All reading materials: Time and Change 1. TimeChange_ReadMe (Requirements of Assignment) 2. Everyone Reads 1) Dystopian Video Games and Human Nature _ Scholarly Gamers 2) Engaging Apolitical Adolescen

Engaging "Apolitical" Adolescents: Analyzing the Popularity and Educational Potential of

Dystopian Literature Post-9/11

Author(syf 0 H O L V V D $ P H s

Source: The High School Journal, Vol. 97, No. 1 (Fall 2013yf S S 0

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Engaging "Apolitical" Adolescents: Analyzing the Popularity and

Educational Potential of Dystopian Literature Post-9/11

Melissa Ames

Eastern Illinois University

[email protected]

Although dystopian novels have been prevalent under the young adult banner for

decades, their abundance and popularity post-9/11 is noteworthy. The 21st century

has found academics and laypersons alike discussing the supposed political apathy

of young adults and teenagers of the Millennial Generation. However, despite this

common complaint - and contrary to ample research that indicates that this age

group has traditionally been uninterested in global politics - the reading preferences

of this generation indicate that this label of " apolitical " may not be as fitting as some

believe. In fact, the popularity of young adult dystopian literature, which is ripe with

these political themes, suggests that this group is actually quite interested in these

topics, although they often turn to the safe confines of fiction to wrestle with them.

This article explores the potential educational uses of these young adult dystopias

and argues that reading these texts may be a small step in the direction of engaging

students in social justice issues and, perhaps, sparking more overt political action.

Although dystopian novels have been prevalent under the young adult (YAyf E D Q Q H r

for decades, their abundance and popularity post-9/11 is noteworthy. In the 21st cen-

tury academics and laypersons alike have discussed the supposed political apathy

of young adults and teenagers of the Millennial Generation (1980-2000yf F D X V L Q g

national panic (at least around election timeyf D E R X W W K H I X W X U H R I G H P R F U D F \ L Q W K e

United States (Pew Research, 2010; Wishon, 2012yf + R Z H Y H U G H V S L W H W K L V F R P P R n

complaint - and contrary to ample research and poll data that indicates that this

age group has traditionally been uninterested in current events, global politics, envi-

ronmental concerns, and ethical debates involving scientific invention, human traf-

ficking, and social equity - the reading preferences of this generation indicate that

this label of "apolitical" may not be as fitting as some believe. In fact, the popularity

of young adult dystopia, which is ripe with these political themes, suggests that

this group is actually quite interested in these topics, although they often turn to

the safe confines of fiction to wrestle with them.

This article brings current YA dystopian novels such as Feed (Anderson, 2002yf

and Little Brother (Doctorow, 2008yf D V Z H O O D V V H U L H V V X F K D V 7 K H + X Q J H U * D P H V "

1 The term Millennial Generation is often used interchangeably with Generation Y, denoting the generation following Generation X. As with most generational categories, the exact start and end dates are often contested, with some claiming that the Millennial Generation starts with those born in 1977 and others arguing that it does not start until the mid-1980s. Whatever the start date, most estimates have the generation ending at 2000 (with the change of the new millenniumyf R U Z L W h the changes that accompany 9/11yf .

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The High School Journal - Fall 2013

(Collins, 2008, 2009, 2010yf 8 J O L H V : H V W H U I L H O G \f, and "Matched"

(Condie, 2010, 2011yf L Q W R F R Q Y H U V D W L R Q Z L W K Y D U L R X V D Q F H V W R U W H [ W V $ Q D O \ ] L Q J W K e

socio-political commentary present within this popular body of literature provides

insights into the concerns this generation may have for the future - concerns which

are not always being expressed via traditional democratic processes. This article

explores the reasons why this subgenre has recently become so popular with teen

audiences, especially in light of the social critiques this group receives, and argues

that these reading practices indicate that today's youth are often portrayed unjustly.

Specifically, this article argues that the post-9/11 climate has contributed to the

popularity of these Y A dystopias as they present fictional fear-based scenarios that

align with contemporary cultural concerns. While these texts do not always serve

as direct allegories for 9/11, or draw attention to specifically post-9/11 concerns

(although many doyf W K H \ D O O S U R Y L G H V R F L D O F R P P H Q W D U \ W K D W L V U H O H Y D Q W W R V R F L H W y

today. The eager consumption of this social commentary by youth is important to

consider. The popularity of these novels may suggest that young adults do not war-

rant being classified as politically disengaged. Because much of the research concern-

ing this generation's political involvement and civic illiteracy is convincing, critics

might argue that this political engagement via the page is not enough to celebrate.

However, this article explores the potential educational uses of these Y A dystopias

and contends that reading these texts may be a small step in the direction of engaging

students in social justice issues and, perhaps, sparking more overt political action.

Analyzing the Audience: Research on Civic Responsibility and Civic Literacy

Among Teens

The justification for labeling this generation as apathetic or apolitical usually stems

from research related to civic responsibility (as indicated through studies on voter

turnoutyf D Q G N Q R Z O H G J H R I F X U U H Q W D I I D L U V , Q D W \ S L F D O S U H V L G H Q W L D O H O H F W L R Q L W L V R I W H n

"a struggle to get half of the country to vote" and the youngest voters have traditionally

been the least likely to make it to the voting booth (Wölk, 2009, p. 666yf : K L O H U H F H Q t

studies indicated that this may eventually not be the case, as the youth share of the

total vote has increased consistently throughout the past four presidential elections:

2000, 14.3yb \b; 2008, 17.1yb \b (Richer, 2012; Kingkade, 2012yf ,

some still remain skeptical about civic engagement among the youth population.

Although recent presidential elections saw an increase in voter turnout among this

age group - up to approximately 52yb D U H F H Q W V X U Y H \ R I F R O O H J H V W X G H Q W s

reported that 20yb F O D L P H G W K H \ Z R X O G V H O O W K H L U Q H [ W Y R W H I R U D Q L 3 R G D Q G K D O I V D L d

that for one million dollars they would eive up their rieht to vote forever" (Wölk,

2009, p. 666yf .

But, as Wölk (2009yf Q R W H G W K H O R Z Y R W H U W X U Q R X W P D \ E H W K H O H D V W R I W K H F L Y L c

problems"; he claimed the larger problem is civic illiteracy, which he called an

"epidemic" plaguing the United States (p. 667yf $ V X U Y H \ F R Q G X F W H G E \ W K e

Pew Research Center illustrated this point. The survey asked 18- to 29-year-olds

a dozen questions on well-publicized current events. The result? The average respon-

dent only answered 5.5 correct (Wölk, 2009yf + D O I R I W K H S D U W L F L S D Q W V G L G Q R W N Q R w

the name of the Speaker of the House, the president of Russia, or how many

American troops had been killed in Iraq (Pew Research Center, 2007yf % D X H U O H L n

(2009yf D X W K R U R I 7 K H ' X P E H V W * H Q H U D W L R Q + R Z W K H ' L J L W D O $ J H 6 W X S H I L H V < R X Q g

Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future , Or, Don't Trust Anyone Under 30, reported

that in similar studies, while 64 percent of young adults knew the name of the

latest American Idol, "only one-third knew which party controlled the state legisla-

ture, and only 40 percent knew which party controlled Congress" (p. 19yf ) X U W K H U P R U H ,

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"in a 2003 survey on the First Amendment commissioned by the Foundation for

Individual Rights in Education, only one in 50 college students named the first

right guaranteed in the amendment, and one out of four did not know any freedom

protected by it" (Bauerlein, 2009, p. 19yf $ O W K R X J K D U H S R U W F R Q G X F W H G E y

the U.S. Department of Education indicated that 47 percent of high school seniors

believed it is "very important" to be an active and informed citizen, only 26 per-

cent of high school seniors scored "proficient" or "advanced" on the national civics

exam (Bauerlein, 2009, p. 35yf 7 K H V H V W X G L H V H [ K L E L W D J H Q H U D O O D F N R I N Q R Z O H G J e

of political affairs.

Often overlooked in discussions concerning this data are the reasons why young

people today are demonstrating such a knowledge deficiency. Barnhurst (1998yf a

media researcher, argued that young people today feel disconnected from tradi-

tional sources of political information such as the news. Similarly, a 1999 study

conducted by Northwestern University's School of Journalism found that 69yb R f

young people ages 15 to 24 believed that although their "generation has an impor-

tant voice," it goes unheard (Bauerlein, 2009, p. 185yf 0 R U H U H F H Q W V F K R O D U V K L p

shows that this mindset still prevails. Mindich's (2005yf 7 X Q H G 2 X W : K \ $ P H U L F D Q s

Under 40 Don't Follow the News featured hundreds of interviews with young

adults who claimed that the political process is morally bankrupt and completely

insulated from public pressure. Therefore, they tuned it out.

Although all of this data paints a bleak picture, some recent studies offer up hope

that civic involvement may actually be rising, albeit slowly, among all populations

in general and young adults in particular. Putnam's original study reported that by

the late 1990s, an increase in youth volunteer work was present that had the potential

to spark broader generational engagement (Sander & Putnam, 2010, p. 10yf 3 X E O L V K H d

only months before 9/11, Putnam's (2001yf Z R U G V W R Z D U G W K H F O R V H R I K L V E R R N F D n

now be read with disheartened irony. He suggested that the task of sparking greater

engagement "would be eased by a palpable national crisis, like war or depression

or natural disaster, but for better and for worse... America at the dawn of the new cen-

tury [appeared to face] no such galvanizing crisis" (p. 402yf 2 I F R X U V H K H Z D V Z U R Q J .

In a much-needed follow-up piece, Sander and Putnam (2010yf D Q D O \ ] H G W K H H I I H F W s

the 9/11 crisis, which Putnam could not foresee, had on civic engagement. They

determined that it seemed "to have strengthened the civic conscience of young

people in the United States" (p. 10yf 7 K H \ U H S R U W H G W K D W \ R X Q J F R O O H J L D Q V

L Q W H U H V t

in politics has rapidly increased" in the years following 9/11 after three decades of

steady decline (p. 11yf , Q W K H S H U L R G I U R P W R W K H V K D U H R I F R O O H J H I U H V K P H n

who said that they had "'discussed politics' in the previous twelve months dropped

from 27 to 16 percent; since 2001, it has more than doubled and is now at an all-time

high of 36 percent" (p. 11yf 6 D Q G H U D Q G 3 X W Q D P \f also stated:

First-year college students also evince a long-term decline and then post-2001 rise

in interest in "keeping up to date with political affairs." Surveys of high school

seniors show a similar and simultaneous decline and then rise in civic engage-

ment. Moreover, between 2000 and 2008, voting rates rose more than three times

faster for Americans under age 29 than they did for Americans over 30. (p. 11-12yf

According to Sander and Putnam (2010yf W K H W X U Q L Q J S R L Q W L Q L V X Q P L V W D N -

able" (p. 12yf .

Besides the national tragedy, "some credit Internet-based social networking for

bolstering youthful interest in politics and community life," but, as Sander and

Putnam (2010yf S R L Q W H G R X W W K H D G Y H Q W R I W K H Z H O O N Q R Z Q V R F L D O Q H W Z R U N L Q J V L W H s

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The High School Journal - Fall 2013

Facebook (2004yf D Q G 7 Z L W W H U \f occurred years after the initial upturn in civic

engagement by young people," so they cannot take full credit for such a change in

tides (p. 12yf .

However, such social-networking sites certainly seem to be providing youth with

more opportunities to engage in political discourse - critiquing media coverage, post-

ing personal commentaries, and following important social movements. Although

Sander and Putnam's (2010yf V W X G \ Z D V O D W H H Q R X J K W R K D Y H Z L W Q H V V H G W K H H O H F -

tion, which proved that young adults were more politically engaged (as indicated

by voting statistics at leastyf Z K D W W K H \ Z H U H Q R W D E O H W R U H S R U W Z D V H Y H Q P R U H R Y H U t

political action, such as the Occupy Wall Street protests. This movement, which

began on September 17, 2011, promoted its protests through the social networking

sites most frequented by youth in the U.S. As a result, young people made up the

majority of the participants (Captain, 2011; Askin, 2012yf .

These assertions about young adults suggest that this new generation - inspired by

9/11 and further invigorated by new technological platforms - is experiencing reju-

venation in terms of civic involvement. This could account for their sudden inter-

est in young adult literature that caters to such mindsets.

The Current Popularity of Young Adult Dystopian Novels

Previous scholars have noted that "contemporary dystopian fiction, and the Utopian

fiction it derives from, often includes a critique of a 'postmodern/ advanced tech-

nological society gone awry" and calls for social change (Zipes, 2003, p. ixyf 7 K H V e

kinds of texts "mirror and criticize reality, forcing readers to consider reality, ironi-

cally at the same time as they are escaping from it" (Hintz & Ostry, 2003, p. 6yf 6 X F h

narratives play upon deep, unresolvable fears from "reality," exaggerating (and

sometimes solvingyf W K H P L Q I L F W L R Q D O V F H Q D U L R V , Q W K H F D V H R I \ R X Q J D G X O W G \ V W R S L D ,

it is the young people - willing or not - who must confront these fears and ulti-

mately solve the problems that spawn them. Despite their dark content, "dystopian

novels... have apparently now surpassed the vampire and fantasy genres in the

young adult fiction market" (Hall & Slade, 2011, para. 1yf : L W K P R U H W K D Q P L O O L R n

copies sold in the United States alone (Lee, 2012yf 6 X ] D Q Q H & R O O L Q V

V 7 K H + X Q J H r

Games" series - often credited for furthering the YA dystopia trend (Rhor, 2012yf -

recently surprised many by surpassing the sales figures for Rowling's popular "Harry

Potter" series (Gaudiosi, 2012yf 7 K H V X F F H V V R I K H U E R R N V D Q G W K H < $ G \ V W R S L D s

following them, indicate that this is more than just a mere marketing achievement.

The questions remain: Why are these young adult dystopias so popular? Why are

they so popular at this exact moment? Julie Bertagna (2011yf D \ R X Q J D G X O W D X W K R U ,

asked, "Have teenagers, fed on an everyday diet of terror - war, recession, floods,

hurricanes, earthquakes, swine flu, become disaster junkies?" (p. 1yf * R R G Q R w

(2008yf V D L G W K H J H Q U H L V S R S X O D U E H F D X V H L W P L U U R U V D Z R U O G E H V H W E \ V R P H R I W K e

most frightening problems in recent memory, from climate change to terrorism and

the shredding of privacy and free will," making it "the Zeitgeist of the times" (p. 1yf .

While all of these are convincing rationales for the popularity of the genre, this

article makes the case that the socio-political climate that has emerged post-9/11

has greatly contributed to the mass consumption of these texts.

YA Dystopia as Part of a Larger Post-9/11 Phenomenon and Cultural

Coping Mechanism

In many ways it is more useful to study the surging popularity of YA dystopia

alongside similar trends: post-apocalyptic narratives (be they in the form of print

fiction, film, television, or video gamesyf W K D W V K D U H V L P L O D U F K D U D F W H U L V W L F V ] R P E L e

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and vampire storylines with their fear-based "us versus them" binaries; and horror

films that encompass the above subcategories, to name a few. The fact that the

grim apocalyptic imagery present in mainstream texts has filtered down into young

adult literature is quite telling. Rawls (2012yf F O D L P H G W K D W W K H \ R X Q J D U H R I W H n

an important gauge of just how entrenched various themes may be" (para. 10yf .

Speaking specifically of Collins's (2008yf 7 K H + X Q J H U * D P H V V K H D V N H G & R X O G a

post-apocalyptic story about poor children chosen by lottery to kill one another

have become a blockbuster hit with the tween crowd at any other moment in

American history, or is The Hunger Games a strangely decade-specific phenomenon?"

(Rawls, 2012, para.10yf 2 W K H U V F K R O D U V K D Y H P D G H V L P L O D U F O D L P V W K D W V X F K W U H Q G s

are decade-specific or linked in some way to the aftermath of 9/11. Studying the

renewed popularity of horror films in the years following 9/11, Soloff (2006yf G L V -

cussed how filmmakers expressed "post-9/11 anxieties through metaphor," allowing

cinema to become a "therapeutic catharsis for the nation's newfound fears" (para. 1yf .

Examining the recent resurgence of zombie narratives in his article, "Are Zombies

the Guilty Conscience of Post-9/11 America?" Nixon (2011yf V X J J H V W H G W K D W W K e

zombie renaissance" represents American's reactions "to 9/11 and the mess" the

government made of global relations ever since the attacks (para. 5yf .

All of these arguments seem quite sound. After all, to claim that the national tragedy

of 9/11 has been a defining moment in the first decade of the 21st century for the

United States is not profound, nor is the statement that it directly and indirectly

influenced the cultural production within U.S. society throughout these years. In

the decade following the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon,

cultural products have been sites for interrogating and remediating the trauma that

9/11 caused for the citizens of a country that believed itself to be untouchable.

Redfield (2007yf V W D W H G :

That the attacks inflicted a shock of historical scale seems clear, but the shape

and scope of this wound is not... If we try to conceive of trauma on a cultural

level things become more ambiguous... [The attacks] were not of a society-

threatening scale... and the literal damage they did to the military and com-

mercial orders symbolized by the Pentagon and the World Trade center was

miniscule; it is of course as symbolic acts of violence that they claim culturally

traumatic status, (p. 56yf

He continued to analyze the common effects of trauma and the coping process that

individuals usually go through: "trauma involves blockage: an inability to mourn,

to move from repetition to working-through." (Redfield, 2007, p. 56yf + H D U J X H G W K D W ,

"wherever one looks in 9/11 discourse, trauma and the warding-off of trauma blur

into each other, as the event disappears into its own mediation" (p. 57yf .

I propose that a very similar process is at work in the apocalyptic narratives that

proliferated after 9/11. Through their mediation of fictionalized scenarios, they

present trauma in order to do away with it, hence becoming a sort of emotional

security blanket for individuals existing in an unstable post-9/11 world. In terms

of YA dystopias in particular, the fact that teenagers are eagerly consuming these

themes suggests that they are seeking a safe space to wrestle with, and perhaps dis-

place, the fears they play upon - fears that are set and, not unimportantly, resolved

amidst the comfortable narrative threads of young adult narratives: coming of age

rituals, identity struggles, romantic love triangles, and so forth.

To be clear, it may not be the events of 9/11 themselves that are responsible for

the fears that adolescent readers have today, especially since for many the national

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The High School Journal - Fall 2013

tragedy is an event that barely lingers in their actual memories due to their young

ages. Rather, it is the post-9/11 climate that has instilled and perpetuated a climate of

fear, which they have become a part of (e.g. the rhetoric of the Bush administration;

media pundits with their endless prophetic predictions of future disastersyf 7 H H Q s

are now entrenched in the culture of the 24-hour news networks and connected to

social media, which constantly expose them to depictions of terror, extremism, and

violence. Arguably, the cultural "mood" created by the abovementioned factors

influences their literary choices. Although teens may not be conscious of fears

related to 9/11, they are a part of the social and political climate - a climate that

provides a ripe context for these dystopian texts.

However, it is important to note that not all scholars agree that this trend is neces-

sarily the result of 9/11. Some suggest instead that the popularity of these texts may

stem from something other than the current sociopolitical climate; it may be a ripple

effect from the prior decades. The majority of the authors writing young adult fiction

today lived through the Reagan era, the 1980s Cold War scare, and the broadcast of

The Day After (1983yf Z K L F K Z D V W H U U L I \ L Q J I R U V R P H $ V K L J K V F K R R O V W X G H Q W V W K H y

were taught a variety of texts concerned with misery and social control, such as

1984, Fahrenheit 451 , Brave New World , Flowers for Algernon , and Lord of the Flies

(Hall & Slate, 2011yf 7 K H G \ V W R S L D Q O L W H U D W X U H R I W K H V Z D V S U H R F F X S L H G Z L W h

mass destruction, atomic bombs, and apocalyptic outcomes. But, as Hall and Slade

(2011yf Q R W H G W K L V J H Q H U D W L R Q G L G Q R W I D F H V X F K D I X W X U H W K H \ G L G Q R W G L H E X W L Q V W H D d

"just ended up with mortgages, subscriptions to the New Yorker , and a grinding

sense of regret. And now apparently they are writing, publishing, and promoting

postapocalyptic and dystopian fiction for young people at an unprecedented rate"

(para. 7yf 7 K H U H I R U H L W P D \ Y H U \ Z H O O E H W K D W W K L V F X U U H Q W X S V Z L Q J L Q < $ G \ V W R S L a

should be attributed to the authors themselves, for it is just as likely that it is their

political concerns that are projected upon the pages more so than those of their

readers. In terms of crafting the market for these texts, it may be a mistake to assign

the impetus to the young adults themselves, but instead to the authors who framed

the texts within these themes, or even the publishers who were eager to push texts

that capitalized on post-9/11 concerns. Regardless of who or what deserves credit

for rejuvenating this profitable subset of young adult literature, teenagers are read-

ing these texts and are, therefore, sustaining the market. Their enthusiastic engage-

ment with these novels calls for reevaluating the claims that this generation is

apathetic when it comes to national and global issues.

Historicizing the Trend: Young Adult Literature's Dystopian Traditions

It would be misleading to present political focus as entirely new in Y A literature.

Dystopian themes and political concerns have filled the pages of YA novels since

their beginnings. Various recurrent motifs can easily be traced throughout the

decades proving this point. For example, many novels have been founded on the

premise of technology leading to society's downfall: Schlee's (1979yf 7 K H 9 D Q G D O ,

Westall's (1983yf ) X W X U H W U D F N 6 W D L J

V \f The Glimpses , Kelleher's (1995yf

Parkland , and Haddix's (2000yf 7 X U Q D E R X W 2 W K H U V K D Y H I R F X V H G R Q G \ V W R S L F V F H -

narios resulting from human-caused environmental disasters: Hoover's (1973yf

Children of Morrow , Anderson's (1977yf , Q W K H . H H S R I 7 L P H * H H

V \f The

Halfmen of O , Streiber's (1985yf : R O I R I 6 K D G R Z V 3 D U N

V \f My Sister, Sif

Macdonald's (1988yf 7 K H / D N H D W W K H ( Q G R I W K H : R U O G 0 F 1 D X J K W R Q

V \f The

Secret Under My Skint and Cooper's (2001yf * U H H Q % R \ $ Q G V W L O O R W K H U V K D Y H I H D W X U H d

versions of totalitarian societies where quests for complete control or human perfec-

tion have led to dystopian conditions: Wyndam's (1955yf 7 K H & K U \ V D O L G V 3 D U H Q W H D X

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(1979yf 7 K H 7 D O N L Q J & R I I L Q V R I & U \ R & L W \ : H V W D Q G 0 D F / H D Q

V \f Dark Wing ,

Sargent's (1980yf : D W F K V W D U 3 U L Q F H

V \f The Others , Thomas's (1988yf & L W \ V F D S H ,

Richemont's (1990yf 7 K H * D P H / R Z U \

V \f The Giver , Haddix's (2000yf $ P R Q g

the Hidden , and Lowry's (2000yf * D W K H U L Q J % O X H 7 K L V O L V W L V R I F R X U V H I D U I U R m

exclusive, but this mere sampling indicates that the popular young adult dystopias

of present have a long line of ancestor texts that precede them.

The most popular young adult dystopias of late have tapped into many of the above-

mentioned themes but have done so in ways that speak to the current cultural

moment. For example, the majority of them explore the effects of technologically

driven, surveillance-ridden societies. These novels often allude subtly (or not-so-

subtlyyf W R W K H F X O W X U H R I Q D U F L V V L V P L Q V S L U H G E \ V R F L D O Q H W Z R U N L Q J W K H F R Q V X P H U L V t

nature of the media-saturated world, or the infringements of personal liberties in

the United States after passage of The Patriot Act.

At the core of many of the most popular Y A novels published in the last decade is

a government that seeks to quell rebellious impulses. This is accomplished, for

example, in Feed (2002yf D Q G 8 J O L H V \f via distraction and in The Hunger

Games (2008yf D Q G / L W W O H % U R W K H U \f through direct punishment. Although this

could be seen as a commentary on current times - an era that has seen a wave of resur-

rected conservatism and conformity - it also is very much a staple of young adult lit-

erature more generally. Dystopian narratives play well to teenage audiences because

they serve as powerful metaphors for their current developmental stage (Hintz &

Ostry, 2003yf + L Q W ] D Q G 2 V W U \ \f explained, during "adolescence, authority

appears oppressive, and perhaps no one feels more under surveillance than the aver-

age teenager" (p. 9-10yf : H V W H U I H O G W K H D X W K R U R I W K H 8 J O L H V V H U L H V H [ S O D L Q H G W K e

genre's fit for adolescence, describing high school as being a dystopia of sorts:

"Bound by the rules of teachers, parents and society, with little power over your

own existence, life as a teenager can feel like living in an authoritarian state"

(as cited in Bertagna, 2011, p. 2yf 7 K H U H I R U H L W V H H P V O L N H D Q D W X U D O S U R J U H V V L R Q I R r

this theme of autonomy to get taken up in young adult texts. A short discussion of

recent YA successes (analyzed in reverse chronological order in terms of their pub-

lication dateyf V K R Z F D V H V K R Z W K H V H G \ V W R S L D Q W D O H V K D Y H H Y R O Y H G W K U R X J K R X W W K H O D V t

decade and reinforced certain motifs.

Young Adult Literature Today: Critiquing the Cultural Moment

Matched (First Novel of Seriesyf

One of the most recent dystopian young adult series is Condie's (2010yf 0 D W F K H G .

Condie's opening novel was named one of the Best Children's Books of 2010 by

Publishers Weekly and it made its way into The New York Times' list of the

top 10 best-selling children's books (Fulton, 2011yf 7 K H V H U L H V G H S L F W V D V R F L H W \ W K D t

relies on calculated planning "where each of life's stages - from marriage at age 21 to

death on or before age 80 - is decided in advance for optimal results" (Fulton, 2011,

p. 2yf $ O W K R X J K & R Q G L H

V W H [ W V I R F X V R Q K R Z O L I H L Q W K L V F L Y L O L ] D W L R Q L V S O D Q Q H G G R Z n

to the minutia (even citizens' meals are planned in order to ensure optimal nutri-

tionyf W K H S U L P D U \ V W R U \ O L Q H I R F X V H V R Q W K H U R P D Q W L F W U L D Q J O H W K D W U H V X O W V Z K H n

the main character, Cassia, is accidentally "matched" (paired as a life mateyf Z L W h

two different boys.

2 For more information on the above listed texts, and many others, see Hintz, Ostry, Sambell, and Totaro's (2003yf Y H U \ W K R U R X J K $ Q Q R W D W H G % L E O L R J U D S K \ R I 8 W R S L D Q D Q G ' \ V W R S L D Q : U L W L Q J I R U & K L O G U H Q D Q d Young Adults" in Utopian and Dystopian Writing for Children and Young Adults.

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The High School Journal - Fall 2013

Part of the novel's cultural critique comes into play when Condie described the ways

in which the society had decided to preserve cultural and historical artifacts: in the

fashion of an exaggerated "throw away" culture, record keeping and personal pre-

serves were virtually eliminated and only things of value (as decided by a govern-

ment committeeyf Z H U H V D Y H G 0 R U U L V \f argued that, "Condie bottles up all the

hand-wringing over information overload" and filters it through the current cul-

tural obsession with top-10 lists, dramatizing "our messy, disjointed, perhaps even

schizophrenic, relationship to cultural products" (para. 4yf .

One particular collection of cultural products that received additional scrutiny in

the novel was technological gadgets. Cassia alluded to a previous era that was

overly dependent on technology, which allowed the novel to unveil yet another

cultural critique about our current times: "You never know when technology might

fail... [and] specialization keeps people from becoming overwhelmed. We don't

need to understand everything " (Condie, 2010, p. 31yf 7 K L V T X R W H F R X O G E H L Q W H U -

preted as housing more than just a commentary on our overreliance on technology

and its resulting information overload. The Society's belief that information should

be specialized and restricted to the few, that citizens "don't need to understand

everything " could be a nod toward the post-9/11 cultural climate where citizens

are not expected to understand everything, especially in regard to how their coun-

try protects them in face of terrorist threats. More explicit may be the novel's link

to the post-9/11 surveillance culture. The Society's extensive means of control

reflects contemporary fears of being constantly monitored (e.g., The Patriot Act,

Transportation Security Administration security protocolyf 7 K L V P R W L I R I V X U Y H L O -

lance, common to the YA dystopian genre, becomes amplified in many publica-

tions post-9/11.

The Hunger Games (First Novel of Seriesyf

Hall and Slade (2011yf D U J X H G W K D W 7 K H + X Q J H U * D P H V V H U L H V L V S U R E D E O \ W K H P R V t

visible example of the dystopian trend" (para. 9yf $ V S U H Y L R X V O \ G L V F X V V H G P L O O L R Q s

of copies have been sold, and it is now a movie franchise. It has also garnered

much critical acclaim as a bestseller according to The New York Times , USA Today ,

The Wall Street Journal , and Publishers Weekly. It was in the American Library Asso-

ciation's top ten best books for young adults; it won the "Best Indie Young Adult

Buzz Book Honor," the 2008 Cybil Award in the category of Fantasy and Science

Fiction, and the 2009 Children's Choice Book Award, as well as many other accolades.

Collins's trilogy can be read as critiquing many different aspects of contemporary

society, most obviously our entertainment choices. As Goodnow (2008yf Q R W H G ,

"Suzanne Collins holds a warped, funhouse mirror up to the excesses of reality

TV" (para 8yf * U D Q J H U \f read the series as critiquing "our addiction to television

and its soul corrosive influences" (p. 1yf , Q W H U Y L H Z V Z L W K & R O O L Q V Z K R V K D U H G W K D t

her inspiration for the story came from channel surfing and being impressed by

the televised images of the war in Iraq and the reality television shows," confirmed

Granger's reading. However, the focus on surveillance, key to critiquing the reality

television phenomena, is also rather common among young adult dystopia as the

theme speaks to "teenagers who are temporarily trapped in the high school panopticon"

(Hall & Slate, 2011, para. 22yf .

The series offers critiques in other areas as well. It can be read as an allegory for the

state of both capitalism and education today as, like the competitors selected from

various fictional districts, "some children start with advantages due to wealth. Other

children - the unprepared ones, the ordinary ones - die unceremoniously, as the

children with advantages temporarily band together to kill everyone else first

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before turning on each other" (Hall & Slate, 2011, para. 14yf 3 U L Q ] L \f drew

attention to the "ongoing commentary on poverty in the books" (para. 8yf 7 K e

clearest moment of class commentary comes through the scene in which Katniss

and Gale delivered strawberries to the Mayor's house on the day of the Reaping

Ceremony and encountered his daughter Madge, who was seemingly unaware of

how her wealth inadvertently protected her from the likelihood of being selected for

the participation in the Hunger Games. Reflecting on why this meeting infuriated

Gale, Katniss mused:

You can see why someone like Madge, who has never been at risk of needing

a tessera, can set him off. The chance of her name being drawn is very slim

compare to those of us who live in the Seam. Not impossible, but slim. And

even though the rules were set up by the Capitol, not the districts, certainly

not Madge's family, it's hard not to resent those who don't have to sign up for

the tesserae. (Collins, 2008, p. 13yf

The poorer residents of District 12 (those living in "the Seam"yf Z H U H R I W H Q I R U F H d

to purchase additional food supplies by adding to the number of times their names

appeared in the candidate pool for the games. This was not the only way that the

poor were at a disadvantage. The districts were numbered in the book according to

their overall wealth. District 1, for example, was among the richest districts outside

the Capitol and District 12 was among the poorest. The Game favored the rich in

that the wealthier districts could afford to train some of their young to compete in

the games, in hopes that they would win the honor and supply their district with

the rewards that accompany the victory. Aware of this, Katniss contemplated the

impossibility of beating out one of these trained "Career" tributes in the games:

"I can't win... The competition will be far beyond my abilities. ... Boys who are

two to three times my size. Girls who know twenty different ways to kill you with

a knife" (p. 36yf .

Collins highlighted other moments of economic imbalance in scenes that dealt not

with the games in particular but with their main spectators: the residents of the

Capitol. The Capitol was depicted as a place of rich and ridiculous abundance,

and the citizens themselves embodied this aura of excess through their obsessions

with frivolous fashion fads. The contrast between the appearance of these indi-

viduals and the poor inhabitants from the districts is noteworthy:

They do surgery in the Capitol, to make people appear younger and thinner.

In District 12, looking old is something of an achievement since so many people

die early. You see an elder person, you want to congratulate them on their

longevity, ask the secret of survival. A plump person is envied because they

aren't scraping by like the majority of us. But here it is different. Wrinkles

aren't desirable. A round belly isn't a sign of success, (pp. 124-125yf

While Collins's critique of social inequality can certainly be read as a critique of

our current times - the motto of the Occupy Wall Street movement, "We are the

99yb Z R X O G F H U W D L Q O \ D S S O \ W R W K R V H U H V L G L Q J L Q W K H R X W H U G L V W U L F W V R I 3 D Q H P -

there were moments of social commentary that seem to point even more specifi-

cally to this historical moment.

Prinzi (2010yf Q R W H G K R Z W K H V H U L H V G U D Z V D W W H Q W L R Q W R W K H D E X V H R I S R Z H U G X U L Q g

wartime" (para. 8yf 6 R P H R I W K H V H P R P H Q W V V H H P W R U H V R Q D W H L Q W K H S R V W H U a

where individual freedoms have been threatened through the passage of The Patriot

Act. The novel's focus on being watched certainly could be read as alluding to our

current culture of forced surveillance, but the moments where Katniss reflected on

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The High School Journal - Fall 2013

the dangers of speaking out against the Capitol could also be read as a commentary

on the ease in which an American citizen today could be reclassified as an enemy of the state.

Little Brother (Novelyf

Like "The Hunger Games" series, Little Brother (Doctorow, 2008yf Z D V Z H O O U H F H L Y H G ,

earning a long stay on The New York Times Bestseller List and winning awards

such as the 2009 John W. Campbell Memorial Award, the 2009 Prometheus Award,

and the 2009 White Pine Award. VanderMeer (2008yf G H V F U L E H G ' R F W R U R Z

V Q R Y H l

as "Orwell for the teen set" (para. 4yf D Q G * R R G Q R Z \f agreed, arguing that

"the post- 9/11 tension between security and liberty inspires classic Orwellian

themes... [in this novel] about a teen who is wrongfully detained and tortured by

the Department of Homeland Security (DHSyf S D U D \f. The allusion to Orwell's

1984 was by no means subtle, as the main character, who used his hacking skills to

sabotage the corrupt DHS, was known in cyberspace through his handle "wIn5ton,"

which is, of course, pronounced "Winston," the protagonist of Orwell's classic

dystopia (Goodnow, 2008, para. 8yf .

Although, like the other books discussed, there was a minor love story (and love

triangle of sortsyf O X U N L Q J L Q W K H S D J H V R I W K L V Q R Y H O L W S O D \ H G D U H O D W L Y H O \ V P D O O U R O e

in the plot. In fact, this text, of the contemporary YA dystopias discussed here, was

the most overt in its social critique. It was clearly a critique of the Patriot Act and

other governmental abuses in the name of national security post-9/11. This critique

is obvious from the moment Marcus and his friends were apprehended simply

because they were in close proximity to the site of the explosion that destroyed

the Bay Bridge in San Francisco during a terrorist attack. Readers slowly come to

the realization, along with the main character, that the teens were held by the

Department of Homeland Security and not by foreign terrorists. This scene not only

provided a commentary on abuses of power in the name of war, but also on the

stereotypical way in which terrorists have been portrayed via mainstream media:

I didn't know what a terrorist looked like, though TV shows had done their best

to convince me that they were brown Arabs with big beards and knit caps and

loose cotton dresses that hung down to their ankles. Not so our captors. They

could have been halftime-show cheerleaders on the Super Bowl. They looked

American in a way I couldn't exactly define. Good jawlines, short, neat haircuts

that weren't quite military. They came in white and brown, male and female,

and smiled freely at one another as they sat down at the other end of the

truck, joking and drinking coffee out of go-cups. They weren't Ay-rabs from

Afghanistan: they looked like tourists from Nebraska. (Doctorow, 2008, p. 43yf

All of the scenes with the chief interrogator, whom Marcus refers to as "Severe

Haircut Lady," pointed toward the new post-9/11 mindset that, in the name of

national security, one could now be considered guilty until proven innocent:

You're under the mistaken impression that you've been picked up by the police

for a crime. You need to get past that. You are being detained as a potential

enemy combatant by the government of the United States. If I were you, I'd be

thinking very hard about how to convince us that you are not an enemy ...

combatant. Very hard. Because there are dark holes that enemy combatants

can disappear into, very dark deep hoes, holes where you can just vanish.

Forever. (Doctorow, 2008, p. 49yf

Although the text is clearly against these new practices, Doctorow created characters

that justified these acts to some degree. One of those characters was Marcus's father

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who made the claim, "The world isn't the same place it was last week" (Doctorow,

2008, p. 109yf Z K L F K L V V L P L O D U W R W K R V H P D G H F R Q F H U Q L Q J W K D W W K H D W W D F N V R n

the World Trade Center and Pentagon changed everything.

The realism of this text differs from that of the others discussed in this article, as

does its almost overt call to action. Unlike most young adult novels, Doctorow's text

reads as if he was purposely attempting to spark political action in his teen readers.

Marcus's final speech at the close of the novel supports this analysis:

They betrayed our trust. The election is four months away. That's a lot of

time. Enough for you to go out and find five of your neighbors - five people

who've given up on voting because their choice is 'none of the above' talk to

your neighbors. Make them promise to vote. Make them promise to take

the country back from the tortures and thugs. The people who laughed at my

friends as they lay fresh in their graves at the bottom of the harbor. Make

them promise to talk to their neighbors. Most of us choose none of the above.

It's not working. You have to choose - choose freedom. My name is Marcus

Yallow. I was tortured by my country, but I still love it here. I'm seventeen

years old. I want to grow up in a free country. I want to live in a free country.

(Doctorow, 2008, p. 363yf

Considering the very clear post-9/11 commentary running throughout the novel -

with multiple references to the fictionalized Patriot Act II - the corrupt government

referred to in Marcus's idealistic and somewhat didactic speech could be read as

a hyperbolic stand-in for the Bush Administration, the governmental body that

would have been in power as Doctorow was crafting this text.3

Uglies (First Novel of Seriesyf

Named in the Best Books for Young Adult List compiled by the American Library

Association in 2006, Westerfelde (2005yf 8 J O L H V V H U L H V I R F X V H G R Q D S R V W D S R F D O \ S W L c

society where cosmetic surgery was mandated at age sixteen in order to rid citi-

zens of physical differences, such as race and beauty, that in the past resulted

in inequality and even war. Accompanying this physical transformation, unknown

to those who experience it, was a mental one wherein the participants' brains were

altered so that they remained in a permanent state of "bubbly" (ignorantyf E O L V V 7 K e

original trilogy, and to some extent the follow-up book, Extras (Westerfeld, 2007yf ,

focused on Tally Youngblood, the young protagonist who ultimately dismantled

this societal system.

The central commentary of these books centered on the current surge in cosmetic

surgery and offers "an impetus for an important dialogue about beauty standards

and our culture's" captivation with them (Scott & Dragoo, 2011, p. 11yf : H V W H U I H O d

created a protagonist who initially had bought into the cultural mindset that physi-

cal perfection is the key to happiness. Through exaggeration, his fictional world

draws attention to our own time period's problematic focus on beauty, while still

allowing us to seem less drastic in comparison. Consider this scene where Tally

stumbled upon celebrity magazines from the Rusty Era (the phrase used to demark

our contemporary timesyf :

She'd never seen so many wildly different faces before. Mouths and eyes and

noses of every imaginable shape, all combined insanely on people of every age.

3 This type of contemporary cultural critique can also be seen in the sequel to this novel, Homeland (Doctorow, 2013yf Z K H U H W K H Q D U U D W L Y H I R F X V H V R Q D Q H F R Q R P L F F R O O D S V H U H O D W H G W R E R W K F R U S R U D W H D Q d political corruption.

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The High School Journal - Fall 2013

And the bodies. Some were grotesquely fat, or weirdly over muscled, or uncom-

fortably thin, and almost all of them had wrong, ugly proportions. But instead

of being ashamed of their deformities, the people were laughing and kissing

and posing, as if all the pictures had been taken at some huge party. (Westerfeld,

2005, p. 197yf

Although this scene highlighted one's ability to achieve happiness and success

in the current world despite physical imperfections, other scenes pointed toward

the detrimental consequences of our contemporary beauty standards. While looking

at a picture of a model in a magazine, Tally noted, "The woman looked like she

was starving, her ribs thrusting out from her sides, her legs so thin [she] wondered

how they didn't snap under her weight. Her elbows and pelvic bones looked sharp

as needles" (p. 199yf : H V W H U I H O G D O V R L Q F O X G H G D Q D O O X V L R Q W R W K H F X U U H Q W H S L G H P L c

of eating disorders plaguing the United States: "Tally remembered that a lot of

people, especially young girls, became so ashamed at being fat they stopped eating.

They'd lose weight so quickly, and some would get stuck and would keep losing

weight... No one got this disease anymore since everyone knew at sixteen they'd

turn beautiful" (pp. 199-200yf 7 K U R X J K Y D U L R X V G H E D W H V L Q W K H I L U V W K D O I R I W K H Q R Y H l

between Tally and characters against the mandatory plastic surgery, Westerfeld

drove home his underlying message that beauty is nothing but a social construct:

"It's a trick, Tally. You've only seen pretty faces your whole life. Your parents,

your teachers, everyone over sixteen. But you weren't born expecting that kind

of beauty in everyone, all the time. You just got programmed into thinking any-

thing else is ugly" (p. 82yf .

This series also critiqued our culture's "voyeuristic obsession with celebrity" and

tendency to link personal identity to material products (Goodnow, 2008, para. 22yf .

This latter issue is particularly directed toward teenagers who "are particularly sub-

ject to the influence of consumerism... because consumer goods are among the few

ways that [they] can establish status boundaries" (Detora , 2006, p. 28yf , W L V W K H F R P -

panion book, Extras , that most clearly addressed the culture of narcissism being

driven by celebrity focus and, perhaps, social networking. This final book in the

series showcased a society where awards and material goods were allotted to indi-

viduals based on their "face rank" - their popularity and importance as measured

by the amount of attention they received from others, as their profiles and feeds

were followed and commented upon.

Although less central, the series also addressed other concerns that often surface in

dystopian texts: environmental ruin, overpopulation, social inequality, and so forth.

The environmental concern especially is spelled out at the close of the original

trilogy in the protagonist's "manifesto":

Whenever you push too far into the wild, we'll be here willing, ready to push

back. Remember us every time you decide to dig a new foundation, dam a river,

or cut down a tree. Worry about us. However hungry the human race becomes

now that the pretties are waking up, the wild still has teeth... We'll be out

here somewhere - watching. Ready to remind you the price the Rusties paid

for goingtoo far... Be careful with the world, or next time we meet, it might get

ugly. (Westerfeld, 2005, pp. 371-372yf .

Tally's warning closed the series with a healthy dose of didacticism and hope,

two complementary prerequisites often found in young adult dystopia.

While the "Uglies" series did not overtly draw attention to societal concerns

directly related to the 9/11 terrorist attacks in ways that the texts published later

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in the decade, they did attend to equally important social issues. Since the popu-

larity of this series has increased with the passage of time - as evidenced by its

forthcoming film adaptation - these books highlighted the fact that the dystopian

genre continues to prosper in the post-9/11 era, exposing teen readers to an array

of cultural critiques.

Feed (Novelyf

Anderson's (2002yf ) H H G X W L O L ] H G W K H E D F N G U R S R I D S R V W D S R F D O \ S W L F Z R U O G W R F U L -

tique the effects of advanced technology on humankind and the environment.

Recognized by the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, the Riverbank Review of Chil-

dren's Books, and the National Book Award, among others, Feed presented a vision

of an earth all but destroyed by humans. In this technology-saturated society, the

majority of the population had computerized information feeds implanted in their

brains. These feeds constantly brought them endless streams of information, usually

in the form of advertising for consumer products. This technology allowed for

instantaneous communication and internal abbreviated dialogues (much like instant

messagingyf D P R Q J S H R S O H V R W K D W W U D G L W L R Q D O I D F H W R I D F H F R Q Y H U V D W L R Q Z D V D O P R V t

no longer needed.

However, the increased reliance on technology came with a consequence - a

decrease in intelligence. The characters' slang-ridden dialogue helped to under-

score this while their actual statements often demonstrated their ignorance. One

example would be a character arguing that his face was an organ because "it's

alive" (Anderson, 2002, p. 7yf 7 K H Q R W L R Q W K D W S H R S O H F R X O G Q R W W K L Q N L Q G H S H Q G H Q W O y

or retain information on their own in the age of the feeds was highlighted early on

in the story when a hacking incident caused the main character, Titus, and his

friends to have to be without their feeds for a period of time while they healed:

I don't know when they first had feeds. Like, maybe, fifty or a hundred years

ago. Before that, they had to use their hands and their eyes. Computers were

all outside the body. They carried them around outside of them, in their hands,

like if you carried your lungs in a briefcase and opened it to breathe, (p. 47yf

Anderson complicated this critique by placing the blame not with technology alone

but with those who benefit from it: big business. He created a world where the

education system had been co-opted by capitalism and this had contributed to

the declining intellect of citizens. Titus's reflections on the function of school in

this world showcased this well:

School is not so bad now, not like back when my grandparents were kids, when

the schools were run by the government... Back then it was big boring, and all

the kids were meg null, because they didn't learn anything useful... Now

that School is run by the corporations, it's pretty brag, because it teaches us

how the world can be used, like mainly how to use our feeds... They care about

America's future. When no one was going to pay for the public schools anymore

and they were like filled with guns and drugs and English teachers who were

really pimps and stuff, some of the big media congloms got together and gave

all this money and bought the schools so that all of them could have computers

and pizza... And now we do stuff in classes about how to work technology

and how to find bargains and what's the best way to get a job and how to decorate

our bedroom, (pp. 109-110yf

In an interview Anderson noted that besides serving as a cautionary tale about

the misuse of technology, his novel was intended to scrutinize the current culture

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The High School Journal - Fall 2013

of instant gratification, aspects of herd psychology, and individuals' refusal to tackle

serious societal problems (Blasingame, 2003yf .

Unlike the YA books discussed previously, Feed did not feature a protagonist who

raged against his society's problems to save the day, nor did it end with the typical

seed of hope that most young adult dystopias contain. In her review of the novel,

Devereaux (2002yf Q R W H G W K L V G H Y L D W L R Q I U R P W K H F O D V V L F < $ I R U P X O D 0 R V W D X W K R U s

set up dystopian worlds in order for their characters to have a hand in dismantling

them; this is not the case in Feed (Devereaux, 2002yf 7 K H P D L Q F K D U D F W H U Z D V D n

anomaly of sorts compared to the main characters in most young adult dystopian

novels as he was not cast as a hero.4 Although his love interest in the book did

play this role to some extent (albeit unsuccessfullyyf 7 L W X V

V F K D U D F W H U L ] D W L R Q Z D s

in line with the current belief that teenagers are unwilling to tackle cultural prob-

lems. In fact, Feed is one of the few Y A books that crafts a main character who

aligns with the research on young adults today regarding civic illiteracy, political

disinterest, etc. By placing a character like Titus into the typical worst-case sce-

nario setting of a YA dystopia, the novel speaks to the concerns older adults have

for the future of the country if this so-called apathetic generation remains civically

disengaged despite escalating national and global problems. In some ways, Anderson's

(2002yf K D U V K G H S L F W L R Q R I \ R X Q J D G X O W V Z K L O H S U R E O H P D W L F W R V R P H G H J U H H L V W K H P R V t

provocative. In purposefully deviating from the classic "teen saves world" narrative

structure, he created a space for the young adults reading his novel to ponder the

potential effects of political apathy. If teen readers are frustrated by, or disapprove

of, Titus's lack of action, perhaps this text has the potential to spark self-reflection

and generational critique in ways that the previously discussed texts do not.

The Power of the Page: What do Young Adults DO with these Narratives?

Many feel that young adult dystopias are written by authors in the hope that their

messages will spark action amongst their teenage readers. But does this happen?

Do young adults pick up on this social commentary and incorporate it into their

own worldviews? Hall and Slade (2011yf V X J J H V W H G W K D W W K H \ P L J K W Q R W :

It is easy to assume that young readers would follow the lead of adult authors

and commentators in reading these books as future-oriented social commentary.

But adult fears for an uncertain future can become a different tool in younger

hands. The ways that young people read the books we put in front of ¿hem do

not always conform to the marketing aims. (para. 11yf

If Hall and Slade (2011yf Z H U H F R U U H F W L Q D V V X P L Q J D O L P L W H G L P S D F W I R U W K H V H S R O L W L F D l

texts, what exactly do teenagers do with the content housed in these texts once they

are consumed?

In general, Utopian and dystopian "literature encourages people to view their

society with a critical eye, sensitizing or predisposing them to political action"

(Hintz & Ostry, 2003, p. 7yf , W Z R X O G I R O O R Z W K D W W K L V Z R X O G Z R U N R Q W H H Q D J H U V M X V t

as well as adults. Hintz and Ostry (2003yf V X J J H V W H G W K D W H [ S R V X U H W R W K H V H W \ S H s

of texts can lead young readers to see inequality in their own communities and

countries" (p. 8yf $ O W K R X J K W K H V H W H [ W V P D \ Q R W D X W R P D W L F D O O \ D F F R P S O L V K W K L V R n

their own, these texts are often taught in educational settings and strategic instruc-

tion often increases their overall impact.

4 In this way, Titus more resembles the main characters of classic dystopias, such as D-503 in Zamyatin's (1926yf : H R U $ O H [ L Q % X U J H V V

V \f A Clockwork Orange.

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Glasglow (2001yf H Q F R X U D J H G X W L O L ] L Q J G \ V W R S L D Q Q R Y H O V L Q V R F L D O M X V W L F H X Q L W V 6 K e

argued that "social justice education has the potential to prepare citizens who

are sophisticated in their understanding of diversity and group interaction, able to

critically evaluate social institutions, and committed to working democratically with

diverse others" (p. 54yf 6 L P L O D U O \ : O N \f stated that reading dystopian novels

allows "students to question the world we have and envision a better world we

could have" because these texts "offer unique opportunities to teach these habits

of mind" (p. 668yf 7 K H V H W H [ W V P D \ E H H Y H Q P R U H L P S R U W D Q W W R W H D F K L Q W K L V S R V W 1

world because, as one secondary educator noted, it is more important than ever that

"teachers select texts that will help students to critically examine the world and

media representations of it" (Collins, Groenke, Rose-Shafer, & Zenzano, 2006, p. 1 7yf 5

However, these texts can do more than just prompt students to examine the world -

they can be used as the catalyst to incite real action.

In her article, "Class on Fire: Using the Hunger Games Trilogy to Encourage Social

Action," Simmons (2012yf D U J X H G W K D W & R O O L Q V

V G \ V W R S L D Q V H U L H V L V D Q L G H D O W R R O W o

foster critical literacy and spark social action among teens. Simmons (2012yf G H W D L O H d

how the trilogy can help students understand that violence directed toward children

is not a fictional occurrence but a reality in this world, and that they can play a

role in its abolition through social action projects. She provided lecture material to

accompany the novels on issues such as national and global hunger, forced labor, the

use of child warriors, and sex trafficking. Simmons (2012yf G L V F X V V H G U H D O V R F L D O M X V -

tice organizations that classes could become involved with, such as Loose Change to

Loosen Chains, a student-led campaign designed to combat modern-day slavery. One

possible student assignment she described involves students creating a multimedia

project - one that would require students to design a logo, slogan, poster, and video

to promote participation in this cause.

While the above discussion provides compelling justifications for using young adult

dystopia within classroom settings, questions still remain: Do they work just as

well outside such educational environments? How effective are these texts when

they are consumed without the guidance of a teacher?

Although it seems logical to assume that the popularity of these novels implies that

their teenage readers are interested in the social commentary they build upon, this is

a hard assumption to verify. It could be that teens are just drawn to the fantastical

settings, the romantic storylines, the coming-of-age themes, and the action-filled

plots. However, if this were the case, one would expect to see other YA novels that

include all of these aspects, topping them in sales and garnering the Hollywood

movie deals. And this is not occurring as regularly. Quite obviously, there is some-

thing within these novels that speaks to this newest generation of readers. As dis-

cussed earlier, the most likely answer is that teenage readers are drawn to the way

these texts repackage societal concerns from reality, displacing them into the safe

comforts of fiction where they are addressed recurrently with more favorable results.

5 These texts need not be explicitly related to the terrorist attacks, but educators could easily locate texts that would facilitate a more direct engagement with 9/11 discourse. An issue of The English Journal (2006yf S X E O L V K H G G X U L Q J W K H I L Y H \ H D U D Q Q L Y H U V D U \ R I W K H W U D J H G \ K R X V H V D Y D U L H W \ R I W H D F K L Q g tools and strategies that educators could use to stimulate a critical conversation about the national event (Ruggieri, 2006, p. 80yf , Q F O X G H G L Q W K L V O L V W R I U H V R X U F H V D U H I L F W L R Q D O W H [ W V O L N H ) R U G H

V \f Hugo Award winning science fiction novella, In Spirit, which was written as a response to 9/11 (Collins et al., 2006, p. 17yf D V Z H O O D V Q R Q I L F W L R Q W H [ W V O L N H : K D W : D V L W / L N H " 7 H D F K L Q J + L V W R U \ D Q G & X O W X U e through Young Adult Literature (Rice, 2006yf : K R V H : D U V " 7 H D F K L Q J D E R X W W K H , U D T : D U D Q G W K H : D r on Terrorism (Rethinking Schools, 2005yf D Q G 6 W L U U L Q J 8 S - X V W L F H : U L W L Q J D Q G 5 H D G L Q J W R & K D Q J H W K e World (Singer, 2006yf .

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The High School Journal - Fall 2013

It is not surprising that the decade following the 9/11 attacks produced many dys-

topian narratives. After all, "fiction writing in general rises out of times of upheaval

because it imagines ways to cope with, understand or contain that volatility"

(Dusinberre, 1987, p. 81yf 7 K H V H Q D U U D W L Y H V D U H L P S R U W D Q W V L W H V Z K H U H W K H U H D O L W L H s

of a post-9/11 world are being worked out. Therefore, in consuming these texts,

teenagers are likely working through fears lingering - unconsciously perhaps - years

after the national trauma. Reading these books may not completely rewire the

Millennial Generation, but it may find them contemplating some important societal

problems - including those that led up to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, as well as other

less tragic concerns such as the effects of reality television, superficial beauty stan-

dards, and over-reliance on social technology.

The popularity of these young adult novels does not invalidate the data that suggests

that teenagers today are suffering from civic illiteracy and are not participating in the

formal political process at desired rates. Although, to be fair, when the criticisms

leveled at young adults are studied in greater cultural contexts, they often appear

to be exaggerated. For example, data is often not relayed for other age groups, which

might indicate that civic illiteracy, or disinterest in current political affairs, is more

of a cultural phenomenon rather than an age-specific one. Also, these studies often

fail to address the larger question of why this generation, or Americans more gener-

ally, are shying away from politics.

Nonetheless, taking these somewhat disturbing studies at face value, it does appear

that young adults are, at least outwardly, politically disengaged. Despite their

content, the mass consumption of these political narratives does not alter this

fact. However, the popularity of these dystopian texts does suggest that the descrip-

tor cast upon the age group is misleading. The very fact that this population is

enthralled with these tales suggests that the classification of "apolitical," or at the

very least "apathetic," is inaccurate. This literary trend indicates that while these

young readers may be disheartened by contemporary politics and under-informed

in current events, they are not uninterested in the social problems that underlie both.

The success of these novels implies that teenagers are willing to entertain societal

critiques - even ones that implicate themselves. Rather than being a problematic dis-

crepancy, the "mismatch" between the reading interests of young adults and their

direct political action suggests that young adults could easily be molded into more

politically engaged citizens.

Perhaps this mismatch is not as great as it first seems. The fact that this post-9/11

reading trend aligns with recent increases in community service and voting

among youth populations may indicate that a change is already underfoot (Sander &

Putman, 2010yf 3 H U K D S V L I W K H L U L Q W H U H V W V D Q G F R Q F H U Q V D V H Y L G H Q F H G E \ W K H L U U H D G -

ing material - are addressed more regularly in the public sphere, and if they feel their

voices will count in the democratic process, future research and poll data will reflect

a very different political reality. Will reading young adult dystopias alone cause this

political transformation? Not likely. And does the consumption of print texts often

spark revolutionary change? No, but perhaps it is a start. Rather than predicting

a bleak future for the young persons of today, this dystopian trend may very well

be pointing toward a more positive future, at least in terms of political engagement.

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