Capturing Life After Dystopia | LMAC Collage FreeStyle No. 103

I wanted to share with you my Freestyle Collage No. 103. My theme is "capturing life after dystopia". Since learning about the term "dystopia" and what it entails, I've often wondered can life as we know it ever return to this time? My collage theme hopefully captures this thought of longing and is completed in accordance with the LMAC Community guidelines.

The LMAC Community run by @shaka holds a weekly collage contest for its members. In the Community, you'll discover a variety of themed entries submitted for consideration. If selected for the final round, contest hopefuls anxiously await results indicating their placement that determines the prize awarded. It's a fun contest that any Hive member can participate. If you'd like to join in, just visit the LMAC Community account here and follow the rules of the contest for details on the latest round.

The LMAC Community also offers an opportunity for members to create and post in the Community "freestyle" collage themes. In the freestyle option, more freedom is allowed to design your creations without having to incorporate the weekly contest photo. However, contest rules still apply.

Please visit the Community page for any questions on how to successfully publish in the LMAC Community.

My approach to the dystopian theme was to learn more about the origin of the term and how it's viewed and depicted in today's literary works. First, "Dystopia" is derived from the Ancient Greek (δυσ (dus) 'bad', and τόπος (tópos) 'place'), also called a cacotopia or anti-utopia.

To understand dystopia, one must first think of its opposite, "utopia". The concept of utopia is an ancient one that was coined by Sir Thomas More in the 16th century and introduced in the title of his best known work, the book "Utopia" published in 1516, which created a model for an ideal society with minimal, if not totally eradicated, crime, violence, and poverty.

Utopia encompasses the idea of perfection in a society where all people live in harmony and abide by a set of rules meant to enhance their lives with uniformity. As such, crime is abolished so that the citizens can live their lives in peace and harmony with each other.

As society progressed to the present, we now understand that the concept of utopia is unrealistic. Not all citizens are of like mind where they can live unity and agree on every issue on the same level. Diverse philosophies exist as well as the approach how to solve society's problems. Some agreement can be met if all parties work toward a compromise to achieve some level of civility.

However, in dystopia, a community or society exists that is in the extreme, bad, frightening, or evil. The term is usually associated with the opposite view of utopia.

Dystopias are often characterized by fear whether imagined or not and distress. Other elements typical of this type society are totalitarian or dictator governments, environmental disasters, or other characteristics associated with a partial or complete cataclysmic decline or total breakdown in society.

Themes typical of a dystopian society found in literature 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, complete loss of individuality, and heavy enforcement toward unilateral conformity.

The relationship between utopia and dystopia isn't just one simple opposition, as many utopian elements and components are also found in dystopia as well.

Despite certain overlaps, we understand that dystopian fiction is distinct from post-apocalyptic fiction. In a post-apocalyptic society in which a catastrophic disaster has already occurred, citizens are on their own fighting to survive any way possible with a scarcity of water, food, and usually rules of law if not totally collapsed.

Numerous fictional works have risen that depict dystopian societies. Some of these famous works appeared early in the 20th century that gave us pause to consider how dystopia can evolve and the consequences. Usually these literary works focus on the future of humans as a society.

Famous dystopian works include:

• Yevgeny Zamyatin's We (1920);
• Aldous Huxley's Brave New World (1932);
• George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) [my personal favorite]; and
• Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 (1953) [a must read in middle school. I'm happy I did so].

Dystopian societies appear in many sub-genres of fiction and are often used to draw attention to societal problems, such as, the environment, political arenas, economic instability, religious freedom, psychology, ethical concerns, science applications or lack thereof, or technological advances viewed as harmful.

Some authors use the term to refer to existing societies, many of which are, or have been, totalitarian states or societies in an advanced state of collapse. Dystopian societies, through exaggerated worst-case scenarios, often criticize current trends, societal norms, or far-fetched political systems.

Artistic representations of dystopia depict humans and animals under strict control with a view of hesitation, fear, and distrust in a dismal world.

But once a society experiences dystopia, if the chance arose, would it be able to return to what was previously familiar and known? If the society is controlled by one powerful party, ordinary citizens may not have that ability at their disposal.

^Source

In preparing my dystopian theme, I utilized the LMAC original contest desert image with cacti. Of course, I required a dystopian cityscape, and discovered the perfect image. Birds and flowers were a must to depict the longing for a time past. I located those in LMAC's database, the #LIL. A female image in the form of a skeleton I felt would draw out the contrast of the future compared to the present.

Item	Contributor	Source
Arid landscape (Round 217 Contest Image)	@lmac	Link
Dystopian city	Pixabay	Link
Skeleton female with colorful hair	Pixabay	Link
Caged woman	Pixabay	Link
Red and Yellow Flower	Contributed to the #LIL by @edgarafernandezp	Link
Black birds	Contributed to the #LIL by @onyechi	Link
Orange flower	Contributed to the #LIL by @seckorama	Link
Alien insect	Contributed to the #LIL by @eve66	Link
Digital flower #1-2	Contributed to the #LIL by @quantumg	Link
Dove	Contributed to the #LIL by @alex2alex	Link
White flower	Contributed to the #LIL by @tejimundo	Link
Pure Fractal titled "White Fish Jumping"	@justclickindiva	Link
Pure Fractal titled "Snake Skin"	@justclickindiva	Link

I then utilized Canva to blend the different type images. Below are my steps in which I begin with a blank, white canvas, then added layers of elements, removing backgrounds, resizing, and repositioning items as needed incorporating the tools at my disposal in my Annual Pro Membership Subscription.

Step 1	Step 2	Step 3
To a blank, white canvas, I added the dystopian image.	Resized the dystopian landscape to serve as the background.	Added the cage image. Removed the woman's body. Intend to replace it with the skeleton. Duplicated bottom for water effect.

Step 4	Step 5	Step 6
Added the female skeleton. Removed background; flipped horizontally, then positioned on top of cage.	Added images to outside landscape, i.e. birds and fractals	Added the images to the inside of the cage. Completed the collage.

Below is my completed freestyle collage:

Thanks for your visit. I appreciate it. I hope you like my freestyle collage theme.