A silver lining on the mushroom cloud: Authors of dystopian sci-fi weigh in on 2020

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Nov 01, 2020 A silver lining on the mushroom cloud: Authors of dystopian sci-fi weigh in on 2020 Dystopian science fiction has long been a popular form of catharsis for audiences slogging through their present existence. In recent decades, movies have plumbed our fears of a future in which humanity has been devastated by societal collapse ("Mad Max"), technology run amok ("The Matrix") and a return to authoritarianism ("The Hunger Games"). For the most part, though, those cinematic visions have been more about popcorn than the kernels of truth. Then the calendar turned to 2020. "It seems like we have a lot of things piling up on each other in a way that wouldn't really be believable in a serious apocalypse movie or fiction," Scott Westerfeld, author of the young adult dystopian franchise "Uglies," said. Read More Get the NBC News Mobile App Follow NBC News Check out all of NBCNEWS Newsletters here. Update Preferences | Unsubscribe | Contact | Privacy Update Preferences Unsubscribe Contact Privacy