LOGO.
Hellooo everybody! Before we get started, we recently reached another goal in our Project K.E.E.P charity drive,
which means it's time to hand out a prize. If you weren't aware, Cliff
and I are raising money and supplies for Project K.E.E.P., an organization that helps kids entering
foster care. For every goal we meet, we hand out a prize and we recently reached 75 donations,
which means this amazing person is our latest winner. Congratulations! You are walking away
with a signed copy of Olympian Confessions: Hera, written by the amazingly talented Erin Kinsella.
If you're not familiar, Erin is a fellow author as well as a YouTuber. She's actually
in the process of releasing a romance novel, so keep your eyes peeled. I have her information
below! If you wanna win big and help a great cause, please, please, please donate to Project
K.E.E.P.! I have the information down below in the description. On to the topic! A while back,
I asked you guys which genre you wanted me to rant about next and dystopian won in a landslide.
You guys got some issues with this genre, and I can't say that I'm surprised. Now, to be honest,
dystopian used to be one of my favorite genres, both in literature and in movies. Soylent Green
is people! Then, somewhere along the way, shit started to get really, really repetitive.
This ultimately led to the current slump in dystopian fiction. I'm sure it'll pick up again,
all genres go through this from time to time. But while we're here, we might as well bitch
about it. Before we get started, today's rant is sponsored by my favorite online learning platform,
Skillshare. Skillshare is great for writers because it was designed specifically for creators.
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outlining, or even drawing and painting. Not only am I a student on Skillshare, I'm also a teacher.
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it's super cheap. An annual subscription is less than $10 bucks a month. However, right now,
you can get two months of Skillshare Premium for free by clicking the link below! Click the
link in the description! You'll get access to 1,000s of premium classes, including my classes,
sooo…might as well! You'll get to take ‘em for free! But first, hold your horses! We gotta
complain about dystopian fiction. Quick disclaimer: when most people hear dystopian fiction,
they think about young adult books. Young adult kinda took the genre and ran with it. So while
I will be touching on shitty young adult dystopian tropes, I'm going to be talking about the genre as
a whole. “You mean dystopian books exist outside of YA?” I know, it's shocking! Additionally, trigger
warning: I will be discussing sexual assault in point Number Seven (7) of this video. If you don't
want to watch it, skip over this timeframe and you'll be good to go. Number One (1): Random teams
save society. We can't talk about shitty dystopian tropes without mentioning this one first.
I have no problem with a well done chosen one. I also have no problem with teenagers saving
the day. But it at least has to make a modicum of sense. If a random teenager is chosen to save the
world from a government run by capable adults and corporations, I'm gonna be skeptical. How
is it that this government that's been in place for hundreds of years is so easily overthrown by
this one child who can't even decide which guy they like better? You can't pick a boyfriend,
but your entire community is counting on you to dismantle the most powerful and capable leadership
created within your lifetime? Sounds real! Number Two (2): Factions. Divisions of people have lasted
for centuries. They've been called tribes, countries, provinces, castes, whatever. What's
irritating is when these groups of people are divided by random characteristics that hold no
logic to the story whatsoever. The Sporty people live here, but the Nice people live here and the
Pretty people live here. Why is society dividing people up in this arbitrary manner? How does
it benefit them at all? Oh, we're not supposed to question it? I get it. Reading and thinking don't
happen simultaneously. Duh! It's not hard to provide an explanation for why society works a certain way.
In fact, it’s probably the most basic component of dystopian fiction. If you skip over that
altogether, this might not be the genre for you. On the flip side, we have Number Three (3): We get
it, you built a world. Dystopian writers give sci fi and fantasy nerds a run for their
money. Chapters upon chapters of world building! If your society is this hard to explain, maybe it's
time to simplify. We don't need the entire history of how your world got to this place. Unless it's
relevant to the story at hand, cut it. I know some people really enjoy long descriptions of
compounds and materials, and the square footage of a closet. I am not one of those people. I picked
up this book to read a story. I don't give a shit about your square footage. Number Four (4): Sheer
misery. If there's one genre that's written to bum you out, it's dystopian. Also, contemporary,
but we'll touch on that another time. Dystopian is filled with so much sadness, I feel like
I have to up my meds just to get through it. And look, I get it. Stories thrive on conflict.
I'm a ruthless narrator. I fuck my characters up. But lighthearted scenes make the heavier
moments that much more impactful. A little bit of joy not only makes the story fun to read,
but it also makes the death and drama effective. If your book is misery all the way through,
it's just depressing and bland. Oh! Another person died. I am not remotely invested or surprised at
all. Number Five (5): Bland is the new sexy. She's plain. She's ordinary. She's dirty and unbathed.
Her hair is wild, and don't get me started on the freckles. But let me tell you about the boys
who are madly in love with her! So much so that they're willing to sacrifice their dignity in
order to seek her approval. Where were these boys when I was in high school? Because those boys were
all over the girls with the titties. And I'm not saying that bland women don't deserve love. I'm
just saying that mobs of men don't clamor to fuck a dish rag. And the boys in these books are tall,
muscular, and hunky…and she's still a dish rag. Really laying the wish fulfillment on thick,
aren’t ya? Number Six (6): Everyone hates the government? How the hell is the government in
power, then? At the end of the day, the government is a small group of people compared to the masses
it controls. Additionally, the government made this system for a reason, right? It has to benefit
someone. Otherwise, are we just expected to assume that government officials are sitting in their
offices, twirling their handlebar mustaches while laughing ominously? “I'm pure evil,
for no reason at all. Mwahahaha!” Number Seven (7): Gratuitous sexual assault. Unnecessary
sexual assault happens in a lot of genres. It's very prevalent in paranormal and fantasy, where
it is often painted as desirable and sexy. People are the worst and I hate them! Dystopian fiction
at least paints sexual assault as actual assault. So, I'll give it props there. But there are other
ways to show that society is trash besides graphic rape scenes. And I've yet to read a situation where
the victim wasn't a woman. Men suffer from sexual assault, as well. You know that, right? And while
male sexual assault is underrepresented to the point of it being detrimental, female sexual assault is
over represented to the point of it being fetishized. We can do better. Number Eight (8): “Look mom,
I can fight!” He was just a regular teenager the other day, but now he's a ninja. How? Shhh. You’re not supposed
to ask questions! One of the things I love about sci fi and fantasy is that there's technology
and magic to explain away crazy abilities. This person learned to fight in a day because of magic
or their cybernetic arm. Dystopian doesn't have this excuse. So if someone can suddenly fight,
no one's gonna buy it. You need to train them. I'm sorry. You don't have to show it on page.
You can put it in their backstory. But for the love of God, give us something. Number Nine (9):
Someone grab a Swiffer. Why are dystopian societies so dirty? Everything is a wasteland or a
desert or ruins. No one bathes. No one wears nice clothing. But they sure do wear a lot of cargo
pants! You're telling me that this evil government created a society just so that no one can have
running water? The best dystopian novels I've read were ones where society seemed relatively normal
on the outside. There were fashion trends. There were towns and communities. People didn't smell.
And I understand when the lower class doesn't have access to these things, or maybe the world is so
overpopulated that everything's a dumpster fire. I'm just not understanding why dirt and grime have
become a dystopian staple, even in situations where it doesn't make any societal sense. And Number Ten
(10): Zombies. Why is it that 90% of the dystopian novels I stumble across are about zombies?
Really? That's all you got? I have no problem admitting that I'm speaking from a place of
bias. Zombies are just not my jam. But oh my God, there are so many dystopian zombie stories! Think
of something else! Lots of writers try to pretend that they're not zombies by calling them something
new and different. The creepers. The screamers. The undead. They're zombies. No one's fooled.
You can ignore this point if you love zombies. Knock yourself out! I'm just dying for something
different. Please. I beg you! So that’s all I got for you today! A huge thank you to Skillshare
for sponsoring today's video! As I already said, they are super affordable. An annual subscription
is less than $10 bucks a month. However, you can get two months of Skillshare Premium for free by
clicking the link below! Want access to 1,000s of classes for free? Want access to my classes?
I know you do! Click the link. Don't forget to subscribe to my channel! I post new videos on
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and of course, you can tweet me @JennaMoreci! Bye!
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