Speculative Fiction – Dystopia

The short film I have chosen is entitled “Being Pretty”. This somewhat frightening film discusses a world in which if one is not conventionally “pretty” they are killed. Children watch a public service announcement about how their parents, who clean, feed, and provide for them, are pretty. Someday, the children will grow up to be like their parents; pretty. However, they could also become uglies. These so-called uglies are being labelled as fat, blind, gay, etc, and who are also being killed. The film is a form of speculative fiction as it questions the “what ifs” of our society. It also deals with controversial topics such as being outside of a societal norm which some people find problematic. Furthermore, it is a mix of genres, although it is principally dystopia. The reason being, “a dystopia is an imagined community or society that is dehumanizing and frightening. A dystopia is an antonym of a utopia, which is a perfect society” (What is Dystopia, 2021)