Pages

Friday, August 20, 2010

Utopia.

“So wait. You have jewels in your eyes? And they tell time? And they go backwards? Isn’t that maybe one thing too many, Shay?” - Tally, Pretties


WARNING : SPOILERS (just one though, read at your own risk if you want to read the Uglies Series and haven't already, and if you just don't give a fuck, welcome to another early morning post brought to you by Angela!)

That's honestly not the best quote from the Uglies Series by Scott Westerfeld, but it works pretty well with what I'm going to write about.

I'm reading the last book of the Uglies Series (I recommend this to everyone!), Extras.

Short summary : It takes place about 300 years from now. The series is about futuristic stuff, and utopia. You're in seperate categories, Littlies (toddlers, little kids), Uglies (teenagers to the age of 16), Pretties (I think this is until you're about 20?), Middle Pretties (parents), and Crumblies (old peoople). There's also Specials, which I consider their Mofia. There's a surgury for everyone, to make them look pretty. In Tally's world, their number one goal is to be pretty. And throughout the series, Tally finds out that her perfect utopia is not so perfect, and actually pretty controlling, and personally I'd say kind of communist. And of course, it's up to Tally to fix everything before the shit hits the fan.

Tally's world is a utopia based world, you're pretty, you have a good job, everyone cares for the earth, each different city is far from the other, kind of like states, they have different accents and such. And there's a population balance, no under age sex, drugs, crimes, any of that. The biggest crimes committed there, in the beginning, are when the Uglies pull "tricks" like sneaking out to the Rusty Ruins (a town somewhere by Six Flags, CA) on their hoverboards, which is against the law, since they want to keep everyone in their own town, and out of trouble.

So eventually Tally finds out that during the surgury to become pretty, the doctors give your brains these lesions that prevent you from getting angry at one another, prevent confrontations, therefore preventing war, murders, all that stuff.

And I was thinking, well, that sounds pretty nice, actually. Not having wars and arguements, everyone gets along, and plus the technology is so advance, and everyone has a job, it's all perfect. Though, most people become "pretty-headed", which basically means all the Pretties care about is fashion and having fun. Until their Middle Pretties, then they get jobs and that. But Tally and a few of her friends kind of thought their way out of being pretty-headed.

Anyway, I was wondering, who'd like for this? I know I would. I understand that a part of my thought process would be controled by the government, but it was only anger and being able to let things go. It was their way of keeping the world safe. Eventually it all goes downhill, and people start thinking for themselves (after an event I won't mention, due to spoilers) and then the New Smoke (another town that Tally's city is trying to destroy, since everyone is running away) keeps getting bigger and expanding and basically turning back to what we are now, just with really fancy technology and pretty people.

My opinion changes back in forth with this, a lot, but if you could chose, which would you?
A world where everything is cool (hover boards, etc), the world is at peace, no one gets angry, you're guarenteed a job and a successful life, no starvation or underage pregnancies, no drugs, all for the payment of a brain lesion to make sure you don't get mad.
Or, a world like it is now, and no lesions and you can 100% think for yourself.

Eventually in Extras, which takes place two years after the first 3 books, they go wild and have no lesions, and can look however they want, but the only way you ever get noticed in life is by your Face Rank, which is determined by how pretty you are, and how cool you are, stuff you do, and how many times people say your name. I think that's the one I'd choose.

What about you guys? What do you think of utopia?

12 comments:

  1. how do i email you

    ReplyDelete
  2. I actually read the whole series about 2 years ago.

    I regret it. I did not like it.

    My expectations for a Sci-fi novel is pretty high. Especially a Sci-fi novel aimed towards teen girls lol.

    Have you read Brave New World by Aldous Huxley? We studied "distopian" societies in Gr 11 English, such as the one in 1984 by George Orwell. Pretty standard, easy to understand stuff. We had SO many discussions about choice and whatnot. Would we choose a "happy" society where we're all conditioned to feel "happy" even though there is no real religion or love (which is forbidden in Brave New World -- imagine that!) or art or books or history! And really, we're all being controlled secretly by the World Leaders? Or would we rather live in a world where fear and tyranny and hatred is OUT THERE for us to observe and see for ourselves, instead of HIDDEN like in Brave New World?

    Extras sucked }:
    Maaaan.
    I could write a better series lol
    And I'm not even good.

    Depends on how cool the world is lol
    And how happy we can be.
    In truth, I think ignorance is bliss. If I didn't know all this.. shit that I know, I'd be so damn happy. Like those blond teenage girls you see on high school sit-com shows on TV. But instead, I was blessed with problems and a brain. D:

    ps. I think I will start writing a sci-fi novel. Mixed with a few vampires/werewolves. (I did not like the Twilight series either as you can tell :P) Maybe some wizards? Magic? LOL BEST STORY EVAR hehe

    ReplyDelete
  3. Do you mean me, Feeg? I don't have my email on blogger, for obvious spammer reasons, but if you want it I could give it to you :D

    And MiMi : I really liked the series until Zane died. That was messed up, he and Tally would've done such a great job together :/ The plot kind of twisted off it's original subject Mid-Specials book. And yeah, Extra's sucks as part of the series, but I think maybe on it's own it would've been better. I hate that Tally isn't the main character in that one, like wtf??
    I started reading the rest of the books to Uglies because we read Uglies in class x] I forgot what it revolved around though.. lol

    And I think I might check out Brave New World, I've heard of it, didn't read it though. Sounds really interesting.

    I hated 1984, though :|

    And I agree, I like my mental freedom, but sometimes, having things done for me and me not having to worry about shit, would be really nice..

    I hate sit coms for that reason :|

    ReplyDelete
  4. I read all of them but Extras. Extras bored me to death when I started reading it. I was like no I can't read any more. Lol

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yeah, Extra's is definitely not the best of the series. I think it shouldn't even be qualified as part of the series, it's not even from Tallys point of view and it's suddenly TWO years later, while the first three books are all within the same few months. But I still like the idea of it, so I'm going to finish it lol

    ReplyDelete
  6. send me an email on my blog, and I'll email you. i want to tell you something..

    ReplyDelete
  7. I don't know how D: It wouldn't let me. I sent you my email in a comment on one of your posts yesterday.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm glad you liked the honey facial!!! I like it too but our family ran out of honey a few weeks ago and nobody has bothered to buy some yet :/

    ReplyDelete
  9. Yeah, it's made a huge difference in my skin x]
    Awh that's lame lol

    ReplyDelete
  10. I read the series a few years ago, but I remember it somewhat. But I am pretty sure there were still drugs, thats why they were "bublies" wasn't it?
    Actually I would NOT want to live in that world, everyone is is conditioned to think a certain way... I would hate to be empty headed and even though I have a lot of problems I want to live an individual's life. I don't like this current world that much, but I guess I can deal. Face Ranking was sooo dumb, its just like high school now, popularity contests.

    However that said I did really really like the books. One of my favorite series

    ReplyDelete
  11. Nope, they didn't have drugs. They were Bubble Heads because of the lesions. And the lesions were to keep from wars and fights starting.
    And true, I wouldn't want my life based on fashion and how pretty I am, but the world now is so crappy.. but I guess it eventually went back to crap, we just can't escape it.
    And yeah, face ranking was stupid, they didn't evolve much over those two years did they? lol

    ReplyDelete

You're already at the end of the post, the big white box is right there, so empty and lonely, why not leave some love? :)