Neither? Both? Who Knows…

The latest example of is-it-real-life-or-is-it-a-dystopian-novel is the announcement of the 2026 Hunger—er, Patriot Games, where teenage boys and girls will compete for the glory of their U.S. states/territories in some kind of athletic endeavors. This got me wondering: are dystopian writers predicting the future, or somehow conjuring it?

In other words, could dystopian authors be planting ideas in our leaders’ minds through fiction? Then these leaders, perhaps not even realizing they read it in a book or saw it in a movie, implement their wonderful, even utopian policies to make the world a better place, distract from scandal, or pursue other noble intentions.

If so, dystopian writers, present company included, need to knock it off. We’ve all had our fill of dystopian features in this modern world, thank you very much. Let’s not give politicians any more bright ideas like brainwashing people through screens or distraction-inducing national athletic competitions for adolescents. We all know where dystopian ideas lead…

Dystopias!

Is Dystopian Fiction a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy?

If true, that would make dystopian fiction a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy. And maybe it would also mean that dystopian authors aren’t holding up a torch to tyranny, so much as suggesting bright ideas to despots.

All of this would be blissfully unintentional. After all, what writer wants to see their worst nightmares realized? The I-told-you-so satisfaction they would get from predicting the future would be outweighed by the fact that they are now living in a pretty shitty world. And not even the worst dictator wants to create a dystopia on purpose.

I really hope I’m right about that last part.

Dystopian Fiction Turned Dystopian Reality

But whether it’s chicken-egg or egg-chicken, much of what we’ve seen over the past half-century originally appeared in someone’s dystopian nightmare novel. Here are some examples:

Did The Running Man predict the rise of humiliation-fueled television, or was some up-and-coming reality TV producer taking notes?

What about 1984’s depiction of media manipulation and government surveillance/influence programs?

And how much of today’s book-burning fetish has been influenced by Fahrenheit 451?

Those are the first three I could think of, but the predictive ability of dystopian fiction goes on and on, from gene editing and eugenics (Brave New World) to sex robots (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?).

What other dystopian fiction-turned-real examples can you think of? In these cases, did dystopian fiction inspire or predict future events?

Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

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