Divergent is marketed as a Dystopia, but it seems to miss the fundamental part of dystopian literature, which is commentating on an aspect of society that could lead to it’s downfall. It’s supposed to be relevant to our current world to some extent. In The Handmaid’s Tale, misogyny/the dehumanization of women is talked about. In Hunger Games, it’s about our society’s love for violence and war/how easy it is to dehumanize people, which is relevant to today’s society. In 1984 it’s a lack of individual thought. What exactly is Divergent’s overarching message? How did we get to this world in which people are divided into 4 groups based on one personality trait?
Idk the series should’ve been marketed as maybe a fantasy or action but even then it misses the mark. It just seems very shallow. Like the characters are not well thought out at all, not even Tris and Tobias who are supposed to be since they’re divergent. The writing also isn’t great, it honestly just seems like the series was just a cash grab because YA dystopian literature was popular at the time
Whenever I watch or read something about a dystopian future, I need the dystopia to make sense in order to be invested. I can see the logic in Hunger Games; keep the workers as oppressed as possible while the elite live in luxury. In The Handmaid’s Tale, the subjugation of women makes sense as a way for the patriarchy to retain dominance. In Divergent, however, what did the oppressive dystopian government have to gain from arbitrarily segregating the population based on dominant personality traits? What would be the point of going to all that effort? There is a lot wrong with Divergent, but that stuck out to me the most.