forum What do are some things you consider cliche in a dystopian universe?

Started January 21, 2018 by @Krista Williams

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Basically the title. I just wanted some input on the subject and thought it could be an interesting discussion point.

So, let us begin: What do you consider cliche about the dystopian worlds?

First thing that came to mind is the pointlessly evil faceless government.

I would say only young people daring to stand up. I'm all about people in my age range fighting unfair systems, but I'd love to see parents/grandparents/older people who are ready to take down dystopian regimes. Also, don't have a single character save the world. The loner leader archetype is getting old, and it takes a village to dismantle harmful social systems. Hope this helps!

My biggest pet peeve is when dystopians take a blind "technology is bad, people are good" approach. Stories like The Matrix did it well, but I think it's way too common for people to just go overboard with "the world was taken over by technology" and hone too far in to how it reduces person-to-person interactions (e.g. looking at your phone, interacting online, VR-esque implications, etc) and never address its positives in the same space also (e.g. making communication easier around the world, speeding up communication and business transactions, disseminating knowledge further, etc).

Needing to "go back to the good times" of people paying attention to people in order to overthrow some technology-heavy dystopia is my least favorite cliche in the genre.

If you’re writing dystopia, try to come up with a totally new idea instead of piggybacking off existing dystopians. One of the things I dislike about the genre is how they are all the same.

The generic teenage girl protagonist that's a good, don't question the system, follow the rules girl but finds a "bad boy" and her life gets turned upside down.

Love triangles. Who has time for all that when you're trying to save the world?

'If you don't support us, we'll kill the people you love'. While that's a good way to torture a rebel, it's getting old. A lot of dystopian governments (ex. Divergent, THG) use that threat. Think of something more creative to manipulate your protagonist.

On of my favorite cliches when it comes to dystopias is the government saying "See everything is great look how bad it was then" and everyone believing it until one character finds something that shows that the 'evil past' wasn't so bad an that thy live in an oppressed world. Those are super interesting.

My least favorite is when nobody seems to realize except one person that anything is wrong. I prefer stories where everybody knows, they're just too scared to say anything.

The lack of communities, parents, or uprisings against the oppressive government. You'd think that if a bunch of teenagers are able to stand up to the government that others would have done before it. History is full of people standing up to their governments, so why when one teenage girl does it, the entire world acts like the've never even thought about it. Also why is it always like a few rouges or scavengers on their own, humans tend to bunch up, and form groups, and establish an orderful community. And my last point, why does the protagonist always either not have parents, or their parents are so vacant they may as well be dead. You'd think that dystopia would make parents more wary and attentive to their kids, but apparently not.

I think something dystopian settings frequently lack is a strong moral grey. I don't mean the "moral grey" of killing people to achieve your goals, but more along the lines of North Korea. A lot of North Korean defectors have a certain reluctance to tell you they hate it. I've noticed that in a lot of interviews, they feel the need to emphasize that the people living there aren't mindless and brainwashed, and they will even tell you that people are relatively happy. That's not to say there's nothing wrong with North Korea, but I think it's rather small-minded to assume that people living in bad conditions must be blind and stupid.

I don't believe people need to be oblivious, mentally ill, brainwashed, or living in fear for a world to be dystopian, and it doesn't have to be black and white. Sometimes (actually, more often than not) these things aren't pure evil with no "good side" to speak of. People are often aware of what is happening around them. This is common in cults and even addressed by many psychologists when discussing Jonestown.

I haven't slept so I'm not sure I explained myself as well as I'd like, but my point is that dystopian settings are often unrealistic in how they portray the psychology and culture of people living in a dystopia. They make it sound black and white, and characters are too quick to pick sides with little to no alternative opinions. Spice it up, add people who agree with the rebels but choose not to rebel for reasons BESIDES "they're brainwashed!"

I kind of find it cliche when the main character ( mostly a girl) has to choose between two guys, the one she's known forever, and the one she has just met.

These are all exactly what I was looking for! Keep it coming guys!

The whole "all technology is evil" cliche is by far my least favorite, especially when our established characters use technology on a daily basis. It's hypocritical and makes zero sense.

I'm currently writing a far future sci-fi dystopia and have made it a personal rule to never fall into this trap. Sure, technology has its ups and downs, but these need to be clearly explained in order to make sense of things. For example, several of my characters are cyborgs as a result of war wounds. In some areas (like combat) this gives them a distinct advantage- However, the Borgs' cybernetic parts aren't all good. They are powered by a very strong yet very temperamental battery that can explode if subjected to certain types of shockwaves. Naturally, cyborgs are rather bitter about this. However, this does not turn them off to all types of technology in the world.

If you're gonna do a far future anything, especially a dystopia, then for the love of humanity, don't fall into the "technology is evil, we must return to the forest like nature intended" trope. It automatically undermines your story and motivations and just makes you look like you don't know what you're talking about.

I'm actually writing a dystopian right now and this has been really useful for me so thanks!
My least favourite cliches

• the ever-present love triangle
• only one person seems to realise that there is something wrong (in my story, there is already a rebel organisation that the character joins)
• villains that don't have a backstory

For a slight change of pace, I'm gonna add in one of my favorite tropes: The villain who genuinely believes that what they're doing is right.

Maybe oppressing this minority is, in their eyes, necessary for the good of the people as a whole. Maybe publicly executing that rebel was painful for them, and the only reason they did it was to dissuade anyone else from making the same mistake. Maybe the reason they're keeping this dark secret is simply to keep the peace, to preserve the ideology they value more than life itself.

Don't just make evil dictators for the sake of conflict. Give them reasons for committing these crimes against humanity. Remember that everyone is the hero of their own story, and that your freedom fighters might be their terrorists.

One thing I dislike about the dystopias I've read is that the conflict is always between "the evil government" and "the ragtag good-hearted team of rebels", and that the government is usually totalitarian or autocratic or just generally incredibly oppressive.
The Star Wars vibe just gets old after a while.
I think a story exploring the negative aspects of too much freedom, where the government is weak and the people fear for their lives because of anarchy, could be just as compelling. Or even just making the protagonist the government official struggling to maintain any semblance of order in a world where murderous rebels run rampant… idk, I feel like a lot of the time it's just sort of assumed that any sort of dystopian government must be BAD, period. Which is sad, because it would be interesting to read a story where the society's dystopia isn't just the government's fault.

I don't know if anyone's said these yet, but here's a quick list:

• It's always a teenager that has to save the world; this is fine in some cases, but I do think generally there needs to be more than just one or two teenagers in a rebellion for it to be successful
• The story focuses around something, usually love or one specific cliche trait, that's illegal that the main character has, but it's written kind of flatly; the story is predictable and you know that they're going to end up winning
• The hero is always special in some way or another, especially with a unique ability that nobody in the history of the world has ever managed to have; this is extremely unlikely and always turns me away from books
• The dialogue can get boring when the hero is always so simply good and absolutely always willing to save people and do good; not every person is gonna want to sacrifice themselves instantly, and I think books with this trait sometimes lack needed character development
• The main character is the only person that's seen losses; by this, I mean the cliche teenagers with dead parents that can't relate to anybody else around them
• Every villain is perfect and has amazingly strategized plans that never, ever have any faults; I get tired of vilains that are just so simply evil and cruel; it's more interesting when the villains have errors or human flaws and don't say, "We're just like each other," to the hero
• The main character is actually really whiny and doesn't appreciate the power given to them in an attempt to be realistic; by this, I don't mean the well-written characters with actual depth, I'm talking about the, "I never wanted to be a hero!" characters that complain about every single thing
• There's never a hard choice, or if there is, it's always super obvious which option they're going to pick; for example, the villain says they can either save thousands of people or their own life; I would enjoy dystopian novels much more if the choices were a little more frequent and difficult, such as a choice between their best friend's little sibling or their commanding officer
• The main character, despite having a relatively average life, is always sharp, extremely intelligent, funny, pretty, great at fighting, and ends up having multiple romantic interests; seeing more protagonists with relatable, human flaws would make the book twice as interesting
• Mental issues, such as depression or paranoia, are either romanticized or villainized; the main character's romantic partner will help them through their depression/anxiety immediately, but the villain will have schizophrenia, paranoia, psychosis, or will just generally be "crazy"(probably the most common one); villainizing these problems can be kind of demeaning to those who actually suffer from them and get tiring to see

I hope that wasn't offensive to anyone! Sorry if it was!

The edgy handsome (always male why cant it ever be a girl but thats not the point) guy that sweeps the troubled girl off her feet and shows her a new world