Dystopian Fiction: The End of an Era or a Reality?

Illustration by Annick Harvey

I loved YA dystopian fiction. In fact, it was the only sub-genre that kept me reading when there wasn’t any good fantasy fiction left to read.  

There was just something fascinatingly unique about the re-imagination of how the world would look when it teeters towards its end. 

For one, it was unnatural and unorthodox.  

Unlike the archetype narrative of the villain trying to find a way to live forever with the protagonist fighting to save the world from the enemy’s actions, dystopian fiction showed the readers why living so long to see the world’s end wasn’t so great after all. 

As a girl who always wondered how we would all survive if we managed to live to witness the end of the world, I got pulled in even more into the world of YA dystopian fiction. I loved it so much that even though I didn’t like the Hunger Games, I watched many of the film adaptations even though I didn’t know what was going on. I finally quit watching them when my brain couldn’t take it.  

This meant that even though The Maze Runner scared the living hell out of me, I tried to bear reading the books to “expand my reading horizons” while keeping up with the movies when the books were too spine-chilling to read. 

This meant that even though Divergent was the only mainstream dystopian fiction I actually liked, I dropped reading and watching both the book and movie series out of rage when my classmate immaculately spoiled the whole thing by telling me that Tris Prior died in the end. (For the readers who didn’t know this, Divergent ended a decade ago, so this doesn’t count as a spoiler). 

Why did YA dystopian fiction drive me to do all the things a reader who genuinely loved the sub-genre wouldn’t do? Because that was just how powerful the hype around dystopian fiction was, which, unfortunately, drove it to its end. 

The Decline of Dystopian Fiction 

I admit that the build-up of the hype around mainstream dystopian fiction was what kept me reading. In fact, it simultaneously made me disregard other lesser popular dystopian fiction like dystopian fantasy books because it just wasn’t what everyone was reading and raving over. As an awkward tween who took pride in reading books because she just wasn’t confident in socialising, the hype in mainstream books meant everything. It was the key to connect with what everyone else loved at the time and a part of me hoped that I would be able to gain more friends if I knew all about the “hottest” topic. 

Well, there were probably a lot of like-minded people who were attracted to dystopian fiction because of the hype, who binge-watched and read both the books and film adaptations. According to Canta and Michigan Daily, dystopian fiction faded out due to a lack of new original ideas and a lack of revenue produced.  

But aren’t the most trending books fuelled by the hype thanks to the massive success of their publishers, marketers and connections? Was the downfall of YA dystopian fiction really due to a faded-out hype? 

‘Dystopian Fiction’ or Our Current Reality? 

Many of us probably thought the main reason behind the decline of dystopian fiction was because end-of-world scenarios that were once fiction has become our reality.  

We have several elements to check off the list of end-of-world re-imaginations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the falling economy, the increase of natural disasters around the world, the Simpsons predictions becoming true.  

We’re already experiencing the worst that could be imagined, so what can dystopian fiction writers possibly write about now? 

I personally believe that this line of thought is the reason why dystopian fiction has died out. 

But I also believe that dystopian fiction still can be revived, and it has not truly lost its spark. After all, there are still a few dystopian fiction books out there that just aren’t mainstream.  

Perhaps one day I will be able to revive it as a writer and a sincere dystopian fiction lover. Fingers crossed.