A dystopia is an imagined community or society that is undesirable or frightening. It is the opposite of a utopia, where people lead wretched, dehumanized, and fearful lives. Dystopias are often characterized by fear or distress, tyrannical governments, environmental disaster, or other characteristics associated with a cataclysmic decline in society. Some common themes typical of a dystopian society include:

• Complete control over the people in a society through the usage of propaganda, heavy censoring of information or denial of free thought, worshiping an unattainable goal, the complete loss of individuality, and heavy enforcement of conformity.
• Citizens may live in a dehumanized state, be under constant surveillance, or have a fear of the outside world.
• The natural world is banished and distrusted, and humans are cut off from nature.
• Social systems often break down, and the family structure is attacked by turning family members against each other.
• Advanced technology may be used to control the public or to make life easier for a select few, and those in power may be the only ones with access to these devices.

Dystopian fictions reflect the concerns and fears of their creators contemporaneous culture and can be considered a subject of social studies. In most cases, a strict government carries out the breakdown of social systems and enforces one religion for all people, or it may outlaw religion altogether. The dystopian protagonist often feels trapped and is struggling to escape, questions the existing social and political systems, believes or feels that something is terribly wrong with the society in which he or she lives, and helps the audience recognize the negative aspects of the dystopian world through his or her perspective.