,
Canada.


Science
and
technology




Scientific
and
technological
utopias
are
set
in
the
future,
when
it
is
believed
that
advanced

science
and
technology
will
allow
utopian
living
standards;
for
example,
the
absence
of
death
and

suffering;
changes
in
human
nature
and
the
human
condition.
Technology
has
affected
the
way

humans
have
lived
to
such
an
extent
that
normal
functions,
like
sleep,
eating
or
even
reproduction,

have
been
replaced
by
artificial
means.
Other
examples
include
a
society
where
humans
have
struck

a
balance
with
technology
and
it
is
merely
used
to
enhance
the
human
living
condition
(e.g.
Star

Trek).
In
place
of
the
static
perfection
of
a
utopia,
libertarian
transhumanists
envision
an
"extropia",

an
open,
evolving
society
allowing
individuals
and
voluntary
groupings
to
form
the
institutions
and

social
forms
they
prefer.




One
notable
example
of
a
technological
and
libertarian
socialist
utopia
is
Scottish
author
Iain
Banks'

Culture
opposing
this
optimism
is
the
prediction
that
advanced
science
and
technology
will,
through

deliberate
misuse
or
accident,
cause
environmental
damage
or
even
humanity's
extinction.
Critics,

such
as
Jacques
Ellul
and
Timothy
Mitchell
advocate
precautions
against
the
premature
embrace
of

new
technologies,
raising
questions
on
responsibility
and
freedom
brought
by
division
of
labour.

Authors
such
as
John
Zerzan
and
Derrick
Jensen
consider
that
modern
technology
is
progressively

depriving
humans
of
their
autonomy,
and
advocate
the
collapse
of
the
industrial
civilization,
in
favor

of
small‐scale
organization,
as
a
necessary
path
to
avoid
the
threat
of
technology
on
human
freedom

and
sustainability



There
are
a
number
of
examples
of
techno‐dystopias
portrayed
in
mainstream
culture,
such
as
the

classics
Brave
New
World
and
Nineteen
Eighty‐Four,
which
have
explored
some
of
these
topics.


Feminism




Utopias
have
been
used
to
explore
the
ramification
of
gender
being
either
a
societal
construct,
or
a

hard‐wired
imperative.
In
Mary
Gentle's
Golden
Witchbreed,
gender
is
not
chosen
until
maturity,
and

gender
has
no
bearing
on
social
roles.
In
contrast,
Doris
Lessing's
The
Marriages
Between
Zones

- 10 -
Three,
Four
and
Five
(1980)
suggests
that
men's
and
women's
values
are
inherent
to
the
sexes
and

cannot
be
changed,
making
a
compromise
between
them
essential.
In
My
Own
Utopia
(1961)
by

Elizabeth
Mann
Borghese,
gender
exists
but
is
dependant
upon
age
rather
than
sex
—
genderless

children
mature
into
women,
some
of
whom
eventually
become
men.



Utopic
single‐gender
worlds
or
single‐sex
societies
have
long
been
one
of
the
primary
ways
to

explore
implications
of
gender
and
gender‐differences.
In
speculative
fiction,
female‐only
worlds

have
been
imagined
to
come
about
by
the
action
of
disease
that
wipes
out
men,
along
with
the

development
of
technological
or
mystical
method
that
allow
female
parthenogenic
reproduction.

The
resulting
society
is
often
shown
to
be
utopian
by
feminist
writers.
Many
influential
feminist

utopias
of
this
sort
were
written
in
the
1970s;
the
most
often
studied
examples
include
Joanna
Russ's

The
Female
Man
and
Suzy
McKee
Charnas's
Walk
to
the
End
of
the
World
and
Motherlines.
Utopias

imagined
by
male
authors
have
generally
included
equality
between
sexes,
rather
than
separation.

Such
worlds
have
been
portrayed
most
often
by
feminist
authors;
their
use
of
female‐only
worlds

allows
the
exploration
of
female
independence
and
freedom
from
patriarchy.





- 11 -
Greek
and
Roman
Myths

The
Golden
Age
/
Elysium

The
tradition
of
a
"Golden
Age"
is
widespread
over
the
world,
and
it
is
not
necessary
to
go
at
any

length
into
the
story
of
the
Garden
of
Eden
and
the
other
legends
which
in
almost
every
country

illustrate
this
tradition.
Without
indulging
in
sentiment
on
the
subject
we
may
hold
it
not
unlikely

that
the
tradition
is
justified
by
the
remembrance,
among
the
people
of
every
race,
of
a
pre‐
civilization
period
of
comparative
harmony
and
happiness
when
two
things,
which
to‐day
we

perceive
to
be
the
prolific
causes
of
discord
and
misery,
were
absent
or
only
weakly
developed‐‐
namely,
property
and
self‐consciousness.

The
myth
of
a
long‐lost
Golden
Age
goes
far
back
in
human
culture.
A
common
feature
of
the
myth
is

that
the
earth
bore
fruit
without
cultivation,
so
work
was
unnecessary.
This
has
led
some
scholars
to

speculate
that
the
Golden
Age
may
represent
a
racial
memory
of
he
time
when
man
was
a
hunter‐
gatherer,
before
the
beginning
of
agriculture.


The
earliest
Western
account
is
in
the
poem
Works
and
Days
by
the
Greek
poet
Hesiod,
a
farmer’s

son
living
on
the
slopes
of
Mount
Helicon
in
central
Greece,
probably
in
the
eighth
century
BC.
He

divides
history
into
four
ages
–
golden,
silver,
bronze
and
iron
–
of
which
his
own
age
of
peasant
toil,

strife
and
hunger
is
the
last.
But
long
ago
things
were
different.





Some
scholars
think
the
myth
of
the
four
ages
came
to
Hesiod
from
the
East
–
from
Indian
or

Zoroastrian
mythology.


The
Roman
poet
Ovid
included
a
more
elborate
Golden
Age,
based
partly
on
Hesiod,
in
his

Metamorphoses.


The
Golden
Age




The
golden
age
was
first;
when
Man
yet
new,



- 12 -
No
rule
but
uncorrupted
reason
knew:


And,
with
a
native
bent,
did
good
pursue.


Unforc'd
by
punishment,
un‐aw'd
by
fear,


His
words
were
simple,
and
his
soul
sincere;


Needless
was
written
law,
where
none
opprest:


The
law
of
Man
was
written
in
his
breast:


No
suppliant
crowds
before
the
judge
appear'd,


No
court
erected
yet,
nor
cause
was
heard:


But
all
was
safe,
for
conscience
was
their
guard.


The
mountain‐trees
in
distant
prospect
please,


E're
yet
the
pine
descended
to
the
seas:


E're
sails
were
spread,
new
oceans
to
explore:


And
happy
mortals,
unconcern'd
for
more,


Confin'd
their
wishes
to
their
native
shore.


No
walls
were
yet;
nor
fence,
nor
mote,
nor
mound,


Nor
drum
was
heard,
nor
trumpet's
angry
sound:


Nor
swords
were
forg'd;
but
void
of
care
and
crime,


The
soft
creation
slept
away
their
time.


The
teeming
Earth,
yet
guiltless
of
the
plough,


And
unprovok'd,
did
fruitful
stores
allow:


Content
with
food,
which
Nature
freely
bred,


On
wildings
and
on
strawberries
they
fed;


Cornels
and
bramble‐berries
gave
the
rest,


And
falling
acorns
furnish'd
out
a
feast.


The
flow'rs
unsown,
in
fields
and
meadows
reign'd:


And
Western
winds
immortal
spring
maintain'd.


In
following
years,
the
bearded
corn
ensu'd


From
Earth
unask'd,
nor
was
that
Earth
renew'd.


From
veins
of
vallies,
milk
and
nectar
broke;


And
honey
sweating
through
the
pores
of
oak.



Perfection
in
myth,
lies
in
the
future,
as
well
as
the
past.
There
was
a
Golden
Age
and
there
will
be

bliss
(for
some)
in
Elysium
or
Paradise
or
Fortunate
Isles.
Hesiod
Predicted
a
privileged
afterlife
for

heroes.




And
there
they
have
their
dwelling
place
and
hearts
free
of
sorrow
in
the
islands
of
the
blessed
by
the

deep‐swirling
stream
of
the
ocean,
prospering
heroes,
on
whom
in
every
year
three
times
over
the

fruitful
grain
land
bestows
its
sweet
yield.
These
live
far
from
the
immortals
and
Kronos
is
king
among

them.




Paradises,
like
utopias,
tend
to
be
on
islands.
This
may
be
because
they
suggest
seclusion
and
purity.

But
it
has
also
been
pointed
out
that
the
human
foetus
is
an
island,
so
the
island‐paradise
may
reflect

man’s
longing
for
the
protective
fluid
that
once
surrounded
him.
Just
that
little
bit
Freudian
sounding

isn’t
it?





- 13 -
An
excerpt
from
the
Introduction
of
Carey’s
The
Faber
Book
of

Utopias,
published
in
1999:


Utopia
means
nowhere
or
no‐place.
It
is
often
taken
to
mean
good
place,
through
confusion
of
its

first
syllable
with
the
Greek
eu
.
.
.
As
a
result
of
this
mix‐up,
another
word
dystopia
has
been

invented,
to
mean
bad
place
.
.
.
To
count
as
a
utopia,
an
imaginary
place
must
be
an
expression
of

desire.
To
count
as
a
dystopia,
it
must
be
an
expression
of
fear.
As
well
as
being
a
book
of

nowheres,
then,
this
is
a
collection
of
humanity’s
desires
and
fears
as
recorded
over
the
past
two

thousand
years
and
more.
Because
they
grow
from
desire
and
fear,
utopias
cry
out
for
our
sympathy

and
attention,
however
impractical
or
unlikely
they
may
appear.
Anyone
who
is
capable
of
love
must

at
some
time
have
wanted
the
world
to
be
a
better
place,
for
we
all
want
our
loved
ones
to
live
free

of
suffering,
injustice,
and
heartbreak.


Those
who
construct
utopias
build
on
that
universal
human
longing.
What
they
build
may,

however,
carry
within
it
its
own
potential
for
crushing
or
limiting
human
life.
This
is
the
dilemma

that
confronts
all
utopian
projects.
They
aim
at
a
new
world,
but
must
destroy
the
old.
Their

imaginative
excitement
comes
from
the
recognition
that
everything
inside
our
heads,
and
much

outside,
are
human
constructs
and
can
be
changed.
But
how
and
what
to
change
is
endlessly

controversial.
For
this
reason
the
utopia
is
the
most
divisive
of
literary
forms
.
.
.
To
some,

“utopian”
means
“hopelessly
impractical”.


Others
insist
that
without
the
capacity
to
formulate
utopias,
human
progress
would
be
inconceivable

.
.
.
Whereas
most
utopias
reform
the
world,
some
reform
the
self
.
.
.
An
ultimate
conflict
in
utopian

ideals
is
between
human‐centered
systems
and
systems
that
diminish
or
obliterate
mankind
.
.
.

these
extremes
are
represented
by
the
physicist
John
Freeman
Dyson
[1923‐present]
and
the

naturalist
Richard
Jefferies
[1848‐87,
author
of
After
London]
.
.
.
Dyson
envisages
mankind
spreading

throughout
the
solar
system,
and
perhaps
eventually
filling
the
galaxy
with
himself
and
his
inventions

.
.
.
Jefferies,
on
the
other
hand,
imagines
man
largely
dying
out
and
the
world
returning
to
wild
and

beautiful
greenness
.
.
.
To
the
green
camp,
the
space‐invader
lobby
seem
puerile,
arrogant,
and

ridiculously
unaware
of
the
ultimate,
inevitable
death
of
our
species.
To
the
space‐invaders,
the

greens
seem
defeatist
and
backward.
Confrontation
between
the
two
sides
tends
to
end
in
blank

incomprehension.
At
its
sharpest
the
division
is
between
those
who
assume
man’s
God‐given

superiority,
and
those
who
seem
him
as
a
blemish
on
the
face
of
the
earth.
As
the
planet
grows
more

overcrowded,
and
other
species
become
extinct,
this
conflict
can
only
intensify.


If
utopias
are
any
indication,
it
promises
to
be
one
of
the
formative
antagonisms
of
the
twenty‐
first
century
.
.
.
Utopia
is
where
we
store
our
hopes
for
happiness.
Before
starting
this
anthology,

readers
might
like
to
jot
down
their
personal
utopia.
Then
they
will
be
able
to
compare
it
with
the

dreams
of
humankind.





Questions

1. “To
count
as
a
utopia,
an
imaginary
place
must
be
an
expression
of
desire.
To
count

as
a
dystopia,
it
must
be
an
expression
of
fear.”
What
does
Carey
mean
by
this?


2. What
does
Carey
suggest
are
the
main

motivations
of
expression
of
utopias?


- 14 -
Excerpt
from
Literature
of
Travel
and
Exploration




- 15 -
 



1. How
does
Clarke
view
the
expression
and
definition
of
utopias?


2. Why
does
Clarke
say
the
traveler
element
of
texts
is
important?


- 16 -
 Creation Stories for Different Religions
Interestingly,
there
is
a
certain
underlying
truth
that
is
common
to
all
the
religions
of
the
world.
The

diversity
in
terms
of
religion,
culture
and
traditions
can
be
linked
in
one
way
or
the
other.
While
each

religion
has
offered
man
self
expression
that
best
appeals
to
individuality,
it
has
also
given
mankind

different
concepts
of
creation...





There
are
creation
stories
unique
to
each
world
religion
and
various
world
cultures
and
heritages.

Among
the
most
interesting
ones
are
those
proposed
by
Christianity,
Islam,
Hinduism,
Taoism
and

those
extolled
via
the
Aboriginal
'dream
time'.




Aboriginal
Dream
Time:




The
aborigines
of
Australia
belong
to
one
of
the
oldest
surviving
cultures
in
the
world.
They
propose

the
Dream
time
concept
of
creation.
According
to
this
creation
story,
land
was
once
flat
and
barren.

There
were
no
animals,
birds,
trees
or
bushes,
water
or
man.
Baiame,
'maker
of
things',
is
believed
to

have
brought
the
dream
time
ancestors
from
beneath
the
earth
and
sea
and
over
it.
The
ancestors

wandered
over
the
land
and
soon
became
a
part
of
interesting
adventures.
They
met
other

ancestors,
argued,
encountered
strange
creatures
and
fought
battles.
Each
event
gave
the
earth
a

new
shape;
hills
and
mountains
rose
and
plants
grew.
When
something
wrong
was
done,
the

Rainbow
Snake
would
punish
the
ancestors.
But
the
Rainbow
Snake
was
not
only
vengeful
and
is
also

referred
to
as
the
Old
Woman,
who
taught
humans
how
to
talk
and
dig
for
food.
When
the
Emu

ancestor
and
the
Eagle
ancestor
fought,
the
eagle
took
one
of
emu's
eggs
and
threw
it
into
the
air.

The
egg
burst
into
flames,
forming
the
sun.
The
dream
time
ancestors
decided
how
different

creatures
should
look
and
behave
and
how
secret
ceremonies
were
to
be
performed.
The
aborigines

believe
that
the
dream
time
is
not
over,
nor
are
the
ancestors
dead.




Taoist
Yin
and
Yang:




Chinese
art
and
culture
and
Confucianism
speaks
of
the
yin
and
yang
or
the
dark
and
the
light.
They

are
supposed
to
be
the
creative
power
that
sustains
life
and
being.
Yin
and
yang
are
natural
forces

behind
even
the
gods.
According
to
the
theory,
there
was
a
time
of
utter
chaos,
mist
and
emptiness.

Suddenly,
there
was
a
colorful
light
from
which
all
things
came
to
be.
The
mist
shook
and
everything

light
rose
up,
while
everything
heavy
sank
and
became
solid.
The
heaven
and
earth
yielded
two

strong
forces
‐
yin
and
yang.
While
yang
is
hot,
fiery
and
male,
yin
is
moist,
cool
and
female.
Left

- 17 -
alone
they
are
capable
of
destroying
the
world
and
together
they
generate
balance
and
harmony.

The
belief
is
that
yang
created
the
sun
and
the
moon
came
from
yin.
Together
they
created
the
four

seasons
and
the
five
elements
and
all
kinds
of
living
creatures.
In
the
beginning,
the
earth
was
just
a

sphere
without
features.
Yin
and
yang
created
P'an
Ku,
the
Ancient
One,
who
was
given
the
task
of

putting
the
earth
in
order.
He
folded
mountains
and
hills
and
dug
river
valleys.
One
day
P'an
Ku

collapsed
and
died.
When
he
fell
to
the
ground,
his
body
became
the
five
sacred
mountains.
Taoism

believes
that
his
hair
became
the
plants
and
his
blood
formed
the
rivers.
Early
people
lived
in
caves,

but
Heavenly
Emperors
taught
them
to
make
tools
and
houses,
build
boats,
fish,
plough
and
plant.




Christian
Creation
Story:




Christianity
believes
that
God
has
three:
the
Father,
Son
(Jesus)
and
the
Holy
Spirit.
Genesis
1
and
2

in
the
Old
Testament
of
the
Bible
tells
the
Christian
story
of
creation.
In
the
beginning,
God's
spirit

roamed
the
universe
and
waters
and
God
willed
light
and
darkness.
On
the
second
day
God
created

heaven
and
separated
water
from
the
earth.
On
the
third
day,
he
raised
dry
land
and
created
plants.

On
the
fourth
day,
God
made
the
light
'day'
and
lesser
light
'night'.
On
the
fifth
day,
he
created
the

creatures
of
the
sea
and
air.
On
the
sixth
day,
God
created
all
kinds
of
living
creatures
on
earth
and

made
man
in
his
own
image.
He
gave
them
authority
over
all
living
things.
On
the
seventh
day
or

sabbath,
God
rested.
At
first,
the
first
man,
Adam,
and
the
first
woman
Eve,
lived
in
heaven,
in
the

Garden
of
Eden.
They
were
forbidden
from
eating
the
fruit
of
the
tree
of
knowledge
‐
of
good
and

evil.
But
the
serpent
tempted
Eve
to
eat
the
forbidden
fruit,
which
she
in
turn
gave
Adam.
They

realized
that
they
were
naked
and
hid
from
God.
But
God
knew
of
their
sin
and
drove
them
to
earth,

to
toil.
Christian
believe
that
man
is
the
most
important
of
God's
creations.
They
refer
to
the
'fall'
to

find
answers
to
suffering
and
death.



Hindu
'Yugas':




Hinduism
believes
that
this
is
not
the
first
world
or
universe.
There
have
been
and
are
many
more

worlds.
They
are
created
by
Lord
Brahma
the
Creator.
Lord
Vishnu
is
the
Preserver,
while
Lord
Shiva

plays
annihilator.
These
three
gods
are
forms
of
the
Supreme
One.
The
universe
is
a
vast
ocean
on

which
Lord
Vishnu
resides.
The
lotus
flower
that
springs
from
his
navel
is
the
abode
of
Lord
Brahma.

The
story
of
creation
in
Hinduism
mentions
that
when
Bramha
gets
lonely,
he
splits
himself
into
male

and
female,
the
same
for
man
and
beast.
Everything
comes
from
different
parts
of
his
body,
his

mouth,
arms,
feet
and
thighs.
One
day
to
Lord
Brahma
is
supposed
to
be
longer
than
four
thousand

million
earth
years.
Every
'night'
that
Lord
Brahma
sleeps,
the
world
is
destroyed
and
re‐created

every
'morning'.
This
cycle
of
yugas
continues
forever.



Islamic
Creation
Story:




Islam
or
Muslim
religion
states
that
when
God
wants
to
create
something,
he
says
"Be",
and
it

becomes.
This
was
how
God
created
the
world
and
the
heavens.
He
created
creatures
that
walk,

swim,
crawl
and
fly,
angels,
the
sun,
moon
and
the
stars.
The
Holy
Quran
says
that
God
caused
it
to

rain
in
torrents,
and
generated
corm,
grapes,
olives,
palms,
fruit
trees
and
the
grass.
Then
He

ordered
the
angels
to
bring
seven
handfuls
of
soil
of
different
colours
and
modelled
man.
He

breathed
life
and
power
into
Adam,
the
first
man
and
Eve,
the
first
woman.
God
gave
Adam
control

over
the
earth.
However,
Iblis,
an
angel
refused
to
bow
down
before
Adam,
as
God
had
commanded.

When
God
forbade
the
couple
to
eat
the
fruit
of
the
forbidden
tree,
the
evil
one
tempted
them
to

disobey
God.
They
did
and
God
cast
them
out
of
Paradise,
down
to
earth.
But
merciful
God
provided

them
with
means
of
food,
drink
and
shelter.




The
stories
may
be
different,
but
the
underlying
commonality
is
seen
within
the
fact
that
all

of
them
speak
of
a
higher
power.



- 18 -
Bible
Extracts

Genesis
1


The
Beginning


a
1In
the
beginning
God
created
the
heavens
and
the
earth.
2Now
the
earth
was 
formless
and
empty,
darkness

was
over
the
surface
of
the
deep,
and
the
Spirit
of
God
was
hovering
over
the
waters.
3And
God
said,
“Let

there
be
light,”
and
there
was
light.
4God
saw
that
the
light
was
good,
and
he
separated
the
light
from
the

darkness.
5God
called
the
light
“day,”
and
the
darkness
he
called
“night.”
And
there
was
evening,
and
there

was
morning—the
first
day.
6And
God
said,
“Let
there
be
an
expanse
between
the
waters
to
separate
water

from
water.”
7So
God
made
the
expanse
and
separated
the
water
under
the
expanse
from
the
water
above
it.

And
it
was
so.
8God
called
the
expanse
“sky.”
And
there
was
evening,
and
there
was
morning—the
second
day.

9And
God
said,
“Let
the
water
under
the
sky
be
gathered
to
one
place,
and
let
dry
ground
appear.”
And
it
was

so.
10God
called
the
dry
ground
“land,”
and
the
gathered
waters
he
called
“seas.”
And
God
saw
that
it
was

good.



26Then
God
said,
“Let
us
make
man
in
our
image,
in
our
likeness,
and
let
them
rule
over
the
fish
of
the
sea
and

b
the
birds
of
the
air,
over
the
livestock,
over
all
the
earth, 
and
over
all
the
creatures
that
move
along
the

ground.”
27So
God
created
man
in
his
own
image,
in
the
image
of
God
he
created
him;
male
and
female
he

created
them.
28God
blessed
them
and
said
to
them,
“Be
fruitful
and
increase
in
number;
fill
the
earth
and

subdue
it.
Rule
over
the
fish
of
the
sea
and
the
birds
of
the
air
and
over
every
living
creature
that
moves
on
the

ground.”
29Then
God
said,
“I
give
you
every
seed‐bearing
plant
on
the
face
of
the
whole
earth
and
every
tree

that
has
fruit
with
seed
in
it.
They
will
be
yours
for
food.
30And
to
all
the
beasts
of
the
earth
and
all
the
birds
of

the
air
and
all
the
creatures
that
move
on
the
ground—everything
that
has
the
breath
of
life
in
it—I
give
every

green
plant
for
food.”
And
it
was
so.
31God
saw
all
that
he
had
made,
and
it
was
very
good.
And
there
was

evening,
and
there
was
morning—the
sixth
day.


Genesis
2

b
5
Now
no
shrub
of
the
field
had
yet
appeared
on
the
earth 
and
no
plant
of
the
field
had
yet
sprung
up,
for
the

c d
Lord
God
had
not
sent
rain
on
the
earth 
and
there
was
no
man
to
work
the
ground,
6but
streams 
came
up

e
from
the
earth
and
watered
the
whole
surface
of
the
ground—
7the
Lord
God
formed
the
man 
from
the
dust

of
the
ground
and
breathed
into
his
nostrils
the
breath
of
life,
and
the
man
became
a
living
being.
8Now
the

Lord
God
had
planted
a
garden
in
the
east,
in
Eden;
and
there
he
put
the
man
he
had
formed.
9And
the
Lord

God
made
all
kinds
of
trees
grow
out
of
the
ground—trees
that
were
pleasing
to
the
eye
and
good
for
food.
In

the
middle
of
the
garden
were
the
tree
of
life
and
the
tree
of
the
knowledge
of
good
and
evil.
10A
river

watering
the
garden
flowed
from
Eden;
from
there
it
was
separated
into
four
headwaters.
11The
name
of
the

first
is
the
Pishon;
it
winds
through
the
entire
land
of
Havilah,
where
there
is
gold.
12(The
gold
of
that
land
is

f
good;
aromatic
resin 
and
onyx
are
also
there.)
13The
name
of
the
second
river
is
the
Gihon;
it
winds
through

g
the
entire
land
of
Cush. 
14The
name
of
the
third
river
is
the
Tigris;
it
runs
along
the
east
side
of
Asshur.
And

the
fourth
river
is
the
Euphrates.
15The
Lord
God
took
the
man
and
put
him
in
the
Garden
of
Eden
to
work
it

and
take
care
of
it.
16And
the
Lord
God
commanded
the
man,
“You
are
free
to
eat
from
any
tree
in
the
garden;

17but
you
must
not
eat
from
the
tree
of
the
knowledge
of
good
and
evil,
for
when
you
eat
of
it
you
will
surely

die.”
18The
Lord
God
said,
“It
is
not
good
for
the
man
to
be
alone.
I
will
make
a
helper
suitable
for
him.”

19Now
the
Lord
God
had
formed
out
of
the
ground
all
the
beasts
of
the
field
and
all
the
birds
of
the
air.
He

brought
them
to
the
man
to
see
what
he
would
name
them;
and
whatever
the
man
called
each
living
creature,

that
was
its
name.
20So
the
man
gave
names
to
all
the
livestock,
the
birds
of
the
air
and
all
the
beasts
of
the

h
field.
But
for
Adam 
no
suitable
helper
was
found.
21So
the
Lord
God
caused
the
man
to
fall
into
a
deep
sleep;

i
and
while
he
was
sleeping,
he
took
one
of
the
man’s
ribs 
and
closed
up
the
place
with
flesh.
22Then
the
Lord

j
God
made
a
woman
from
the
rib 
he
had
taken
out
of
the
man,
and
he
brought
her
to
the
man.
23The
man

k
said,
“This
is
now
bone
of
my
bonesand
flesh
of
my
flesh;
she
shall
be
called
‘woman, ’
for
she
was
taken
out
of

man.”
24For
this
reason
a
man
will
leave
his
father
and
mother
and
be
united
to
his
wife,
and
they
will
become

one
flesh.
25The
man
and
his
wife
were
both
naked,
and
they
felt
no
shame.


- 19 -
Genesis
3


12The
man
said,
“The
woman
you
put
here
with
me—she
gave
me
some
fruit
from
the
tree,
and
I
ate
it.”

13Then
the
Lord
God
said
to
the
woman,
“What
is
this
you
have
done?”
The
woman
said,
“The
serpent

deceived
me,
and
I
ate.”

14So
the
Lord
God
said
to
the
serpent,
“Because
you
have
done
this,
“Cursed
are
you

above
all
the
livestock
and
all
the
wild
animals!
You
will
crawl
on
your
belly
and
you
will
eat
dust
all
the
days
of

a
your
life.
15And
I
will
put
enmity
between
you
and
the
woman,
and
between
your
offspring 
and
hers;
he
will

b
crush 
your
head,
and
you
will
strike
his
heel.”

16To
the
woman
he
said,
“I
will
greatly
increase
your
pains
in

childbearing;
with
pain
you
will
give
birth
to
children.
Your
desire
will
be
for
your
husband,
and
he
will
rule
over

you.”
17To
Adam
he
said,
“Because
you
listened
to
your
wife
and
ate
from
the
tree
about
which
I
commanded

you,
‘You
must
not
eat
of
it,’
“Cursed
is
the
ground
because
of
you;
through
painful
toil
you
will
eat
of
it
all
the

days
of
your
life.

18It
will
produce
thorns
and
thistles
for
you,
and
you
will
eat
the
plants
of
the
field.

19By
the

sweat
of
your
brow
you
will
eat
your
food
until
you
return
to
the
ground,
since
from
it
you
were
taken;
for
dust

you
are
and
to
dust
you
will
return.”



c d
20Adam 
named
his
wife
Eve, 
because
she
would
become
the
mother
of
all
the
living.
21The
Lord
God
made

garments
of
skin
for
Adam
and
his
wife
and
clothed
them.
22And
the
Lord
God
said,
“The
man
has
now

become
like
one
of
us,
knowing
good
and
evil.
He
must
not
be
allowed
to
reach
out
his
hand
and
take
also
from

the
tree
of
life
and
eat,
and
live
forever.”
23So
the
Lord
God
banished
him
from
the
Garden
of
Eden
to
work

e
the
ground
from
which
he
had
been
taken.
24After
he
drove
the
man
out,
he
placed
on
the
east
side 
of
the

Garden
of
Eden
cherubim
and
a
flaming
sword
flashing
back
and
forth
to
guard
the
way
to
the
tree
of
life.


- 20 -
Conversations
About
the
Internet
#5:
Anonymous
Facebook

Employee




This
past
summer
Facebook
relocated
from
University
Avenue
in
Palo
Alto,
CA
—
where
several

buildings
fan
out
along
the
downtown
strip
—
to
a
new
central
office
in
Stanford
Research
Park.
A

good
friend
and
two‐year
veteran
of
Facebook
invited
me
to
check
out
the
new
space.
When
I
arrived,

a
security
guard
handed
me
a
non‐disclosure
contract
to
fill
out,
a
requirement
to
enter
the
building.

“Just
making
sure
you’re
not
a
Twitter
spy,”
he
said.
I
can
therefore
not
describe
the
tour
my
friend

gave,
though
photos
of
the
new
space
abound
on
the
Internet.
Afterwards,
we
went
out
for
a
drink
at

the
Dutch
Goose,
a
bar
popular
with
techies
and
Stanford
graduate
students,
where
most
of
this

conversation
took
place.
Though
forthcoming,
my
friend
was
anxious
to
preserve
her
anonymity;

Facebook
employees,
after
all,
know
better
than
most
the
value
of
privacy.
As
she
is
not
permitted
to

divulge
company
secrets,
and
would
like
to
remain
employed,
her
name
has
been
omitted
from
this

interview.
It
provides
an
interesting
snapshot
of
the
inner
workings
and
culture
of
Facebook
in
the

summer
of
2009.



The
Rumpus:
On
your
servers,
do
you
save
everything
ever
entered
into
Facebook
at
any
time,

whether
or
not
it’s
been
deleted,
untagged,
and
so
forth?

Facebook
Employee:
That
is
essentially
correct
at
this
moment.
The
only
reason
we’re
changing
that

is
for
performance
reasons.
When
you
make
any
sort
of
interaction
on
Facebook
—
upload
a
photo,

click
on
somebody’s
profile,
update
your
status,
change
your
profile
information
—

Rumpus:
When
you
say
“click
on
somebody’s
profile,”
you
mean
you
save
our
viewing
history?

Employee:
That’s
right.
How
do
you
think
we
know
who
your
best
friends
are?
But
that’s
public

knowledge;
we’ve
explicitly
stated
that
we
record
that.
If
you
look
in
your
type‐ahead
search,
and

you
press
“A,”
or
just
one
letter,
a
list
of
your
best
friends
shows
up.
It’s
no
longer
organized

alphabetically,
but
by
the
person
you
interact
with
most,
your
“best
friends,”
or
at
least
those
whom

we
have
concluded
you
are
best
friends
with.

Rumpus:
In
other
words,
the
person
you
stalk
the
most.

Employee:
No,
it’s
more
than
just
that.
It’s
also
messages,
file
posts,
photos
you’re
tagged
in
with

them,
as
well
as
your
viewing
of
their
profile
and
all
of
that.
Essentially,
we
judge
how
good
of
a

friend
they
are
to
you.

Rumpus:
When
did
Facebook
make
this
change?

Employee:
That
was
actually
fairly
recently,
sometime
in
the
last
three
months.
But
other
than
that,

we
definitely
store
snapshots,
which
is
basically
a
picture
of
all
the
data
on
all
of
our
servers.
I
want

to
say
we
do
that
every
hour,
of
every
day
of
every
week
of
every
month.

Rumpus:
So
this
is
every
viewable
screen?

Employee:
It’s
way
more
than
that:
it’s
every
viewable
screen,
with
all
the
data
behind
every
screen.

So
when
we
store
your
photos,
we
have
six
versions
of
your
photos.
We
don’t
store
the
original:
we

make
six
different
versions
on
the
photo
uploader
and
upload
those
six
versions.


- 21 -
Rumpus:
And
these
reside
on
servers
in
your
office?

Employee:
No,
not
in
our
office.
Absolutely
not.
We
have
four
data
centers
around
the
world.

There’s
one
in
Santa
Clara,
one
in
San
Francisco,
one
in
New
York
and
one
in
London.
And
in
each
of

those,
there
are
approximately
five
to
eight
thousand
servers.
Each
co‐location
of
our
servers
has

essentially
the
same
data
on
it.

Rumpus:
And
how
many
users
are
you
up
to
now?

Employee:
That
I
can
disclose
publicly?
Two
hundred
to
two
hundred
twenty
million.

Rumpus:
And
actually?

Employee:
That’s
just
active
users.
As
far
as
total
accounts,
including
those
that
are
potentially
fake,

disabled
and
whatnot,
we’re
over
three
hundred
million.
The
two
hundred
twenty
million
are
users

who
have
logged
on
and
done
something
with
the
site
in
the
last
thirty
days.

Rumpus:
You
said
they’re
changing
the
policy
of
keeping
all
information.

Employee:
No.
They’re
never
changing
that
policy.
We
still
keep
all
information.
What
I
was
referring

to,
is
that
if
anything,
we’re
going
to
start
deleting
more
photos
for
performance
reasons.
We
are
the

largest
photo
distributor
in
the
world.

Rumpus:
You’ve
previously
mentioned
a
master
password,
which
you
no
longer
use.

Employee:
I’m
not
sure
when
exactly
it
was
deprecated,
but
we
did
have
a
master
password
at
one

point
where
you
could
type
in
any
user’s
user
ID,
and
then
the
password.
I’m
not
going
to
give
you

the
exact
password,
but
with
upper
and
lower
case,
symbols,
numbers,
all
of
the
above,
it
spelled
out

‘Chuck
Norris,’
more
or
less.
It
was
pretty
fantastic.

Rumpus:
This
was
accessible
by
any
Facebook
employee?

Employee:
Technically,
yes.
But
it
was
pretty
much
limited
to
the
original
engineers,
who
were

basically
the
only
people
who
knew
about
it.
It
wasn’t
as
if
random
people
in
Human
Resources
were

using
this
password
to
log
into
profiles.
It
was
made
and
designed
for
engineering
reasons.
But
it
was

there,
and
any
employee
could
find
it
if
they
knew
where
to
look.

I
should
also
say
that
it
was
only
available
internally.
If
I
were
to
log
in
from
a
high
school
or
library,
I

couldn’t
use
it.
You
had
to
be
in
the
Facebook
office,
using
the
Facebook
ISP.

Rumpus:
Do
you
think
Facebook
employees
ever
abused
the
privilege
of
having
universal
access?

Employee:
I
know
it
has
happened
in
the
past,
because
at
least
two
people
have
been
fired
for
it
that

I
know
of.

Rumpus:
What
did
they
do?

Employee:
I
know
one
of
them
went
in
and
manipulated
some
other
person’s
data,
changed
their

religious
views
or
something
like
that.
I
don’t
remember
exactly
what
it
was,
but
he
got
reported,
got

found
out,
got
fired.

Rumpus:
Have
you
ever
logged
in
to
anyone’s
account?

Employee:
I
have.
For
engineering
reasons.

Rumpus:
Have
you
ever
done
it
outside
of
professional
reasons?

Employee:
I
will
say,
when
I
first
started
working
there,
yes.
I
used
it
to
view
other
people’s
profiles

which
I
didn’t
have
permission
to
visit.
I
never
manipulated
their
data
in
any
way;
however,
I
did

abuse
the
profile
viewing
permission
at
several
initial
points
when
I
started
at
Facebook.

Rumpus:
How
about
reading
their
messages?

Employee:
Never
individually
like
that.
I
would
mostly
just
look
at
profiles.

Rumpus:
Would
you
suppose
that
Facebook
employees
might
read
people’s
messages?

Employee:
See,
the
thing
is
—
and
I
don’t
know
how
much
you
know
about
it
—
it’s
all
stored
in
a

database
on
the
backend.
Literally
everything.
Your
messages
are
stored
in
a
database,
whether

deleted
or
not.
So
we
can
just
query
the
database,
and
easily
look
at
it
without
every
logging
into

your
account.
That’s
what
most
people
don’t
understand.

Rumpus:
So
the
master
password
is
basically
irrelevant.

Employee:
Yeah.

Rumpus:
It’s
just
for
style.

Employee:
Right.
But
it’s
no
longer
in
use.
Like
I
alluded
to,
we’ve
cracked
down
on
this
lately,
but
it

has
been
replaced
by
a
pretty
cool
tool.
If
I
visited
your
profile,
for
example,
on
our
closed
network,

there’s
a
‘switch
login’
button.
I
literally
just
click
it,
explain
why
I’m
logging
in
as
you,
click
‘OK,’
and

- 22 -
I’m
you.
You
can
do
it
as
long
as
you
have
an
explanation,
because
you’d
better
be
able
to
back
it
up.

For
example,
if
you’re
investigating
a
compromised
account,
you
have
to
actually
be
able
to
log
into

that
account.

Rumpus:
Are
your
managers
really
on
your
ass
about
it
every
time
you
log
in
as
someone
else?

Employee:
No,
but
if
it
comes
up,
you’d
better
be
able
to
justify
it.
Or
you
will
be
fired.

Rumpus:
I
would
imagine
they
take
this—

Employee:
Pretty
seriously.
I
don’t
really
‐‐‐‐
around,
at
all.

Rumpus:
They
invented
a
Chief
Officer
position
for
it,
Chris
Kelly,
right?

Employee:
Chief
Privacy
Officer
Chris
Kelly,
correct.
Running
for
Attorney
General
of
California.

Rumpus:
Is
that
a
standard
position
at
Silicon
Valley
web
companies?

Employee:
I
think
it’s
becoming
more
of
a
standard
officer
position,
especially
with
Web
2.0,
3.0,

where
the
model
is
basically
get
as
much
information
out
there
as
you
can.
Obviously,
someone

needs
to
step
back
and
make
sure
there
is
some
information
privacy
here,
or
at
least
as
much
as
we

can
put
in
place.

Rumpus:
Facebook
was
probably
a
big
trendsetter
in
that
regard,
right?

Employee:
In
my
opinion,
we’ve
always
provided
the
most
nitty‐gritty
user
privacy
settings
from
the

beginning.
There’s
no
other
site
out
there
that’s
this
customizable.

Rumpus:
Would
you
like
to
give
your
take
on
the
last
few
rounds
of
stuff
ups;
Facebook
Beacon,
and

the
recent
Terms
of
Service
controversy?

Employee:
It’s
really
hard
to
judge
exactly
the
way
users
are
going
to
react.
We
just
didn’t
have
a

good
enough
beta‐testing
system
in
place.
When
you
have
a
group
of
twenty
engineers
working
on
a

project,
they
think
it’s
the
most
beautiful,
immaculate
thing
in
the
world,
and
then
they
build
it,
and

a
project
manager
approves
it.
Initially,
when
that
was
the
case,
we
just
pushed
it,
and
if
users
didn’t

like
it
we
pulled
it
back.
That
was
just
our
philosophy,
one
of
trial
and
error.
Whereas
now
we’ve

started
running
psychological
analysis,
starting
to…

Rumpus:
Oh
really?

Employee:
Are
you
kidding
me?
We
do
eye‐tracking
to
see
where
your
eyes
move
while
you
browse

Facebook.

Rumpus:
What
do
you
mean
by
“eye‐tracking”?

Employee:
For
example,
when
we
want
to
introduce
new
features,
like
when
we
streamlined
the

browsing
of
photo
albums,
you
know,
where
you
can
click
‘next’
above
the
photo,
and
the
page
stays

the
same
except
you
get
the
next
photo?
We
did
tests
on
that,
and
actually
found
out
it
increased

the
number
of
page
views
by
77%,
essentially
because
we
were
reducing
77%
of
the
page
load,
and

therefore
it
was
loading
faster,
and
thus
generating
more
clicks.
We
not
only
reduced
our
bandwidth,

and
how
much
we
have
to
pay
for
our
Internet,
but
we
made
the
site
faster
and
increased
the
clicks‐
per‐minute,
which
is
what
we’re
truly
interested
in.


Rumpus:
So
in
what
other
ways
do
you
track
behavior,
that
isn’t
necessarily
obvious
to
users?

Employee:
We
track
everything.
Every
photo
you
view,
every
person
you’re
tagged
with,
every
wall‐
post
you
make,
and
so
forth.

Rumpus:
So
maybe
you
know
about
this,
maybe
you
don’t.
There’s
a
paradox
with
international

expansion,
because
obviously
all
internet
companies
aspire
to
a
worldwide
market,
but
as
service

enters
countries
without
great
infrastructure,
such
as
3rd‐world
countries,
the
companies
have
to

provide
the
infrastructure
and
the
countries
don’t
actually
produce
any
(or
much)
ad
revenue.

Employee:
I
don’t
know
anything
about
that,
actually.
The
one
comment
I
would
make
about
that,
is

that
we’ve
definitely
tried
to
continue
expanding
to
3rd‐
world
countries.
Take
Iran
—
well,
Iran
is

not
a
3rd
world
country
—
but
when
the
Iranian
elections
came
up,
and
then
the
disputes,
we
found

out
they
were
using
Facebook
as
a
tool
to
organize
themselves
and
expose
their
qualms
and

discontent
with
the
government.
So
publicly
we
translated
the
entire
site
into
Farsi
within
36
hours.

It
was
our
second
right‐to‐left
language,
which
was
actually
really
difficult
for
us.
Literally
the
entire

site
is
flipped
in
a
mirror.
The
fact
that
we
did
it
in
thirty‐six
hours
—
they
hired
twenty
some‐odd

translators,
and
engineers
worked
around
the
clock
to
get
it
rolled
out
—
was
pretty
fucking

phenomenal.
We
had
at
least
three
times
as
many
user
registrations
per
day
the
first
day
it
was
out,

and
it
has
been
growing.
So
we’re
definitely
still
serious
about
foreign
outreach.
And
the
thing
is,
we

- 23 -
have
such
a
gigantic
market
share
in
the
larger
sections
of
Europe,
in
Australia,
in
Mexico,
in
the

States
and
Canada,
and
that’s
where
99.9%
of
our
ad
revenue
is
and
probably
will
be
always
—
or
at

least
will
be
the
next
five,
ten
years.
So
the
fact
that
we’re
breaching
into
these
other
markets
mostly

means
just
allowing
family
and
friends
to
connect
even
more
deeply,
which
is
really
our
ultimate

goal.

Rumpus:
So
tell
me
about
the
engineers.

Employee:
They’re
weird,
and
smart
as.
For
example,
this
guy
right
now
is
single‐handedly
rewriting,

essentially,
the
entire
site.
Our
site
is
coded,
I’d
say,
90%
in
PHP.
All
the
front
end
—
everything
you

see
—
is
generated
via
a
language
called
PHP.
He
is
creating
HPHP,
Hyper‐PHP,
which
means
he’s

literally
rewriting
the
entire
language.
There’s
this
distinction
in
coding
between
a
scripted
language

and
a
compiled
language.
PHP
is
an
example
of
a
scripted
language.
The
computer
or
browser
reads

the
program
like
a
script,
from
top
to
bottom,
and
executes
it
in
that
order:
anything
you
declare
at

the
bottom
cannot
be
referenced
at
the
top.
But
with
a
compiled
language,
the
program
you
write
is

compiled
into
an
executable
file.
It
doesn’t
have
to
read
the
program
from
beginning
to
end
in
order

to
execute
commands.
It’s
much
faster
that
way.
So
this
engineer
is
converting
the
site
from
one
that

runs
on
a
scripted
language
to
one
that
runs
on
a
compiled
language.
However,
if
you
went
to
go
talk

to
him
about
basketball,
you
would
probably
have
the
most
awkward
conversation
you’d
have
with
a

human
being
in
your
entire
life.
You
just
can’t
talk
to
these
people
on
a
normal
level.
If
you
wanted

to
talk
about
basketball,
talk
about
graph
theory.
Then
he’d
get
it.
And
there’s
a
lot
of
people
like

that.
But
by
golly,
they
can
do
their
jobs.

Rumpus:
So
what
will
be
the
net
effect
of
running
the
site
on
Hyper
PHP?

Employee:
We’re
going
to
reduce
our
CPU
usage
on
our
servers
by
80%,
so
practically,
users
will
just

see
this
as
a
faster
site.
Pages
will
load
in
one
fifth
of
the
time
that
they
used
to.

Rumpus:
When’s
it
coming
out?

Employee:
When
it’s
done.
Next
couple
of
months,
ideally.

Rumpus:
So
where
do
these
geeks
come
from?

Employee:
I
would
say
at
least
70%
of
Facebook
engineers
are
from
Harvard
and
Stanford.


…


Full
article
http://therumpus.net/2010/01/conversations‐about‐the‐internet‐5‐anonymous‐
facebook‐employee/?full=yes


Questions

1. Compare
your
knowledge
of
dystopic
texts
like
1984,
Modern
Times
and
Brave
New

World
to
what
this
article
suggests.
Is
the
changing
historic
context
effect
what
we

consider
dystopic?
Is
the
acceptance
of
the
invasion
of
privacy
suggested
in
this

article
is
no
longer
seen
as
a
threat
to
the
human
race?

2. Use
this
article
as
inspiration
to
a
short
dystopic
scene.
Revisit
the
elements
of

dystopias
and
their
‘heroes’
listed
earlier
in
the
booklet.



- 24 -
“1984”
Macintosh
Commercial
Analysis
Worksheet


Use
the
chart
below
to
gather
examples
of
dystopian
characteristics
from
the
commercial.
Use
strong,
concrete

details
in
your
description
of
the
example
and
interpretation.

Dystopian
Characteristic
 Example
from
the
Commercial
 Interpretation
of
the
Example

A
figurehead
or
concept
is
 
 

worshipped
by
the
citizens
of
the

society.















Citizens
are
perceived
to
be
under
 
 

constant
surveillance.

















Citizens
live
in
a
“dehumanized”
 
 

state.

















An
illusion
of
a
perfect
utopian
 
 

society.

















Conformity
among
citizens
and
 
 

assumption
that
individuality
and

dissent
are
bad.



















- 25 -
“1984”
Macintosh
Commercial
Analysis
Worksheet


The
protagonist
of
the
commercial
is
the
woman
dressed
in
athletic
clothing
who
destroys
the
large
computer

screen
with
a
hammer.
Use
the
chart
below
to
gather
examples
of
indirect
characterization
from
the

commercial
that
help
establish
this
character
as
a
dystopian
protagonist.


Dystopian
Protagonist
Characteristic

 Example
of
Indirect
Characterization

 Negative
Aspects
of
the
Dystopia
It

Reveals



Often
feels
trapped
in
their
life
and
is
 
 

struggling
to
escape.

















Questions
the
existing
social
and
 
 

political
systems.



















Demonstrates
behavior
or
expresses
 
 

ideas
that
reflect
a
belief
that

something
is
terribly
wrong
with
the

society
in
which
they
live.













Is
treated
as
an
outcast
by
society
 
 

due
to
appearance,
behavior,

thoughts,
beliefs,
or
other

characteristics
that
are
in
conflict

with
the
norms
of
the
dystopia.




















- 26 -
Background
Information
on
the
“1984”
Macintosh
Commercial


1984
by
George
Orwell


The
title
of
this
commercial
is
an
allusion
to
the
novel
written
in
1949
by
George
Orwell.
The
novel

takes
place
in
the
year
1984
and
depicts
a
dystopian
society
in
which
citizens’
freedoms
are

restricted
by
a
totalitarian
government
ruled
by
a
dictator
referred
to
as
“Big
Brother.”


In
the
society
Orwell
describes,
everyone
is
under
complete
surveillance
by
the
authorities.
People

are
constantly
reminded
of
this
scrutiny
by
the
cautioning
phrase
“Big
Brother
is
watching
you.”
This

warning
refers
to
the
two‐way
computer
screens
placed
throughout
the
society
which
display
the

dictator’s
image
and
which
are
used
by
the
Thought
Police
to
monitor
citizens
for
subversive
thought

and
speech
(referred
to
in
the
book
as
“thought
crimes”).
Many
critics
draw
parallels
between

today’s
society
and
the
world
depicted
in
the
novel,
suggesting
that
we
are
starting
to
live
in
what

has
become
known
as
an
Orwellian
society.



Fast
Facts
about
the
“1984”
Macintosh
Commercial




•
The
commercial
was
first
aired
during
half‐time
of
the
1984
Super
Bowl
to
announce
the
arrival
of

Apple’s
new
personal
computer,
the
Macintosh.




•
When
this
advertisement
aired,
Apple
was
in
a
fight
with
IBM
to
win
control
of
the
personal

computer
market.




•
In
the
1980s,
Apple
had
the
image
of
the
maverick,
anti‐corporate
company.
For
example,
the

company
encouraged
employees
to
wear
jeans
and
t‐shirts
to
work.




•
In
the
1980s,
IBM
was
famous
for
its
rigid
company
structure
and
insistence
on
that
its
employees

maintain
the
“blue‐suited
corporate
look
and
attitude”.
The
nickname
for
IBM
is
“Big
Blue.”




•
The
advertisement
was
directed
by
Ridley
Scott
(Alien,
1979,
and
Blade
Runner,
1982)
and
cost
$1.6

million
to
produce.



- 27 -
Scene‐by‐Scene
Summary
of
the
“1984”
Macintosh
Commercial




1.
Endless
line
of
workers
marching
in
a
long,
circular
tunnel.
The
sound
of
marching
feet
and
the

words
“information
purification”
are
audible
in
the
background.




2.
Cut
to
a
woman
running,
carrying
a
long‐handled
hammer.
Her
entrance
is
heralded
by
two

electronic
notes,
a
high
D,
followed
by
another
one
octave
lower.




3.
Close‐up
of
the
workers’
faces
as
they
march
by.
Their
heads
are
shaved,
and
a
few
are
wearing

gas
masks.




4.
A
brief
shot
of
guards
dressed
in
black
riot
gear
with
rifles
in
their
hands.




5.
Shots
of
the
workers
marching
in
the
tunnel
past
television
monitors,
which
are
attached
to
the

walls.




6.
The
camera
cuts
to
a
close‐up
of
their
feet,
marching
in
lockstep.




7.
After
a
quick
glimpse
of
the
woman
running,
a
long
shot
shows
a
huge
hall
filled
with
workers

already
seated
as
others
march
in.
An
enormous
computer
screen
on
the
wall
is
filled
by
the

talking
head
of
an
elderly
man
in
glasses.
As
he
speaks,
his
words
appear
in
white
typeface
on

the
screen
below
his
mouth.




8.
The
woman
runs
down
a
corridor
chased
by
a
cadre
of
guards
in
riot
gear.




9.
The
camera
cuts
to
a
panning
shot
of
the
seated
workers
staring
at
the
computer
screen.




10.The
camera
cuts
to
a
full
shot
of
the
computer
screen
which
shows
the
tyrant’s
face
filling
most
of

the
frame.




11.Cut
to
the
runner
stopping
and
beginning
to
spin
with
the
great
hammer.
The
guards
can
be
seen

approaching
in
the
background.
The
runner
makes
her
final
windup
and
releases
the
hammer

with
a
loud
cry.




12.In
slow
motion,
the
hammer
flies
through
the
air
towards
the
screen
as
the
man’s
image
says
“We

Shall
Prevail.”




13.The
hammer
explodes
the
screen
in
a
blinding
flash.
A
synthetic
chorus
of
wordless
cries
is
heard,

behind
which
is
a
sound
like
rushing
wind.




14.The
camera
pans
over
the
workers,
flooded
with
white
light,
their
mouths
opened
in
awe,
hands

gripping
the
benches
beneath
them,
uniforms
blown
back
against
them.




15.Black
typeface
text
appears
on
screen,
read
by
a
voice‐over:
“On
January
24th,
Apple
Computer

will
introduce
Macintosh.
And
you
will
see
why
1984
won’t
be
like
“1984.”




16.The
text
is
followed
by
the
rainbow‐striped
Apple
logo.



- 28 -
Dystopian
Film
Clip
Guide


Metropolis
(Fritz
Lang,
1927)


Metropolis
is
set
in
the
year
2026,
when
the
populace
is
divided
between
workers
who
must
live
in
the
dark

underground
and
the
rich
who
enjoy
a
futuristic
city
of
splendor.
This
work
is
one
of
the
earliest
examples
of
a

dystopian
film.
The
following
three
scenes
provide
an
overall
glimpse
of
the
dystopian
characteristics
that
are

present
throughout
this
film.
The
first
two
scenes
depict
the
drudgery
of
daily
work
on
an
assembly
line.
The

third
scene
shows
images
of
what
the
director
pictures
as
what
the
world
of
the
future
will
look
like.


1.
Opening
credits
(00:00‐3:16)


2.
Shift
Change
(3:17‐5:40)


3.
The
New
Tower
of
Babel
(15:51‐17:01)



Brazil
(Terry
Gilliam,
1985)


Brazil
takes
place
in
a
futuristic
world
dominated
by
a
mindless
and
often
incompetent
bureaucratic

government.
Sam
Lowrey,
a
government
statistician,
feels
beaten
down
by
the
decaying,
drone‐like
world

around
him.
To
escape
the
misery
of
his
job
Sam
fantasizes
that
he
is
a
superhero
forever
rescuing
a
beautiful

blonde
haired
damsel
in
distress.
These
dreams
are
disrupted,
however,
by
the
real
world
where
computer

malfunctions
and
bureaucratic
policies
such
as
“information
retrieval”
destroy
the
lives
of
innocent
citizens.


The
following
three
scenes
from
this
film
are
good
examples
to
use
in
class
to
illustrate
the
different

characteristics
of
a
bureaucratic
and
a
technological
dystopia.
The
first
three
scenes
show
how
the
mindless

bureaucracy
of
the
Information
Retrieval
Department
mistakenly
arrests
an
innocent
citizen.
The
fourth
scene

features
the
protagonist,
Sam
Lowrey,
battling
a
household
of
malfunctioning
home
appliances
as
he
hurries
to

get
to
work
on
time.


th

1.
“8:49
p.m.,
somewhere
in
the
20 century”
(0:00:50‐0:03:49)


2.
“That
is
your
receipt
for
your
husband
(0:03:50‐0:07:31)


3.
“Department
of
records”
(0:07:32‐0:10:04)


4.
“Dreams
and
reality”
(00:11:07‐00‐12:33)



I,
Robot
(2004)


If
you’re
a
big
fan
of
Isaac
Asimov’s
collection
of
short
stories
published
under
the
same
name
then
this
movie

will
be
highly
disappointing.
The
film
does,
however,
provide
some
good
visual
scenes
of
a
corporate
and

technological
controlled
dystopia.
Set
in
the
year
2035,
this
film
depicts
a
society
in
which
an
underclass
of

robots
acts
as
servants
to
humans.
A
policeman,
played
by
Will
Smith,
does
not
trust
the
robots
and
soon

discovers
that
the
robot
corporation
is
covering
up
a
flaw
that
allows
the
robots
to
override
their
programming

that
prevents
them
from
doing
any
harm
to
a
human
being.



Gattaca


Gattaca
is
set
in
a
future
when
one's
life
is
determined
by
genetic
engineering
rather
than
education
or

experience.
The
wealthy
can
choose
the
genetic
makeup
of
their
descendants.
People
are
designed
to
fit
into

whatever
role
is
decided
before
birth.
Citizens
in
this
impersonal
future‐world
are
fashioned
as
perfect

specimens,
so
those
in
the
natural‐born
minority
are
viewed
as
inferior
to
the
pre‐planned
perfect
specimens

(aka
"Valids")
who
dominate.
One
of
the
natural‐borns
(aka
"In‐Valids"),
Vincent
Freeman,
has
several
defects

(poor
vision,
emotional
problems,
and
short
30‐year
life
expectancy),
but
he
also
develops
a
different
outlook

on
his
pre‐ordained
fate.
He
yearns
to
break
free
from
society's
constraints,
and
he
dreams
of
a
journey
into

space
as
a
Gattaca
Corp.
navigator.
To
accomplish
his
goal,
he
enlists
the
aid
of
DNA
broker
German
and
makes

contact
with
Jerome
Morrow,
who
was
paralyzed
in
an
accident
and
is
willing
to
sell
his
superior
genetic

materials.
Vincent
assumes
Jerome's
identity
and
is
scheduled
for
a
flying
mission.
However,
a
week
before
his

flight,
a
Gattaca
mission
director
is
murdered,
and
all
members
of
the
program
are
the
suspects.
Meanwhile,

he
develops
a
romantic
interest
in
a
beautiful
Valid,
Irene,
prevented
from
going
into
space
because
of
her

heart
defect.
Tracked
by
a
relentless
investigator
who
is
methodically
jigsawing
all
the
pieces
together,
Jerome

finds
his
aspirations
dissolving
into
stardust.


- 29 -
Utopia
by
Thomas
More

A
highly
valued
text,
originally
written
in
Latin
(as
most
texts
were
at
this
point),
has
been
translated

into
numerous
languages,
including
of
course
English.
Some
people
consider
the
word
utopia
to
be
a

pun
by
more
between
the
Latin
phonemes
“no
place”
and
“good
place”,
thus
his
book
examines
an

ideal
society
situated
in
an
unknown
place
called
Utopia.


Students
will
examine
the
text
in
terms
of:

• More’s
personal
and
historical
context

• More’s
values

• The
values
of
the
society
it
depicts

• The
values
we
bring
to
the
text
as
21st
century
responders

• The
representation
of
the
notion
of
utopia
through
written
features
of
the
text




Utopia
has
a
quality
of
universality,
as
revealed
by
the
fact
that
it
has
fascinated
readers
of
five

centuries,
has
influenced
countless
writers,
and
has
invited
imitation
by
scores
of
"Utopianists."
Still,

however,
an
examination
of
the
period
of
which
it
was
the
product
is
necessary
in
order
to
view
the

work
in
depth.
Remembering
that
Utopia
was
published
in
1516,
we
need
to
recall
what
some
of
the

major
events
associated
with
that
era
were,
who
More's
great
contemporaries
were,
and
what
were

the
principal
ideas
and
drives
that
framed
the
cultural
patterns
of
that
brilliant
era,
the
Renaissance.


The
publication
of
Utopia
followed
Columbus's
first
voyage
to
America
by
only
24
years.
Utopia

preceded
by
just
one
year
Luther's
publication
of
the
Ninety‐five
Theses
that
fomented
the

Protestant
Reformation.
Michelangelo
had
completed
his
four
years'
labor
on
the
ceiling
of
the

Sistine
Chapel
in
1512.
Henry
VIII
had
recently
come
to
the
throne
of
England
(1509),
was
still

married
to
his
first
wife,
Catherine
of
Aragon,
and
was
being
guided
in
his
government
by
Cardinal

Wolsey
as
his
Lord
Chancellor.
Some
of
the
principal
literary
figures
of
More's
generation
were

Erasmus,
Ariosto,
Machiavelli,
and
Castiglione,
along
with
More
himself.
One
of
the
great
periods
in

Western
art
was
in
full
swing
with
Leonardo
da
Vinci,
Raphael,
Michelangelo,
and
Titian
heading
a

long
list.
The
chief
explorers
in
the
first
decades
after
Columbus
were
Vasco
da
Gama,
John
Cabot,

Amerigo
Vespucci,
and
Balboa.


The
Renaissance
age
has
been
styled
"this
brave
new
world"
by
many
historians,
viewing
it
as
a

radically
new
and
brilliant
development
in
Western
civilization.
That
view,
however,
is
not
universal,

some
scholars
quarreling
with
the
claim
that
it
was
new,
representing
a
great
change
from
the
late

Middle
Ages,
and
other
scholars
doubting
its
brilliance.
Debate
seems
perpetual
over
the
nature
and

the
importance
of
the
Renaissance;
nevertheless,
it
can
scarcely
be
denied
that
the
outlook
and
the

life
style
of
Western
people
were
greatly
affected
by
certain
achievements
of
the
period;
namely,
the

invention
of
printing,
the
development
of
gunpowder,
and
the
improvement
of
navigational

instruments
and
ship
designs.
Somewhat
later
than
those
developments,
but
still
important

contributions
of
the
Renaissance,
were
the
Copernican
revolution
in
astronomy
and
the

development
of
the
telescope
by
Galileo.
All
of
these
factors
not
only
produced
substantial
changes

in
people's
lives,
but
they
also
generated
a
charged
atmosphere
of
excitement
and
curiosity

throughout
Europe.


The
"classical
revival"
was
at
the
center
of
the
intellectual
and
artistic
agitation
of
the
age.
It
involved

a
realization
—
or
rediscovery
—
that
a
very
great
civilization
had
flourished
in
ancient
Greece
and

Rome
and
a
conviction
that
conscientious
study
and
imitation
of
that
civilization
offered
the
key
to

new
greatness.
The
Renaissance
artists
studied
ancient
works
of
architecture
and
sculpture,
not
only

for
their
form
and
technique
but
also
for
their
spirit.
Renaissance
scholars
came
to
appreciate
the

literature
of
the
ancients
as
a
storehouse
of
wisdom
and
eloquence,
and
through
their
study
they

acquired
attitudes
and
developed
tastes
of
enormous
value:
to
challenge
dogma,
to
recognize
the

authority
of
nature,
and
to
regard
living
a
full
life
in
"this
world"
as
an
opportunity
and
an
obligation.


- 30 -
They
came
to
believe
in
their
right
to
accept
and
enjoy
physical
beauty
and
the
whole
sensory
world.

Finally
they
acquired
a
sense
of
the
worth
of
the
individual
and
of
the
dignity
of
man.
Growing

gradually
out
of
these
concepts
came
the
philosophy
of
"humanism"
and
the
magnificent

achievements
in
the
fine
arts.


The
religious
history
of
the
period
is
a
dramatic
one.
Christianity,
which
for
more
than
a
thousand

years
had
been
represented
throughout
all
of
Western
Europe
by
one
church,
the
Roman
Catholic

Church,
experienced
a
tremendous
upheaval
during
the
16th
century.
The
first
overt
action
of
revolt

came
in
1517
when
Luther
defied
the
authority
of
Rome.
That
marked
the
beginning
of
the

Protestant
Reformation,
the
consequences
of
which
were
that
Europe
was
divided
into
numerous

divergent
sects
and
into
warring
camps.
Actually,
all
of
that
turmoil
occurred
after
More
wrote
his

Utopia,
but
the
causes
of
the
Reformation
were
of
long
standing
and
had
been
a
source
of
concern

to
conscientious
Christians
for
at
least
two
centuries.
Among
the
principal
evils
alleged
in
the
attacks

against
the
church
were
arbitrary
exercise
of
papal
authority,
greed
of
the
clergy
as
revealed
in
the

selling
of
pardons
and
of
church
offices,
and
the
traffic
in
holy
relics.
Intelligent
people
were

indignant
over
the
propagation
of
superstitions
to
anesthetize
the
common
people,
and
social
critics

were
bitter
over
the
enormous
opulence
of
the
church
amid
the
poverty
and
squalor
of
the
majority

of
Christians.


In
the
decades
immediately
preceding
Luther's
break
from
the
church
of
Rome,
many
devout

Catholics
were
vocal
in
their
criticism
of
practices
authorized
by
the
church
as
well
as
by
the

shameful
conduct
among
the
clergy.
Eventually
the
critics
broke
into
two
groups.
Luther
and
the

other
leaders
of
the
Reformation,
despairing
of
remodeling
the
established
church
with
its
ingrained

fallacies,
severed
their
connections
with
Rome
and
declared
a
new
authority.
Another
party
of
critics

strove
for
reform
within
the
established
church
toward
which
they
maintained
an
absolute
loyalty

despite
its
manifest
faults.
Among
them,
one
of
the
most
articulate
and
effective
writers
was

Erasmus,
More's
close
friend;
and
in
the
same
camp,
though
not
expressing
his
views
so
vociferously,

was
More
also,
whose
aspirations
toward
a
more
truly
Christian
way
of
life
are
revealed
through
his

plan
of
Utopia.


Italy
was
unquestionably
the
fountainhead
of
Renaissance
civilization.
As
early
as
the
14th
century,

men
of
enlightenment,
notably
Petrarch
and
Boccaccio,
were
introducing
Renaissance
concepts
and

proclaiming
a
new
allegiance
to
classical
antiquity,
and
through
the
15th
century
a
feverish

development
toward
new
attitudes
and
styles
marked
the
work
of
brilliant
artists,
scholars,

philosophers,
and
men
of
letters.
Through
most
of
the
15th
century,
the
achievements
were

predominantly
Italian,
but
by
the
beginning
of
the
16th
century
the
movement
was
spreading
to

other
countries
of
western
Europe;
at
the
same
time
that
Italy
was
losing
her
political
independence

through
conquests
by
French,
Spanish,
and
Austrian
armies,
she
gradually
yielded
her
preeminence

in
the
arts
and
letters
to
France,
Spain,
and
England.


England,
in
the
year
1500,
was
emerging
from
a
century
of
grim
civil
wars
during
which
the
cultural

life
of
the
country
had
deteriorated
to
a
deplorable
state.
It
was
not
until
1485
that
the
civil
wars

were
ended
by
the
victory
of
Henry
Tudor,
Earl
of
Richmond,
at
Bosworth
Field,
establishing
the

Tudor
dynasty
with
the
crowning
of
Henry
Tudor
as
Henry
VII.
During
the
next
118
years
under
the

reign
of
the
Tudors,
especially
through
the
long
reigns
of
Henry
VIII
and
Elizabeth
I,
England
attained

the
status
of
a
first‐rate
European
power
and
produced
a
flourishing
culture
scarcely
equaled
in
all

the
history
of
Western
civilization.


One
of
the
first
signs
of
renewed
enlightenment
in
England,
after
the
rude
and
bloody
15th
century,

was
the
appearance
of
a
group
of
"humanist"
scholars
that
flourished
at
Oxford
and
in
London
in
the

early
decades
of
the
16th
century,
notably
John
Colet,
William
Latimer,
Thomas
Linacre,
Reginald

Pole,
and
Thomas
More
—
a
group
that
Erasmus
pronounced
both
congenial
and
distinguished.


- 31 -
The
name
of
"humanist,"
in
the
Renaissance,
meant
one
who
was
trained
in
the
study
of
Latin
and

Greek
languages
to
the
point
of
easy
familiarity,
who
had
read
widely
in
those
literatures,
who
had

adopted
the
ancients'
attitude
toward
man
on
earth,
and
who
believed
that
the
prescription
for

enlightenment
in
modern
society
was
to
be
found
chiefly
through
the
study
and
imitation
of
those

ancient
classics.


A
serious
dilemma
presented
itself
as
a
result
of
this
newfound
devotion
to
the
ancient
sages

because
of
the
apparent
conflict
between
pagan
classicism
and
Christian
doctrine.
It
became
a

matter
of
deepest
concern
for
all
Renaissance
thinkers
to
find
an
accommodation
of
the
two

doctrines
—
the
philosophy
of
Plato
and
the
teachings
of
Christ.
As
a
result
of
their
dual
allegiance,

we
get
the
term
which
describes
the
movement,
"Christian
humanism."
The
successful
adaptation
of

double
devotion
is
seldom
better
illustrated
than
in
the
works
of
Thomas
More,
especially
in
Utopia.


- 32 -
References



http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Utopia



http://www.sacred‐texts.com/cla/pcc/pcc10.htm



http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom‐resources/lesson‐plans/decoding‐dystopian‐
characteristics‐macintosh‐933.html?tab=3#tabs



http://books.google.com.au/books?id=xku_Ik6E96MC&pg=PA1227&lpg=PA1227&dq=%22ut
opia+means+nowhere+or+no+place%22&source=bl&ots=TSO9qCnTjX&sig=ffzEQ0Y2qHpjeJfI
RktfcQ_OL_E&hl=en&ei=DVtWS9OAH8GIkAWguqHlBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&res
num=2&ved=0CAsQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=&f=false



http://www.buzzle.com/articles/creation‐stories‐for‐different‐religions.html



http://therumpus.net/2010/01/conversations‐about‐the‐internet‐5‐anonymous‐facebook‐
employee/?full=yes




- 33 -