On the Sudden Popularity of Dystopian Novels

According to The New York Times, there is currently a surge of interest in classic dystopian novels such as Orwell’s 1984 and Animal Farm, Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, P.D. James' The Children of Men, and Goldings' The Lord of the Flies. I find this puzzling. Apparently people want to read grim stories about authoritarian societies because they believe Western democracies are headed in that direction. But beware! Morbid fascination with dystopias will help make them come to pass, and we should never, never, never resign ourselves to the inevitability of a world without personal liberties, especial in the US and Europe. So I want to ask the people who are reading these novels --- why be so pessimistic? Wouldn’t it make more sense to read classic literature that encourages us to be strong and resilient? Stories that inspire us to fight against these forces of totalitarianism and fascism, novels about people of spirit and courage who overcome the forces of destruction? If we would change the world, we must begin by changing ourselves, as the sages have been telling us for centuries. And as an alternative to all this negative futurism I recommend the novels of D. H. Lawrence who believed the hope for humanity rests with the individual's inherent capacity for love.

Making Movies

Technology has made it relatively easy for the new filmmaker to make a movie. Now just about anyone with a modicum of desire and drive can see their story turned into a film in the digital format. But this ease of creation does not ensure that the content will have any depth. When movies were made the old way, on celluloid, it took a lot of money, time, and effort, and those requirements were enough to discourage anyone who did not feel compelled to tell the story they believed had to be told.  Today’s young filmmakers have been raised on what Martin Scorsese calls “theme park movies,” movies that rely too much on special effects, imagery, and celebrity actors. Scorsese says he feels like one of the last of a dying breed of filmmakers, the ones who take risks and make movies with personal themes of scope and power. Movies must have scope and power, and they must be made with a passion for truth and a depth of psychology, otherwise they are nothing more than exercises in vanity.