# Science fiction story about everyone forced to be average **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 12, 2009, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-story-about-everyone-forced-to-be-average/492792 "2009-04-12T01:27:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2009, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-story-about-everyone-forced-to-be-average/492792/1 "2009-04-12T01:27:49Z")
I’m looking for a story I barely remember where every person in society is restrained with devices to make them become average. Beautiful people are forced to wear ugly clothes etc. The end of the story involves two dancers who cast off all their shackles on live TV. Any suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2009, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-story-about-everyone-forced-to-be-average/492792/2 "2009-04-12T01:29:12Z")
Harrison Bergeron > **[Philosophy | West Valley College](https://www.westvalley.edu/academics/philosophy/index.html)** > > West Valley College offers robust Philosophy courses and degree options. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2009, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-story-about-everyone-forced-to-be-average/492792/3 "2009-04-12T01:30:10Z")
Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2009, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-story-about-everyone-forced-to-be-average/492792/4 "2009-04-12T01:30:33Z")
_De nada!_ I love that story! ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2009, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-story-about-everyone-forced-to-be-average/492792/5 "2009-04-12T02:19:37Z")
Of all the great short stories I read as a kid, this one stands out as one of the very best… ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2009, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-story-about-everyone-forced-to-be-average/492792/6 "2009-04-12T02:50:28Z")
It’s been film-adapted at least once, and I seem to recall they kinda missed the point. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2009, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-story-about-everyone-forced-to-be-average/492792/7 "2009-04-12T03:39:46Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > Of all the great short stories I read as a kid, this one stands out as one of the very best… True. In a few short pages, Kurt Vonnegut far more effectively conveyed his message about forced mediocrity than Ayn Rand did in several rambling novels. Vonnegut was also a lot funnier than Rand. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2009, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-story-about-everyone-forced-to-be-average/492792/8 "2009-04-12T13:02:00Z")
Diana Moon Glompers, Handicapper General, has to be one of the best characters Vonnegut ever created. Especially since her physical description was eerily close to that of Janet Reno. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2009, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-story-about-everyone-forced-to-be-average/492792/9 "2009-04-12T13:22:47Z")
It was also a segment in the TV movie [Between Time and Timbuktu](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068270/) which was also turned into a picture-novel (which I have). ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2009, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-story-about-everyone-forced-to-be-average/492792/10 "2009-04-12T14:41:59Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > It’s been film-adapted at least once, and I seem to recall they kinda missed the point. In what way? I liked the film. I saw it before I realised there even was a short story. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2009, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-story-about-everyone-forced-to-be-average/492792/11 "2009-04-12T14:47:34Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > In what way? I liked the film. I saw it before I realised there even was a short story. I was thinking that too. It was a short story so they fleshed it out quite a bit. They also changed the main character. In the story not only was he very smart, he was also strong and tall and handsome. In the movie he was Sean Astin. For some reason they concentrated on his intelligence. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2009, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-story-about-everyone-forced-to-be-average/492792/12 "2009-04-12T15:06:29Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > True. In a few short pages, Kurt Vonnegut far more effectively conveyed his message about forced mediocrity than Ayn Rand did in several rambling novels. Vonnegut was also a lot funnier than Rand. Vonnegut was writing satire. Rand was…lecturing. I’d have much rather had a drink with Vonnegut than Rand. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Tyrrell\_McAllister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tyrrell_mcallister/32/16772_2.png) [@Tyrrell\_McAllister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tyrrell_McAllister)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2009, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-story-about-everyone-forced-to-be-average/492792/13 "2009-04-12T16:27:14Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Diana Moon Glompers, Handicapper General, has to be one of the best characters Vonnegut ever created. Especially since her physical description was eerily close to that of Janet Reno. I just read the story from **IvoryTowerDenizen** ’s link. It contains no physical description of Diana Moon Glampers. I think you’re only signaling what you think of Janet Reno ;). ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2009, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-story-about-everyone-forced-to-be-average/492792/14 "2009-04-12T16:53:54Z")
> [@Tyrrell\_McAllister](#): > > I just read the story from **IvoryTowerDenizen** ’s link. It contains no physical description of Diana Moon Glampers. I think you’re only signaling what you think of Janet Reno ;). “It was then that Diana Moon Glampers, the Handicapper General, came into the studio with a double-barreled ten-gauge shotgun. She fired twice, and the Emperor and Empress were dead before they hit the floor.” I always imagined Glampers being played by Linda Hunt, but I can see Janet Reno here, too. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2009, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-story-about-everyone-forced-to-be-average/492792/15 "2009-04-12T17:07:21Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > True. In a few short pages, Kurt Vonnegut far more effectively conveyed his message about forced mediocrity than Ayn Rand did in several rambling novels. Vonnegut was also a lot funnier than Rand. You take that back! Ayn Rand was a comic _genius_! Hard to believe that some people miss the humor of such a hilarious, over-the-top satire of egotism and selfishness. I would have thought the [comic persona](http://www-tc.pbs.org/wnet/americannovel/timeline/images/rand_pic.jpg) she adopted to “sell” the satire would have been obvious enough. It’s like thinking Andy Kaufman was a serious wrestler. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2009, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-story-about-everyone-forced-to-be-average/492792/16 "2009-04-12T17:13:03Z")
There was a film like this made in the 1990s, a tv movie I think. Someone like Brendan Fraser was in it too. Was it a remake or something else? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2009, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-story-about-everyone-forced-to-be-average/492792/17 "2009-04-12T17:55:50Z")
There is another remake coming out called [2081](http://www.finallyequal.com/trailer-flash.html). From the write up it looks like it will be a short. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2009, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-story-about-everyone-forced-to-be-average/492792/18 "2009-04-12T18:10:24Z")
They made a whole film out of that? It’s good, but it seems more like a satirical sketch than an actual story. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2009, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-story-about-everyone-forced-to-be-average/492792/19 "2009-04-12T18:12:02Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > You take that back! Ayn Rand was a comic _genius_! Hard to believe that some people miss the humor of such a hilarious, over-the-top satire of egotism and selfishness. I would have thought the [comic persona](http://www-tc.pbs.org/wnet/americannovel/timeline/images/rand_pic.jpg) she adopted to “sell” the satire would have been obvious enough. It’s like thinking Andy Kaufman was a serious wrestler. If only. If _only._ :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2009, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-story-about-everyone-forced-to-be-average/492792/20 "2009-04-12T18:14:44Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > There was a film like this made in the 1990s, a tv movie I think. Someone like Brendan Fraser was in it too. Was it a remake or something else? I think you are talking about the same one we were upthread. It was made for cable channel Showtime in 1995 and starred Sean Astin. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-story-about-everyone-forced-to-be-average/492792.md?page=2)