: I think what's being missed here is the idea that what makes something a "perfect" world is not the same for everyone. If you want an example of a utopia, try The Wizard of Oz and the

@Debbie451

Vote Up Vote Down

I think what's being missed here is the idea that what makes something a "perfect" world is not the same for everyone.

If you want an example of a utopia, try The Wizard of Oz and the subsequent 13 original Oz novels by L. Frank Baum. The Wizard of Oz was once called by a reviewer (whom I can't find at the moment, sorry) something to the effect of "the best kind of fairy tale for children, with all the goodness in and all the bad parts taken out."

Oz as portrayed in all 14 Baum novels is a utopia. Just the right amount of rain falls when it's needed. Everyone has food, shelter, and clothing. There's no money or debt. And yet there's still conflict and adventure, even just within Oz and not having to introduce extra-Ozian characters.

Baum liked to create villages of beings which exemplified some trait he wanted to parody or point out. There was the village of Flutterbudgets, who are people who worry hysterically over nothing, and the Rigmaroles, people who make sequipedalian and unnecessarily long-winded oratories. As long as they stayed in their own villages, the narration noted, they didn't bother anyone else. But when Dorothy came to visit, since she wasn't like them, conflict ensued.

Some of the internal conflict in Oz books came when an individual or a group decided they weren't satisfied with what they had and wanted to take power or possessions from someone else. That group's idea of "perfect" conflicted with the rest of Oz's "perfect."

Just because your world, society, etc. is "perfect" doesn't mean everyone is happy, or satisfied, or content, or fulfilled. The Shaggy Man is very happy in the Emerald City, but he's a wanderer, and insists on travelling even when he has a suite of rooms in the palace and is loved by everyone. His perfect world is to be in motion but to still have a home to return to. Polychrome, the Rainbow's Daughter, constantly slides off her bow and gets lost on land in Oz, and her conflict is that she needs to get home again.

Change your givens and you can usually find what you need to get a story going.

(0)

Login to post a comment!