Question

How does the author use the analogy of “funhouse mirrors” to help readers understand dystopian fiction?

Answer 1

Answer:

By using it as a metaphor of how dystopian fiction is based on the reality of our societies which is also distorted in order to point out a particular flaw that might turn that distortion into the new normal. The author starts by explaining how funhouse mirrors work with the reflection of the persons body and how such distorted reflection reveals a particular flaw such as the nose that is a little large and that is the most visible element of the distortion. "You dont notice that your nose is a little large until you take a picture with that filter and compare" (Ostergaard Commonlit). Then she draws the parallel with society, in which society is the body which flaws are going to be distorted by the allegorical fun mirror of dystopian fiction. Such a flaw may be surveillance (1984), the invasive and deleterious effects of reality TV (The Hunger Games) or eugenics (Gattaca, Brave New World). The flaw is magnified until the image becomes monstrous just like the societal flaw is enhanced until society becomes a dystopian nightmare.

Answer 2

By using it as a metaphor of how dystopian fiction is based on the reality of our societies which is also distorted in order to point out a particular flaw that might turn that distortion into the new normal. The author starts by explaining how funhouse mirrors work with the reflection of the person’s body and how such distorted reflection reveals a particular flaw such as the “nose that is a little large” and that thus is the most visible element of the distortion. Then she draws the parallel with society, in which society is the body which flaws are going to be distorted by the allegorical “fun mirror” of dystopian fiction. Such flaw may be surveillance (1984), the invasive and deleterious effects of reality TV (The Hunger Games) or eugenics (Gattaca, Brave New World). The flaw is magnified until the image becomes “monstrous” just like the societal flaw is enhanced until society becomes a dystopian nightmare.