Whether they’re books, movies or short films, all dystopian genres draw my attention. Ever since Covid busted into my life without a warning, movies are mostly what keep me entertained during the tedious lockdowns. While all my friends are going on trips and camps, I don’t quite blend in with those physical activities. Instead, I spend my time in my house watching movies. It also didn’t take me very long to realize that Netflix is the main reason that my screen time is above 8 hours daily, and I’ve been a couch potato ever since. But I’ve still taken that time as an advantage and discovered the 3 best dystopian movies that will blast your mind.
1. The Platform
“Hunger unleashes that madman in us. It’s better to eat than be eaten.”—Trimagasi
The Platform, a movie directed by the Spanish director Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia, shows the cruelty of a world where people are frightfully placed into an unbalanced hierarchy. The film is known to be set in a “Vertical Self-Management Center” inside a large tower building. The platform is structured in a confined space and the only limited exit is a moving table that passes through each different floor(a total of 333 floors). It is also known as “the pit” by the living residents. A variety of food choices will be placed on the table daily. For every 24 hours, the table will lower itself through each floor with a maximum time limit of two minutes. The amount of food will not be changed, even if there is none left. The food supply of the residents living on the last few floors all depends on the actions of the people above them.
Based on the movie, it’s clear to analyze that food is enough for the two residents living within all floors of the building. But the residents on the top floor began to show their true human nature and a sense of greed and selfishness overtook their kindness. This leaves scraps of nothing for the others. Residents are also known to be switching floors every new month. Meaning that you can be swapped from the first floor all the way to the last.
This movie symbolizes real circumstances that are currently happening in parts of the world. Certain groups of people are unfairly treated based only on their different opinions and thoughts. Those thoughts are what make them unique in society, but society does not seem to take in their dissimilarity. The residents in the movie symbolize the survivors of the broken system and fighting to survive and maintain their sanity.
This dystopian movie shows the true horror of what humans are capable of and a world with no existence of kindness.
2. Gattaca
“He had everything except desire” – Vincent Freeman, ‘Gattaca’
Gattaca, directed by a New Zealand director Andrew Niccol. This movie takes place in the future where society judgements are based on how perfect your DNA is. Society has categorized itself into different classes and has set everyone on a different life path the moment they were born. The world no longer accepts imperfection and every newborn are customized into being perfect. The “perfect world” is nothing but an endless abyss of unfairness and cruelty. No one has the ability to choose their life path and their future cannot be changed. This movie symbolizes a biased world of classes and a failed system, as no one has the right to do what they love and what they desire.
This movie takes you through a short journey of an individual trying to surpass the unfair system of perfection and still chases his lifetime desire.
3. Alita: Battle Angel
“The Strong Prey On The Weak Down Here. You Gotta Stay Focused On Your Dream.” – Hugo
This movie took place in 2563, known to be three hundred years after the devastating societal collapse “The fall”. The start of the movie took place in a messy junkyard filled with broken cyborg pieces. A scientist was strolling along when he found a young female cyborg. When he took the cyborg back into his laboratory, he discovered an organic human brain hiding within it. He named it after his deceased daughter, Alita.
This movie mostly symbolizes a future world in which cyborgs have taken over some percentage of the population. Cyborgs and other highly advanced technology are what surround the daily lives of the citizens. It is also what controls them the most. The movie mostly takes you through the story of a cyborg who has lost her memory and fights to find the missing puzzles of her past.