Bong Joon-Ho's dystopian sci-fi movie, Okja, seems to take satire to a new level. There are movies that present a distorted image of the current world by painting a picture of a society of the future, but Okja does it in somewhat of a twisted way considering just how innocent the story starts off.
The stellar cast (with such big names as Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano, and Jake Gyllenhaal) brings to life the troubled characters of this cautionary tale. Luckily for fans of the feature, there are other similar satirical sci-fi movies that explore other similar potentially dangerous topics in their own way.
Sorry To Bother You (2018) - Available On Hulu
The recent dark comedy Sorry to Bother You features such actors as LaKeith Stanfield and Tessa Thompson, who were particularly praised by critics for their performances. The movie explores such topics as racism, capitalism, and false consciousness, among others.
Stanfield plays a young Black telemarketer who aspires to advance his career by using a white accent. At the same time, he is torn between living in the status quo and joining his activist friends in their quest to organize labor.
The Platform (2019) - Available On Netflix
Netflix's The Platform has become a huge hit. This social sci-fi horror movie focuses more on the social aspect of its world, rather than its technological details and it examines such topics as overconsumption and inequality through the use of metaphor.
The film takes place entirely in a tower-like building known as The Management Center which has multiple floors, each occupied by two people participating in an experiment. Every 30 days, the people are placed on a different floor, which directly influences how much food they are able to get from a platform that moves through all the floors from up to down every day.
Snowpiercer (2013) - Available On Netflix
Before Okja, Bong Joon-Ho's Snowpiercer was the director's English-language debut and features a cast with big names like Chris Evans, Tilda Swinton, Jamie Bell, Octavia Spencer, Ed Harris, and Bong's long-time favorite, Song Kang-Ho. Based on a French graphic novel, the movie can be considered a part of the climate fiction genre, as it deals with climate change while also covering such topics as class, violence, and sacrifice among others.
Set in a dystopian future where Earth's climate has changed to eternal winter, the story takes place completely on a train known as Snowpiercer. The train is constantly in motion to prevent freezing and the only survivors live in it. Tired of poverty, the passengers from the tail section rebel against the wealthy passengers of the section closer to the head of the train.
Starship Troopers (1997) - Available On Starz, FuboTV, & DirecTV
Paul Verhoeven's Starship Troopers was actually a critical failure upon release before it was reevaluated and is now considered a classic of political satire and military sci-fi, covering such topics as propaganda and fascism.
Based on the novel of the same name, it follows three young friends recruited into futuristic space military forces as mankind wages a war against an alien race known as the Arachnids.
The Lobster (2015) - Available On Showtime, Kanopy, & Hoopla
Yorgos Lanthimos' The Lobster is among the most recent examples of social sci-fi that seamlessly blends elements of dystopia and dark comedy. The movie specifically satirizes society's attitude towards relationships and imagines a world in the recent future where they are at the center of everything.
The story takes place in a world where single people are given a period of 45 days to find a partner. If a person doesn't manage to do this, they get turned into an animal. The protagonist is tasked to find a romantic partner, but it turns out to be more difficult than it first seems.
They Live (1988) - Available On Peacock
John Carpenter's action masterpiece, They Live, has long been considered a cult film. And yet, at the time of its release, it was received negatively by critics specifically for its social commentary on capitalism and consumerism.
The story follows a drifter who discovers a special pair of glasses that lets him see hidden messages in mass media and ads. At the same time, the glasses let him see which people are actually aliens in disguise, manipulating humans to follow the status quo by consuming and breeding.
Total Recall (1990) - Available On Netflix
Another one of Verhoeven's works, Total Recall is one of Arnold Schwarzenegger's most memorable roles. The social commentary of the movie lies in its exploration of identity and memory, while satirizing conservative 1980s action cinema and the problematic political landscape of the time.
Set in 2084, the film follows a construction worker who decides to get virtual vacation memories of his inexistent trip to Mars. One feature he chooses for the memories is to be traveling to Mars as a secret agent. But as memories are implanted and something goes wrong, he starts believing that he is, in fact, a secret agent on a real mission - and this could actually be true.
RoboCop (1987) - Available On Showtime, FuboTV, & DirecTV
Yet another one of Verhoeven's creations, RoboCop is a classic example of sci-fi satire that also happens to pose philosophical questions to its audience. The movie discusses themes that range from identity, humanity, and masculinity to corporate greed, corruption, and authority.
The story takes place in the near future in a crime-ridden Detroit. Alex Murphy is a police officer who is brutally shot to death by a gang of criminals and is perceived dead by everyone, but the government saves parts of his upper body and makes him a cyborg law enforcer known as RoboCop.
District 9 (2009) - Available On Starz & DirecTV
Neill Blomkamp's debut feature, District 9, is one of the best sci-fi movies in recent years, as well as one of the most recent found-footage movies that any fan of the genre will love. The picture explores such themes as social segregation and xenophobia, as well as racism and humanity.
In an alternate 1982, an alien spaceship arrives at Johannesburg, South Africa, and a sick alien crew is discovered in it. Twenty years later, the alien population has been living in a special District 9 set up by the local government. As the aliens are being relocated to a different camp, one of them plans to escape the planet with their son and, incidentally, crosses paths with the bureaucrat in charge of the relocation.
Brazil (1985) - Available To Buy From Prime Video, Google Play, & iTunes
Perhaps the most well-known satirical sci-fi movie, Terry Gilliam's Brazil satirizes a wide selection of topics including corporatism, bureaucracy, state capitalism, technocracy, and hyper-surveillance among others.
Taking place in a dystopian future where people depend on poorly maintained machines, the story follows a low-ranking bureaucrat who keeps seeing the same woman in his dreams and attempts to find her as he gets in trouble and struggles at his boring job.