Government control is not just a topic for today’s political discussion, but the focus of many novels and movies that are set in the future. Could the government at some point have too much control? Could the world’s citizens lose hold of their own individuality? Read these novels and watch these movies to consider if government OVER control is in our future.
Must Reads
Anderson, M. T. Feed. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick, 2002. Print.
Sometime in the future, government controls its citizens through consumerism. In this story of ultimate control, a feed is inserted into the minds of all people that constantly “feeds” advertisements, music, and political information, but when this control is questioned, violence occurs and is cleanly covered up.
Sometime in the future, government controls its citizens through consumerism. In this story of ultimate control, a feed is inserted into the minds of all people that constantly “feeds” advertisements, music, and political information, but when this control is questioned, violence occurs and is cleanly covered up.
Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid's Tale. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1986. Print.
The United States has been replaced by the totalitarian Republic of Gilead, where handmaids are forced to conceive children with the powerful men because these men have been unsuccessful in having children with their wives. The freedom of these many women is completely controlled by the government, who forces them to bear the burden of fertility.
Bynum, Laura. Veracity: a Novel. New York: Pocket, 2010. Print.
After viral terrorism has wiped out half of the population, citizens must try to survive the brutal, new government, Confederation of the willing. This government controls its citizens in the most brutal of ways: all citizens have a device implanted that could cause immediate execution if they make the wrong move.
Collins, Suzanne. Catching Fire. New York: Scholastic, 2009. Print.
In the first book of this series, Katniss Everdeen thwarted government control, much to the dismay of President Snow. In the second book of this series, President Snow pushes for more control of all his citizens by showing them that he is more powerful than the now-famous, Katniss.
Collins, Suzanne. Mockingjay. New York: Scholastic, 2010. Print.
In the first two books of this trilogy, Katniss Everdeen did the unthinkable, she survived the Games not once, but twice. Now a Civil War is brewing, and President Snow wants to regain control by attacking a specific target: Katniss, her family, and everyone that she loves in District 12.
Condie, Allyson Braithwaite. Matched. New York: Dutton, 2010. Print.
Government controls this society by eliminating freedom of choice – scientifically matching each person with their future companion so that each person can lead his or her best life. Cassia, the main character, comes to realize that society does not know best, but cannot avoid its control.
Farmer, Nancy. The House of the Scorpion. New York: Atheneum for Young Readers, 2002. Print.
Matt is the clone of Matteo Alacran, the dictator of Opium who has lived for 140 years because he uses the parts of multiple clones to extend his life. He also controls his citizens by implanting chips into the minds of opium fieldworks to ensure that they will not rebel.
Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2006. Print.
The World State controls its citizens by genetically engineering every human, creating a destiny for each person via his or her genetic make-up. People are then further programmed after birth through drugs and scientific conditioning.
Karr, Julia. XVI. New York: Speak, 2011. Print.
Government controls all females in Chicago year 2150 by tattooing them with “XVI” at age sixteen, declaring their sexual availability. Women of lower classes do not have much choice but to join the Female Liason Specialists if they want to gain a better life for themselves.
Moore, Alan. V for Vendetta. Comp. David Lloyd. New York: DC Comics, 2005. Print.
War has devasted England, a country where government has absolute power, and its citizens are under constant surveillance. One citizen rebels and destroys Parliament in a bombing and proceeds to destroy the sects of government that are forcibly controlling its people.
Oliver, Lauren. Delirium. New York: Harper, 2011. Print.
In a society outside Portland, Oregon, Lena knows and accepts that when she is 18, the government will erase her mind of all delirium (love). After this point, government control will be sealed, and she will be assigned a husband and a career.
Orwell, George. 1984. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1984. Print.
Big Brother, the leader of Oceania, controls everything including the language that his residents speak. Citizens are constantly watched through telescreens, and they are constantly bombarded with advertisements proving the presence and power of Big Brother.
Roth, Veronica. Divergent. New York: Katherine Tegen, 2011. Print.
Citizens of dystopian Chicago are forced to make a choice at the age of sixteen; the government demands that they choose to become a member of one of five groups. The main character must make this choice, one that will force her to lose part of her life, because she is fully controlled by the government.
Shusterman, Neal. Unwind. New York: Simon & Schuster for Young Readers, 2007. Print.
After a Civil War over abortion ends, the government institutes a new law ridding the country of abortion, but allowing parents or government agencies to have children “unwound” between the ages of 13 and 17, harvesting organs for others in need of these. These children are completely under the control of this new law and the decisions of adults, either parental, governmental, of both.
Westerfeld, Scott. Pretties. New York: Simon Pulse, 2011. Print.
In the sequel to Uglies, the government has a new level of control – not only did do they make “uglies” pretty, but they eliminate a portion of their mental capacity so that they can not function independently. When the main character comes upon a pill that can lessen this control, she and her friends are put in great danger.
Westerfeld, Scott. Uglies. New York: Simon Pulse, 2005. Print.
In this future world, government controls its citizens by creating a standard of beauty, and making all girls meet this standard with an operation at age 16. The “uglies” await their operation, after which they are allowed to enjoy life as it is defined for them.
Must See
The Island. Dir. Michael Bay. Perf. Scarlett Johansson and Ewan McGregor. Dreamworks Video, 2005. DVD.
In the next century, cloning science has been perfected, and the earth’s richest citizens purchase perfect clones of themselves in order to prolong their lives. The government controls these clones, who have all the same mental, emotional, and physical capabilities as other humans, by sequestering them to live in “the island,” an underground holding cell, until their parts are needed.
In the next century, cloning science has been perfected, and the earth’s richest citizens purchase perfect clones of themselves in order to prolong their lives. The government controls these clones, who have all the same mental, emotional, and physical capabilities as other humans, by sequestering them to live in “the island,” an underground holding cell, until their parts are needed.
Must Read and See Companions
Bradbury, Ray. Farenheit 451. London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1957. Print.
Farenheit 451. Dir. Laurent Bouzereau. Perf. Oskar Werner, Julie Christie, Cyril Cusack. Universal Studios. 2009. DVD.
In the future, the government controls by banning all reading. Guy Montag serves as a fireman who eliminates books (and sometimes people) by burning homes and buildings where books have been found.; he will soon realize the brutality in this government control.
Farenheit 451. Dir. Laurent Bouzereau. Perf. Oskar Werner, Julie Christie, Cyril Cusack. Universal Studios. 2009. DVD.
In the future, the government controls by banning all reading. Guy Montag serves as a fireman who eliminates books (and sometimes people) by burning homes and buildings where books have been found.; he will soon realize the brutality in this government control.
Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. New York: Scholastic, 2008. Print.
The Hunger Games. Dir. Gary Ross. Perf. Jennifer Lawerence and Liam Hemsworth. Lionsgate, 2012. Film.
Panem has taken over and separated what was once the United States into the Capital and 12 districts and controls its citizens with fear. Each year, 24 children, two from each district, are sent to the Hunger Games where they are forced to kill each other to win, and the entire population is forced to watch the spectacle on television.
DuPrau, Jeanne. The City of Ember. New York: Random House, 2003. Print.
The City of Ember. Dir. Gil Kenan. Perf. Saoirse Ronan, Toby Jones, Bill Murray and David Ryall. 20th Century Fox, 2008. DVD.
In the controlled environment of Ember, a city that has existed for 241 years, citizens are given their life-long careers on their twelfth birthdays. The citizens do not know how to leave and go into the darkness that lies beyond Ember, but citizens are beginning to rebel this government control because supplies are dangerously low.