Where Utopia is the land of dreams, Dystopia is the land of nightmares. Today, most sci-fi tales are depictions of chilling, dehumanised societies. Star Trek seems to be the only remaining defender of Utopia.

One explanation might be the forbidden charm of Dystopia, especially in cyberpunk litterature and cinema... Another explanation might be the world is turning faster. The acceleration of technology and globalisation removes all boundaries and makes it difficult to predict the future. Maybe we have reached an important turning point where our dreams as well as our nightmares may come true... Let's all pray those dark visions of the future are fantasies and not prophecies. Nevertheless, they might be warnings and perhaps we should listen to them. It is a bitter truth: It takes forever to realise a dream, but a nightmare can come true really fast. We better be vigilant and keep an eye on those in charge. Remember, Big Brother might be watching you this very moment.

The raison d'être of Exploring Dystopia is simply to promote dystopian fiction, thus stimulating people to think for themselves.

Dystopian fiction is quality science fiction: innovative and imaginative, political and critical, realistic and alarming. As such, it engenders intellectual growth, vivid imagination, political awareness and basic solidarity. It may tell us something both about our own time and days to come. In a nutshell, dystopian fiction may be a means to expand as a human being.

I also want this site to be, however pretentious it may sound, a battle cry for democracy and humanism. I believe we take these things for granted today and tend to forget what the alternative is." >from *Exploring Dystopia Manifesto by Niclas Hermansson*.

related context
> dystopia. from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
> glocal heterotopies: art, activism and technology. november 28, 2003

imago
> warning! biohazard zone