How to Avert Dystopia Cliches

xsampa

Banned
In dystopias such as For All Time, What Madness is This? and Decades of Darkness, a certain tendency appears towards large, usually authoritarian empires which mercilessly grind a less-favored segment of the population into slavery, the Gulag or being subjects of a puppet state. Although this ultimately derives from 1984, this tendency has grown into a general concept of dystopia here on AH.com. This definition ignores that a dystopia applies to any place in which everything is unpleasant, including hypothetical scenarios in which online identity theft makes people's lives miserable with worry and wasted time.

There are many ways to avert this overarching cliche, such as creating a dystopia in which the suffering is primarily caused by a polluted environment. Creating a democratic dystopia is difficult, but creating a demarchic dystopia in which rulers are randomly selected by chance can be a viable option for those tiring of dictators. Creators should also note that increasing the number of powerful nations increases the conflict and that crises alone can create a sufficiently nasty environment.
 

Sabot Cat

Banned
Think outside the box, and highlight concerns that are often out of focus. Everyone knows that dictatorships and totalitarianism are negative things. But what about failing to invest in infrastructure? Sure crumbling roads can be an inconvenience, but hardly a dystopia, right? However, I made a dystopian scenario based on real data of what could happen if we don't make timely investments now, and how we could be dealing with a truly catastrophic economic crisis and worsening living conditions for all: https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/america-in-2035-extrapolating-neglect.385022/ Dystopias often serve a function of highlighting a certain issue that you believe needs to be addressed, and if you train your sights on an unconventional target, you're likely to avert the cliches.
 
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Yun-shuno

Banned
Maybe there should be more inspiration from works like Brave New World. I think that would be somewhat refreshing.
 
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