"May the odds always be in your favor," declares a smiling Effie Trinket to a crowd of somber faces; the pink-haired administrator is about to draw the names of the next two tributes who will represent District 12 at the 74th Hunger Games. Along with tributes from the other districts, they will be thrown into an arena to fight until only one is left standing. Their chances of survival are incredibly slim: the truth is, in almost every dystopian plot, the odds are stacked in almost no one's favor. Oppressed by the system, the characters in these stories must rise to the occasion, challenge the norm and free themselves from their respective situations. Various difficult situations may make these heroes unhappy, but readers certainly aren't. After all, their struggles make for an epic adventure. With the upcoming release of films like The Giver and The Maze Runner, dystopian fiction is once again the talk of the town. These film adaptations are a testament to the genre's enduring relevance and its ability to leave us in suspense. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Past, Present, and Future According to Maria Mina, a part-time professor in the Department of English who specializes in science fiction, the dystopian world is essentially a failed utopia. While utopian novels speculate on what a perfect society might be like, dystopian novels paint a much darker picture of reality. “We can't point to a single text and say, 'This is the beginning of dystopia,' but we can do that with utopia,” explains Mina. Usually interpreted as social satire, Thomas More's iconic Utopia (1516) was the first of its kind. It was set on a fictional island with its own unique customs, which contradicted those of European society at the time. “On the surface, dystopia has the appearance of a utopia,” explains Mina. “Most people who live there embrace it, even when it opposes them.” Both present a regulated society in which the fate of the individual is in the hands of the state. But while totalitarian government generates peace and order in a utopia, this desire for perfection can ultimately lead to self-destruction in a dystopia. Mina cites the release of H. G. Wells' The Time Machine (1895) as a pivotal moment in dystopian literature due to its setting. Before its publication, most dystopian stories were set in different locations; Wells' tale, on the other hand, is set in a distant time, following the Time Traveler nearly 30 million years into the future. He is shocked by what he finds because, as Mina states, "[dystopia] is the nightmare of the future." Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Dystopia largely came about because of society's disillusionment with science. Although science was initially seen as a life-saving force, its reputation eventually worsened, especially following the two world wars and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. “Science for us is, at best, a double-edged sword,” says Mina. “We see this as something that is much more likely to kill us than save us all. " Jocelyn Martin, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of English with a specialization in trauma studies, adds that the genre's popularity has become more pronounced since the end of the Cold War, the collapse of the Berlin Wall, and the 9 /11 attacks. Nowadays, the enemy can no longer be easily identified. "This global malaise reveals itself in the questioning of the status of recent heroine films,".