So dictatorship (or some other form of autocracy) is a very common subject in sci-fi (in fact I’d say it might be the most common form government in sci-fi universes.). But while I’ve never lived in a dictatorship most sci fi representations don’t seem very realistic, in terms of what it’s actually like to live day-to-day in a dictatorship.
So which sci-fi universe does the best job of showing what life is actually like in a real world dictatorship?
A couple of random ones that come to mind are…
Children of Men: which never explicitly states Britain is now a dictatorship IIRC, but strongly implies freedoms have been massively curtailed? That seems realistic, the fact they are living in a dictatorship is not the primary conversation subject for people living in dictatorships.
Brazil: hyperbolic surreal parody. But seems to do a good job representing the surreal bureaucracy associated with many dictatorships.
Brazil does not depict a dictatorship, or at least none that is witnessed in the film. The government is, in fact, a faceless bureaucracy and takes no responsibility for anything as evidenced by the buck passing regarding the error in “inviting” Harry Buttle to “participate in inquiries”. That there is no accountability for mistakes, errors, or the ultimate “corrections” to resolve these isn’t a result of a central authority or even deliberate conspiracy, but just a bunch of clueless bureaucrats “doing their jobs” and avoiding culpability by making false claims about terrorists or altering paperwork. The theme of the film is of the “banality of evil” of an unrestricted, unaccountable sprawling bureaucracy rather than authoritarianism.
Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World presents a benevolent dictatorship in which the population is subdued by readily available drugs and actual work is performed by congenitally-manipulated sub-castes who lack the intelligence and motivation to rebel or demand better treatment. Individualism is subsumed by conformance, and dissent palated by consumerism, so that any inclination to free thought is suppressed for fear of being rejected or regarded as different. This is far more plausible than a sustained dictatorship imposed by force.
Dictatorship and totalitarianism are not the same thing.
From my understanding of people who have lived in them, dictatorships really aren’t that bad for the average person, as long as you don’t get involved in politics. As long as you keep out of politics and don’t complain about the problems caused by political leaders, you can live a fairly free life. Yeah you will have more problems in a dictatorship due to mismanagement and apathy, but your personal freedoms outside of politics aren’t really curtailed. Dictators don’t give a shit about the people or what the people do, unless they become a threat to the government. The average day to day life in a dictatorship may not be ‘that’ much different than average life in a freer country for most people.
Totalitarianism is a desire to control your entire life, like North Korea or China under Mao. They want an entire nation of slaves and brainwashed robots.
Having said that, I’m not sure whats a good example of the first in media and sci-fi, but I feel there is a major distinction.
Brazil is definitely meant to be set in some manner of authoritarian society or dictatorship. That’s not just my interpretation, Terry Gilliam himself said it’s based 1984 (his working title was 1984 and a half.) The fact it does not explicitly state the exact nature of that government is one of the reasons why I mentioned it. The mundane realities of living in the society are much more important.
In Star Wars you got it both ways, a dictatorship under the Empire was the obvious bad, but the complete ineptitude of the Democratic Galactic Republic was also fairly bad for everyone involved.
The last two books in The Expanse series telling the tale of High Consul Winston Duarte‘s interstellar empire imparts the kind of mix of nationalistic pride and physical dread that one probably feels under an actual dictatorship.
Clearly 1984 is a classic and one the greats. But its also the reason for all the bad representations of dictatorships in sci-fi. Winston spends all his time shuffling about feeling oppressed, obsessing about the nature of the dictatorship that’s oppressing him. Its a bit of unfair complaint as all of that has become such a trope now, but it wasn’t at the time, this was the first discussion of the details of communist-style dictatorship most of his readers would have had. But the fact remains Orwell never actually lived under a dictatorship, and that’s not a particular good representation of life under a dictatorship (again, neither have I, this is based on personal conversations and stuff I’ve read).
He only just escaped with his life after the faction he was fighting with in the Spanish Civil was declared unacceptable by the soviet-backed Stalinists running the Republican side, but that’s not the same thing as actually living under a dictatorship
I grew up under an oppressive racist authoritarian state, not an absolutely totalitarian one, but IMO Orwell was spot-on. The nature of the Apartheid State and the system they erected to enforce compliance was a constant concern for people of my class and background. It showed in art, media, social discourse.
Yes, that’s what is to be expected in a realistic depiction of a dictatorship. It would be a constant ominous shadow over the oppressed people that a dictator must have to be the boogeyman for the rest of the people to fear and hate. Wasn’t my favorite book or writing style, but that’s not the what the question is about.
I dunno, that was one of the most egregious things the prequels screw up completely (there’s a lot of competition for that honor) they could have been an amazing representation of how democracy gets replaced by dictatorship, in the best sci-fi tradition of using fantastical sci-fi situations to discuss real world issues. But instead we got the prequels.
And the newer sequels did not do much better when it comes to representing the other side of the equation, how do you depose a dictatorship without collapsing into civil war and anarchy, followed by slipping back into dictatorship.
I mean I’ve never lived under one, but that’s not how people I know how who have describe it. Its not the main subject of conversation, or even at the front of their minds. Its much more insidious than that (and makes them far more appreciative of democracy and free society than those of us who haven’t).
That’s why included Brazil in the OP, that is closer (despite being a surreal satire that never actually mentions the form of government that is overseeing the craziness) to how it has been described to me.
You know, while it’s not sci-fi exactly, I think the V for Vendetta movie probably did a good job of showing a more or less successful dictatorship. It is largely popular, having purged those who did not fit into the leadership’s ideals. There is very effective control of media and communications, and those who stand out are brutally eliminated, often with minimal or no mention. The people appear to be overall comfortable, or even happy with how things are going.
The thing I found most unlikely in that particular series is that there would be any sort of popular uprising, that V’s appeals to what had been lost had enough resonance with the people even with the cloaking and masks, to cause any sort of even limited public uprising …then again, seeing what happened on 1/6 makes a point as well.
I’m not clear what the difference is. I don’t think it’s the subject of much conversation for various reasons, or at the front of their minds, but I think oppressed people feel it all the time, or may need to avoid feeling it just to keep themselves sane and safe, that’s the insidious nature you mention.