What is a bubblegum dystopia? Washington’s capitalistic nightmare.

Imagine Washington cities awash in vibrant, saturated colors. Advertisements everywhere, even being beamed straight to your phone based on your tracking data. Natural spaces like parks and rivers are lined with lights and entertainment. Food is mostly lab-grown. Farmer's markets are gone. And everywhere you walk, you're being judged: do you have the latest fashion and tech? How wealthy are you?

That could be the bubblegum dystopia of the future.

What is a bubblegum dystopia?

Writer Stephen Nothum explains bubblegum dystopia as a "zany dystopian satire." The term came about from the design of the movie The Zero Theorem, which contrasts a dystopian story with a bright, saturated urban environment.

Nothum goes on to say that such a dystopia is ruled by a "totalitarian corporate entity," where the world is "vibrant and convenient but hollow." It's an exaggeration of consumerism. Nothum suggests that Fahrenheit 451, The Lego Movie, and Barbie are all examples of modern media portrayals of a bubblegum dystopia.

I thought of one more example Nothum missed: Wall-E. (If you still haven't seen this film, spoilers ahead).

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In Wall-E, our robot protagonist eventually finds humans living in a highly capitalistic, corporatized society. Each person practically lives in floating chairs, glued to screens, fed fast food, easily able to order new things to fit whatever  trend the corporation deems will sell next. Their life has become comfortable, cyclical, and meaningless.

Has Washington State fallen into a bubblegum dystopia?

Think of all the major companies that call Seattle home. We've got it all, from Amazon to Zillow. While tech giants like Google, Meta, and Apple may be in California, their competitor Microsoft is based in Washington.

Statistically speaking:

• The Seattle metro area spends significantly more on entertainment that the average US city.
• Washington's unemployment rates are higher than the U.S. average.
• 10% of our population is in poverty.
• Personal consumption in Washington State increased over 9% between 2021 and 2022 alone.
• Vancover, Spokane, and Tacoma rank in the top 100 "Most Stressed" cities based on WalletHub data.

Seattle, like Portland, pushes itself forward as a liberal city. Seattle's consumerism, on the surface, is certainly not on par with Los Angeles or New York, where capitalism is on full display. Yet it's hard to ignore the signs of the wealthy in Seattle, whether it's the towering corporate buildings or the late night Hellcat - a literal show of wealth.

Has Washington State become a bubblegum dystopia?

Late stage capitalism. There, I said it: the buzzword sweeping progressive spaces. Realistically, the state of our capitalistic society is still a distance away from the bubblegum dystopia - even if money and lobbying sways our politicians and directs our general country's narrative. We're still fighting out our political squabbles the old fashioned American way, after all - this election year proves that.

What our current Washington life does show, however, is a window into what could be a bubblegum dystopia - if we sat back and let it. YouGov's recent poll into how Americans feel about monopolies, however, and the value of big companies, shows that as a people, we're still very resistant to letting any corporation have too much power. The majority of respondents indicated that they believed that capitalism needs competition to work and that no company should be too big to fail. With that sentiment, no one's likely to allow a corporate dictatorship any time soon.

What do you think?

Hit us up in the app and let us know how you feel! If you're still not sure, check out the resources below:

Listen to Stephen Nothum's full explanation of "bubblegum dystopia" here:

If you'd like to think more about the economics of Wall-E, check out this analysis: