TagCacotopia Today

Cacotopia (ˌkækəˈtəʊpɪə) – An imaginary place where everything is as bad as it can be; a dystopia.

Similar to DYStopia, but it sounds cooler. Or perhaps just more profane – like an STD transmitted only in the barracks while you’re deployed. Whether it’s EROL, WROL, or disaster-related, cacotopia sucks. Just ask Theo Faron, Hugo Toorop, and Harrison Bergeron.

Or, for that matter, Winston Smith and John Galt.

TL; DR: Take me to the articles.

Is that really a redundant term if conditions truly suck?

Cacotopia = Dystopia

Some of us enjoy dystopian films and novels. Some of us use “lessons learned” from such fiction to prepare for actual, “real life” living and survival challenges.

More than a few of us reckon that, unless things change, we’re not too far off from a life in cacotopia right now.

“[Dystopian stories] allow us to reflect on the harsh realities of our present moment, on conditions that are difficult to confront head-on. Though ostensibly set in the future, the post-apocalyptic mode can function as a window on, and critique of, the present…” JSTOR Daily

“[T]he element that makes this category so attractive is the people in it. This genre allows for personalities that are moulded and beaten by the harsh realities of their surroundings. Dystopian sci-fi gives its creators an impetus to develop characters that are more complex and layered because of the distinctive lives they live. This makes them fascinating because we can realistically imagine what we would do in their position if the future goes this way…real people, dealing with real issues in an unreal (but possible) world. Some of these issues depicted include combating a tyrannical government or even just protecting your family in a future that has failed.” The Cinema Cult