8 Things You Always See in Those Dystopian Future Movies

Updated on 11/20/2015 at 4:19 PM

Divergent. The Hunger Games. The Maze Runner. What do all these movies have in common (besides making a ton of money at the box office)? Well, actually, a lot. Of course there's the obvious — they're all franchises based on bestselling YA trilogies, they all take place in a dystopian future with a corrupt government, etc. But the similarities don't end there, and the more of these movies I see, the more I find myself asking "This again?"

A Confusing New Environment Within the Dystopian Society

It's always the future, the government is corrupted, and society is basically looks post-apocalyptic. But then the hero gets to discover a newer, more confusing place within that place. Got it?

The Maze Runner: The movie opens with Thomas waking up in a complicated maze, having no idea how he got there.
Divergent: Tris grows up in the Abnegation faction, but switches to Dauntless, which opens up a whole new world for her.
The Hunger Games: Katniss is forced to leave her district and enter the arena for The Games, which is redesigned by the Gamemakers each year.

Teen-on-Teen Violence

The Hunger Games certainly takes the cake with kid-on-kid death, but it's hardly the only franchise showcasing pretty graphic violence.

Divergent: For training, Dauntless kids are forced to beat each other to pulps.
The Hunger Games: This entire franchise is built on kids fighting to the death for national amusement. 'Nuff said.
The Maze Runner: This is the least brutal of the three, but it's not without some serious Lord of the Flies moments that leaves some of the poor kids dead.

A Veteran Actor in a Position of Power

The big baddie is usually the most recognizable and prestigious actor in the movie — at least the first movie. (That's why they get all the power, duh.)

The Hunger Games: Donald Sutherland
Divergent: Kate Winslet
The Maze Runner: Patricia Clarkson

A Nickname For the Hero/Heroine

There's always a lot of reinvention involved in these movies, which is to be expected in coming-of-age stories.

The Maze Runner: Thomas quickly earns the nickname "Greenie" for being brand-new to the maze.
The Hunger Games: Katniss's best friend, Gale, affectionately refers to her as "Catnip," then she's "The Girl on Fire," and eventually she becomes "The Mockingjay."
Divergent: Tris often gets labeled "Stiff" for being Abnegation-born.

Buzzwords

Hoping to spice up your vocabulary? You've come to the right place!

Divergent: In the Divergent series, you'll learn the meaning to words like Divergent, Abnegation, and factionless.
The Hunger Games: The Hunger Games is not only littered with strange names like Peeta and Haymitch, but you'll also find out what an Avox is, as well as Jabberjays and muttations.
The Maze Runner: This franchise features such unfamiliar words as Gladers, Grievers, and Track-hoes.

The Need to Break All the Rules

The hero is always a rebel, even if he/she doesn't start out that way.

The Maze Runner: Thomas is ordered not to run into the maze. Thomas proceeds to run into the maze after what feels like five minutes.
The Hunger Games: The list of rules Katniss breaks is too long to list; it's how she becomes the Mockingjay and starts her own revolution.
Divergent: Being Divergent is pretty much breaking the rules in and of itself, so Tris doesn't have much choice.

The Traumatizing Loss of an Ally

It's pretty much guaranteed that the protagonist will lose one of their only allies (not the hot love interest, of course), in the opening movie.
As seen in:

The Hunger Games: Katniss makes an alliance with young Rue, but can't save her from death in the arena.
Divergent: Tris is forced to kill Will, one of her best friends in Dauntless, when he is under Erudite's control.
The Maze Runner: Thomas's first friend in the maze, Chuck, tragically sacrifices himself to save Thomas.

A Damn Good-Looking Love Interest

Don't get me wrong, the hero/heroine is always very attractive too.

Divergent: Tris gets to hook up with Four, who is played by the superhot Theo James. (See exhibit A above.)
The Hunger Games: Katniss has not one but two cute guys to choose from: Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) and Gale (Liam Hemsworth).
The Maze Runner: Thomas and Teresa (Kaya Scodelario) don't really get together in the first movie, but we all know it's going there.