10 Lessons From Real-Life Revolutions That Fictional Dystopias Ignore

io9 ^ | 9/16/14 | Esther Inglis-Arkell

[ctdonath2]

Today's genre books are full of future dystopias, which only have one weakness: teenagers. And everybody knows that most dystopias are kind of contrived. But here are 10 lessons from real-life rebellions against repressive regimes, that we wish the creators of fictional dystopias would pay attention to.

10. The Enemy of Your Enemy Is Not Your Friend

[snip]

9. The Top Guy Isn't Always the Problem

[snip]

8. Sometimes Making Concessions Leads To Rebellion

[snip]

7. Two Downtrodden Groups Will Usually Be Fighting Each Other

[snip]

6. Never Neglect the Practicalities

[snip]

5. New Regimes Come With Crazy Ideology

[snip]

4. Revolutions Take Place on a World Stage

[snip]

3. Violent Conflicts Keep Cropping Up From Within

[snip]

2. Fear Alone Can Precipitate the Explosion

[snip]

1. Afterwards There Will Be Mythology for the Losing Side

[snip]

[ctdonath2]

This is relevant to both writing literature, and to predicting how looming real-world revolutions will start & play out. While we're sitting around opining about the proper law-abiding high-culture basis to revolution may be and who the well-defined participants involve, remember that it may break forth for bizarre & mundane reasons, joining or pitting strange combinations of participants. My preferred term is "the nuts move first": initial actors won't be clear thinkers who have exhausted all preferred options, it will be those not inclined to think it thru any further and just start lashing out.

[thackney]

My preferred term is "the nuts move first": initial actors won't be clear thinkers who have exhausted all preferred options, it will be those not inclined to think it thru any further and just start lashing out.

[Buckeye McFrog]

5. New Regimes Come With Crazy Ideology

Beautifully portrayed in the Woody Allen film Bananas.
Half an hour after seizing power the new dictator was announcing that all underwear now must be worn on the
outside, and the new official language was Swedish.

[sauropod]

.

[Bill93]

The nuts are behind schedule.

[rarestia]

No, they’re not. The nuts are in charge. That’s part of the problem.

[GeronL]

bump

[GeronL]

I think Robespierre and his year-long idiocracy was proof enough

[GeronL]

exactly!

Where are my nuts!??

//kidding

[ctdonath2]

Ya lost 'em here:

[Brother Cracker]

“Singin' in the Rain”

[Bill93]

Well, I suppose you’re right. Still, watching the tyranny unfold you’d think somebody would’ve snapped by now.

[GeronL]

festival? dang

[Springfield Reformer]

Ping for reference

[rarestia]

We all do, sometimes many times a day. The difference is that “snapping” in the past meant going on a very visible rampage. “Snapping” today means posting a lot of swear words on a public Internet forum.