7 dystopian movies about pandemics and possible changes in our future

In a strange reality, dystopian films stand out on the billboard like neon lights on a dark night. In many cases, they anticipate hypotheses and dynamics that in the past seemed distant to us and that today we can almost touch with our fingers; If not in its matter, then in its form, often perverse.

Governments around the world are beginning to turn to technology to control their populations. It’s natural for us to explore such hypothetical scenarios in fiction. All this is not new, this interest dates back to 1932 when Fritz Lang gave life to Metropolis.

On the other hand, note that dystopian movies are not necessarily apocalyptic -although there are dystopian films that are dystopian-.

Dystopian films address a human threat, posed by those who have control or can take control of it. They tell stories marked by massive suffering, great government control or the replacement of humanity by technology. We don’t always have to look to fiction to see examples.

That leaves a very wide swath of cinema to create. From science fiction looks into the distant future to cautionary tales of a world already recognizable in our present. This interest is renewed by current events and the imminent future that awaits us.

Recommended dystopian movies

Strange Days (1995)

The film takes place in a dystopian Los Angeles. In her People’s memories and experiences are recorded directly from their brains and sold on the black market. Anyone who has ever wanted to experience criminal activity or kinky sexual encounters can now do so without repercussions.

Tapes are the new drug for a society tired of everything, void of all motivation and unscrupulous. The film takes a turn when the detective turned black seller of these tapes, Lenny Nero (Ralph Fiennes), discovers a tape that describes the brutal murder of an acquaintance.

The Truman Show (1998)

This film presents a dystopian premise: Jim Carrey’s character has been inadvertently raised as a television star and only now has he begun to suspect that everyone in his life is a hired actor.

Everyone is hooked on Truman’s life, his intimacy is revealed in detail for viewers thirsty for human reality.

Truman is a hero and at the same time an unfortunate guinea pig in his own storybut his final challenge to his creative figure, performed with Ed Harris, forms one of the most beautiful and mythical acts of the last 20 years in cinema.

Gattaca (1997)

This masterpiece by Andrew Niccol envisions a near future in which almost all children are created in the laboratory and genetically modified to avoid any “imperfections” mental or physical. Ethan Hawke plays Vincent, a naturally conceived and therefore flawed “son of God.”

Vincent dreams of being a scientist who can fly into space, but his condition as a normal human only allows him to clean the place where projects are designed.

To pursue his ambitious career dreams, Vincent seeks the help of a DNA agent and assumes a new, genetically superior identity. Jerome’s character (Jude Law) will give him all the genetic traces necessary to deceive others.

All of the film’s visual elements help immerse viewers in a completely strange yet peculiarly familiar atmosphere. The film proposes a future with a new racism: genetic racism.

The Matrix (1999)

It is the contemporary work that has caused the most talk. Its argument is extremely complex and many of the issues raised at the time were totally surprising and new. It’s the best cyberpunk movie of all time. He turned Keanu Reeves into a leading figure in American cinema.

What if virtual reality wasn’t just for fun, but was used to dominate humanity? That’s the dilemma facing computer scientist Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves).

The year is 1999 and Anderson (aka Neo) meets Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), who reveals to him that Nothing that happens around him is real. Morpheus is convinced that Neo is the only one who can open The Matrix and lead his people to physical and psychological freedom.

The Road (2009)

The Road is a post-apocalyptic dramatic thriller about a father (Viggo Mortensen) and his son walking alone through a desolate and burned America, where there is nothing left.

The feeling of devastation when watching the film is absolute. Nothing moves in the landscape except the ash in the wind. It’s cold enough to break the stones and when it snows the little flakes are gray.

The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don’t know what awaits them there, if anything. They have nothing, only a gun to defend themselves from the lawless gangs that stalk the road. It is the representation of hell, a truly disturbing film.

A Quiet Place (2018)

In this modern horror thriller a family of four must live their lives in silence. The slightest noise can wake up strange creatures that have an ultra-developed sense of hearing. Mysterious creatures that hunt by sound threaten their survival. If they listen to you, they hunt you.

It is unknown where these mysterious creatures came from; It is speculated that its origin is some type of laboratory. His brutal killer instinct has already struck a death in the family.

Their mission is to develop a way of life in which they do not make any type of sound that is different from that of nature, which is why they communicate through sign language. If there is any mishap and they are heard, these creatures will attack the entire family.

The decline (2020)

The decline tells the story of a family man, Antoine, who is rehearsing how to act in a catastrophic situation.. To prepare, Antoine attends a survival training program taught by Alain, at a retreat where he can live self-sufficiently.

Anticipating a natural, economic, or social collapse, the group goes through drills meant to prepare them for apocalypses of all kinds. However, the catastrophe that awaits them has much more to do with their current human condition.

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