Speculative fiction is a broad literary genre that encompasses any fiction with supernatural, fantastical, or futuristic elements. This includes, but is not limited to, science fiction, fantasy, horror, dystopian fiction, and alternate history. The term is used to describe stories that imagine worlds or scenarios that differ significantly from our own reality, often exploring "what if" questions and pushing the boundaries of what is possible. Speculative fiction allows authors to explore complex ideas, social issues, and human nature in creative and imaginative ways.
Most dystopian works present a world in which oppressive societal control and the illusion of a perfect society are maintained through one or more of the following types of controls:
• Corporate control: One or more large corporations control society through products, advertising, and/or the media. Examples include Minority Report and Running Man.
• Bureaucratic control: Society is controlled by a mindless bureaucracy through a tangle of red tape, relentless regulations, and incompetent government officials. Examples in film include Brazil.
• Technological control: Society is controlled by technology—through computers, robots, and/or scientific means. Examples include The Matrix, The Terminator, and I, Robot.
• Philosophical/religious control: Society is controlled by philosophical or religious ideology often enforced through a dictatorship or theocratic government.
• often feels trapped and is struggling to escape.
• questions the existing social and political systems.
• believes or feels that something is terribly wrong with the society in which he or she lives.
• helps the audience recognizes the negative aspects of the dystopian world through his or her perspective.
