Dystopian Short Story: Comparison of Bradbury’s and Shur's Works

A dystopian text is an imagined world in which the illusion of a perfect society is maintained through technological and authoritarian power. This is one of the dystopian short story essays where we will analyse some of the dystopian short stories. The first one is Ray Bradbury’s ‘The Pedestrian’. It depicts a futuristic technology – dominated world, particularly the uprising of televisions. It was written in 1951 out of Bradbury’s concern with a loss of individuality and creativity with the advancement of televisions. Also belonging to the dystopian genre is the episode ‘Nosedive’ from the series of Black Mirror directed by Michael Shur in 2016 that portrays a hauntingly realistic depiction of a future world characterised and dominated by social networking. It was written in the modern era with the agenda of proposing how modern technologies influence our actions. These two texts both comply to the dystopian genre and construct similar ideas including the domination and control of technology as propaganda machines, while also forcing citizens to conform to uniform expectations and treating natural acts and emotions as punishable. Both dystopian genre text employs similar ideas and are constructed through generic conventions and stylistic devices.

Leonard Mead’s character in the story ‘The Pedestrian’ reinforces the dystopian genre convention of the protagonist helping readers to see the negative aspects of this imagined world to demonstrate the invasion and control of technology in a futuristic society. This is portrayed through the use of imagery. As Mead strolls through the city; the streets, and the homes people are all depicted with the imagery of death. Walking through the “silent and long and empty” streets is just like “walking through a graveyard”. This further emphasises the control of technology on human as there is no one to be seen outside. The homes Mead passes through are described as housing the dead, “tomb, ill-lit by television light”. The homes too are lacking signs of liveliness and any human beings. In this manner, the story utilises imagery to highlight that televisions are deadly structures as they are invading and controlling the society.

Similarly, ‘Nosedive’ utilises Lacie Pound’s character to also reinforce the dystopian genre convention demonstrating the invasion of technology in the society through the use of social media. The use of the wide shot when she’s waiting in line at the coffee shop showed how everyone was on their phones which shows how social media as a form of technology influences the society. In this scene we see that they are using their phones to give each other ratings. The potential of someone to examine not just material but also a particular person creates a cultural push and an opportunity to depict that technology has become a diversion in a true life of excellence, an appealing version of reality that provides a simple way to avoid the deeply ingrained racism. In the episode the use of phones corresponds to the televisions used in the story ‘The Pedestrian’ as they both use electronic devices as a way to portray the invasion and control of technology over society.

‘The Pedestrian’ adheres to the dystopian genre convention by emphasising that natural human actions and feelings are not accepted in that society and are punished. In the story, the police car is personified and is seen as the government. The police car becomes a power of influence that Mead experiences when he strolls through the streets. Mead was stopped by the car stunning him with “fierce flashes of light” considering he was only “walking” through the streets. This highlights that a simple connection with nature is restricted by technology. When Mead tells the car that he was “walking for air. Walking to see” the police car tells him to “Get in” the car which emphasises that natural actions and his feelings are considered punishable. In the story the police car says to Mead that he is taking him to “Psychiatric Centre for Research on Regressive Tendencies”. This is a cruel place that the government sends people to who commit senseless crimes. The fact that Mead was being taken there for “walking” emphasises the point that a simple communion with nature are restricted by technology and that natural actions are considered “bad” and unacceptable. In this manner, the story utilises the police car to highlight that normal human actions and feelings are considered punishable.

Likewise, ‘Nosedive’ also further emphasises the dystopian genre convention through the idea that human actions and feelings are seen as punishable. We are shown this through the use of the closeup shot of her phone when she receives a double damage for arguing with the guard at the airport. The fact that you can take double damage for swearing alone shows the intense risk that comes with not following the rules. Being able to get a punishment for expressing normal human feelings highlight that human actions are not appreciated in that society. In ‘Nosedive’ the swearing corresponds to Mead walking outside in ‘The Pedestrian’ as both of these things are seen to be acts that are punishable. These rules are shown through the guards and the police care which are part of the government.