Dystopia

This is not a song about how dystopian science fiction is always terrible. Rather, it is a song about how dystopian science fiction as a trendy thin layer slapped on top of a hackneyed plot is OFTEN terrible. Despite the pokes at Suzanne Collins, including the book perched innocently on top of my couch, I'm not actually aiming at The Hunger Games but rather at some of its laziest imitators. I enjoy The Hunger Games and its sequels. I own the hardcovers, don't I?

Lyrics:

Dystopia

I want to write a story of a land that's cursed with death.
The ruined cities crumble 'round the few still left alive.
The air is full of madness, taken in with every breath,
And no one knows the best way to survive.

Against this sordid backdrop, an ironic twist of fate
Sends a young girl on a journey more important than it seems.
Her coincidental actions are to leave her with the weight
Of the future of the whole world on her dreams.

They tell me this is a standard plot,
But that's only true if the story's not

A dystopia.
When you want to make a story new,
Make a dystopia.
Future worlds are more exciting, too.
It's a dystopia,
Where the water's brown instead of blue.
They won't roll their eyes if you
Just turn your story into
A dystopia.

A cruel lord is lurking in a fortress on a hill,
Power-hungry, plotting, and consumed with violent rage.
It's him the girl eventually is going to have to kill
With the help of an old elusive sage.

The nation will rise up against the tyrant as a boy
Emerges from obscurity to help the girl along.
The flowering relationship will weave a thread of joy
Through the darkness and will help her to stay strong.

It's clichéd and rather worn,
But add one element and something new is born:

It's a dystopia,
Just like every story come before,
But a dystopia,
So somehow not a dragging bore.
A dystopia,
Better if you skip the elven lore
And add in more and more
Technology, 'cause that is
A dystopia.

Here comes the dragon tamer...
I mean the cyborg with the deadly laser eyes.
Destiny's at work here,
Since Destiny's a corporation
Full of robot spies.
And of course there's a descent to the underworld
If by "underworld"
You mean secret underground government factory warehouse.

The climax of the story will involve a vital fight
Between the girl and her most terrifying enemy.
The aftershock of battle will disturb the silent night
And leave a trail of crimson in the sea.

The people will rejoice to hear they're finally all free
But not too free because the story's edgier that way,
And the girl and her new boyfriend will both have PTSD,
Even though their actions saved the day.

That's about how every story ends
But my adaptation bends
It really very elegantly into

A dystopia.
Exceptionally brilliant and not lame.
A dystopia.
Let us play the allegory game.
A dystopia.
Though the story is the same,
Its gritty one-word name
Will draw the reader into

The dystopia.
Let's all hail the future; screw the past.
That's a dystopia,
With a young and emo cast.
A dystopia.
The possibilities are vast.
They say the trend won't last,
But I have confidence in my dystopia.

karimaaren.com