The Era of Teen Dystopia

Join Editorial Assistant Niamh McGonnell-Hall as she takes us through the iconic period of teen-dystopian film  

Teen dystopia has many definitions. In fact, the genre relies heavily on the definitions that fans have given it. For example, Urban Dictionary’s bowzerD writes that “in this genre, teenagers struggle to live their own free ways in a very constricted, totalitarian, conservative, and sometimes post-apocalyptic world” and that “the main protagonists, as the word suggests, are almost entirely teenagers whose main goal, according to their nature, is to simply be free from anything.”[1] 

They continue to define the antagonists of this genre as “oppressors such as adults, totalitarian governments, and the society with diminished moral conducts and humanistic values. The latter is also the setting because it is the cage or the jail where teenagers longed for their freedom.”[1] 

And there you have it. The most complex and accurate description of teen dystopia, much to academia’s horror, is from a random person on Urban Dictionary. 

The holy era of teen dystopia sat in the mid-2010s. This is terrifying for our generation, as it was around ten years ago. Movies categorised by the adrenaline-inducing rebellion of kids who were almost all under the legal American drinking age, their dystopian landscapes of pure anarchy lighting up our screens. 

This age of anti-utopia includes Suzanne Collin’s The Hunger Games series[2] [3] [4] [5], James Dashner’s The Maze Runner trilogy[6] [7] [8] and finally Veronica Roth’s Divergent Series (directed by Neil Burger and Robert Schwentke).

All of these films are officially classed as Action/Sci-fi, but we all know what the real genre is. The loving title given by fans of this particular genre and the film's feel are teen dystopia.

Today, we can look back on the unforgettable stage in a person's adolescence, when these movies were the light of a dark world. This literal goldmine of movie magic owes its success and longevity to fans' response, both towards the original books and the film adaptations. 

But what's the allure of this specific genre of dystopian film? Matthew Hall gives us a hint as to why.

“Going beyond the usual fight-to-survive narrative familiar from other dystopias, in the YA genre, the heroes must find their own identity before properly fighting back. Only once they know who they 'are' can the regimes against which they struggle be brought down.”[9] 

Balaka Basu alludes to this idea in her essay “What Faction Are You In? The Pleasure of Being Sorted in Veronica Roth's Divergent.”

“Whatever else they may do, all heroes of young adult fiction - and, by extension, their readers are eventually asked to consider the two great questions of adolescence: “Who am I now? And who do I want to be when I grow up?” As they do so, they inevitably embark upon a quest for identity, an innocuous pursuit that lies at the very core of the genre.”[10]

It is this ultimate questioning combined with the search for freedom in a world that is either torn by war, humanity’s immorality, a global pandemic or environmental apocalypse that defines the forever loved collection of films that still inspire a sense of rebellion in teens and adults alike. This is the line in the sand that separates this genre from its similar neighbours of Action/Sci-Fi or just plain old Dystopia, which gives it its ever-so-nostalgic edge.

It is our generation's ‘they don’t make them like they used to,’ with a slight comeback with The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes in 2023.[11] But nothing can beat ten films across a tiny eight-year period.

With all series’ having a film in 2014 and 2015, this time became a memento of teen dystopia. This holy grail of cinema was given the finishing touch of star-studded casting, which drove fan bases and canons through the roof, cementing its success and ensuring people rewatched these movies almost a decade later. 

The Maze Runner series showed us what true friendship is. Dylan O’Brien (Thomas), Ki Hong Lee (Minho) and Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Newt) lasted through everything the world of W.C.K.D threw at them.[6] Giancarlo Esposito gave us yet another incredibly lovable character in the Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015).[7] In the final film, Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018), Walton Goggins (Lawrence) is still in a hear-me-out moment, even with half of his face decaying.[8] 

Panem wouldn’t be the same without Jennifer Lawrence (Katniss Everdeen) and Josh Hutchison (Peeta Mellark), who have become symbols of the rebellion, their roles encapsulating The Hunger Games film’s sense of teenage rebellion. [2] [3] [4] [5] 

We also saw some familiar faces across the rest of the cast with Elizabeth Banks and Woody Harrelson, who will forever be our Haymitch Abernathy and Effie Trinket. Then there was Donald Sutherland, who gave us the infamous President Snow and the totalitarian rule that came with it.[2] [3] [4] [5] 

The world of Divergent brought us Theo James (Four) and Shailene Woodley (Beatrice Prior), who will have us searching again for those ‘what Faction do you belong to?’ quizzes as they fight their corrupt world.[12] [13] [14] Again, the big question of ‘who am I?’ drives the love of all these films. We see ourselves becoming part of something bigger through our screens. 

We had a small reappearance from Dylan O'Brien in a slightly teen dystopian-esque film, Love and Monsters[15], in 2020, but sadly, nothing has yet come to par with the time of our childhood. We hope that a new wave of teen dystopia graces our screens once again. But that being said, do we ever want these treasured originals to be replaced?

ENDNOTES:

[1] bowzerD. “Urban dictionary: Teenage Dystopia.” Urban Dictionary, 14 Janurary 2013, https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Teenage%20Dystopia 

[2] “The Hunger Games” Directed by Gary Ross, performances by Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutchinson, Woody Harelson, Elizabeth Banks, and Donald Sutherland, Lionsgate, 2012

[3] “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" Directed by Francis Lawrence, performances by Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutchinson, Woody Harelson, Elizabeth Banks, and Donald Sutherland, Lionsgate, 2013. 

[4] “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1” Directed by Francis Lawrence, performances by Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutchinson, Woody Harelson, Elizabeth Banks, and Donald Sutherland, Lionsgate, 2014. 

[5] “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2” Directed by Francis Lawrence, performances by Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutchinson, Woody Harelson, Elizabeth Banks, and Donald Sutherland, Lionsgate, 2015.

[6] “The Maze Runner” Directed by Wes Ball, performances by Dylan O’Brien, Ki Hong Lee, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, 20th Century Fox, 2014. 

[7] “Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials” Directed by Wes Ball, performances by Giancarlo Esposito, 20th Century Fox, 2015.

[8] “Maze Runner: The Death Cure” Directed by Wes Ball, performances by Walter Goggins, 20th Century Fox, 2018.

[9] Hall, Matthew. “Why do Young Adult dystopias resonate with teenage audiences?” Into Film, 19 May 2016, https://www.intofilm.org/news-and-views/articles/young-adult-dystopias 

[10] Balaka, Basu, et al. “Contemporary Dystopian Fiction for Young Adults: Brave New Teenagers” Taylor & Francis Group, 2013.

[11] “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” Directed by Francis Lawrence, Lionsgate, 2023.

[12] Divergent. Directed by Neil Burger, performances by Theo James and Shailene Woodley, Lionsgate Films, 2014.

[13] The Divergent Series: Insurgent. Directed by Robert Schwentke, performances by Theo James and Shailene Woodley, Lionsgate Films, 2015.

[14] Allegiant. Directed by Robert Schwentke, performances by Theo James and Shailene Woodley, Lionsgate Films, 2016.

[15] Love and Monsters. Directed by Michael Matthews, performances by Dylan O’Brien, Netflix, 2020.