Objective 2--- Visions of the Future

c. utopia/ distopia/ ecotopia

Read excerpt from book:

“ If you’re reading this, it must be a thousand tears from now. Because nobody around here reads anymore. Why bother, when you can just probe it? Put all of the images and excitement right inside your brain and let it rip. There are all kinds of mindprobes-------- trendies, shooters, sexbos, whatever you want to experience. Shooters are violent, and trendies are about living in Eden, and sexbos, well you can guess what sexbos are about. They say probing is better than anything.”

Summary: This book takes place many years into the future after a big earthquake. The earthquake kills most people and the survivors have been living in a split world. The main character, Spaz, is a boy who lives in one of the latches (city) of Urb. There are three main latches of the Urb all of the latches are ruled by gangs. There is also a place in the center of the Urb called Eden. Eden is where “prooves” live. Prooves are genetically enhanced and perfect. The story is quest story about Spaz who breaks all the rules to save his sister and discovers the secrets of his world.

Show movie clip

Summary: This is a movie that takes place in the future after world war three. The world is now under a unified government and in order to keep war from ever happening again they make everyone take a pill to get rid of all feeling. There is no anger, no jealousy, and no love. There is an under ground of people who rebel against the new drug and refuse to become numb.

Questions:

1. In both the book and the movie the world is somewhat split between a utopian society and dystopian society--between the haves and the have-nots. Do you think that our future will hold a split like this; will the middle class slowly disappear? Will the rich get richer and the intelligent get more intelligent?

If you do think this gap is possible will it be possible to cross between the two societies? Will someone born to the less fortunate be able to work their way up? Will the government test for this kind of thing?

2. If there was a way for a utopia to occur either with a drug or genetic enhancement do you think the human race would buy into it at the cost of memory and or feelings? Do you think the government would ever try to require something like this?

Objective 2--- Visions of the Future

“Today is theirs, but the future is ours.” Rodman Philbrick