Recently, we read that imagining a dystopian future is more frequently a critique of the socioeconomic conditions that exist today, and Black Knight is a prime example of this. Anything that is futuristic and framed in a system of extreme injustice is referred to as dystopian. However, if we glance around, we see that it has already come to pass. An unequal power structure is the basis of all injustice, and the universe of Black Knight serves as a representation of how it is in existence today. As a result, while making significant strides in science and technology, humanity are unable to evolve as a society. This is the basis for the vision of a dystopian future. It is quite astounding how diligently humans can explore the beauties of nature while also using those same miracles against nature. It comes from the global capitalism mentality that only a small portion of people are deserving of a prosperous life. The majority of the time, if the underprivileged and destitute were considered when dispensing any new technology for human use, their discovery or development would be made sustainable by nature.
Otherwise, why is chemical waste put in bodies of water? Because those who can afford it are not required to drink packaged mineral water. Why else don’t we enforce air pollution regulations more strictly? Because those who can afford air conditioners and summer vacations in cooler locations are spared from breathing in harmful air. Tragically, capitalism has persuaded us that fundamental freedoms like access to clean water, food, and air must be acquired. As was the case with the world in Black Knight, the luckiest or most fortunate people survive, not the strongest. The firm, Cheonmyeong, which generated oxygen, the most important resource, had a monopoly over practically everything, including the ability to influence government policies. The planet had been divided into three districts. Numerous crimes committed by Cheonmyeong were never looked into since this corporation created something that even the most powerful needed to survive. Because there was virtually no other method to investigate Ryu Seok‘s cold-blooded murder of all those refugees, the investigation was never done in an official capacity. Second only to his father, the Chairman, in terms of authority in this new society, Ryu Seok was aware of his own greatness. The president appeared to have little influence, and she exhibited a general lack of interest in what was going on around her. She had the impression that whether she supported Ryu Seok or the Chairman, their actions would be unaffected by her decision. The grim truth of today is that political power is subject to the whims of capitalists, not some ominous future event.
In the three districts, the population distribution is comparable to today’s. There is the central area, where residents may breathe pure air and have everything they need. The middle class, which is roughly equivalent to Special Districts, is another group that suffers with daily life and is perpetually torn between necessity and aspiration. The lowest classes, like those in the General Districts, who only want to get by, finally arrive. All they want is to have enough money to live a respectable life. Refugees are a group of people who live on the periphery of society. These are the folks who would be forced to forgo food or oxygen if they could not afford ideas like dignity and justice.
In the television show Black Knight, Sa Wol is shown to be curious about how those who have access to decent meals on a daily basis vary from others who do not. He is raising concerns about the generational privileges of social class and wealth, which are still relevant today. Recall how Ryu Seok contaminated the atmosphere to maintain a continual need for oxygen, maintaining Cheonmyeong’s profitability? He was contaminating the air of the lower and middle classes rather than that of the central business district. The poor and middle class are frequently the target market for most things, whether they are necessary or not, but they are the ones whose money lines the pockets of the wealthy in today’s society. They are, nonetheless, the ones who are most disadvantaged. We found other similarities as well, though. Take note of how the abduction of the mutants makes one think about illicit organ trafficking. People from lower socioeconomic groups are typically the ones who are abducted because most of their relatives lack the means to search for them and even the media is unlikely to pay notice. The receivers of these organs are typically wealthy individuals who have jumped the queue.
There is a reason why the idea of hope is so overused in society. It’s because we are left with no other option as a result of the great class divide’s inequities. The problem is that there shouldn’t be a prerequisite for optimism in the first place. Why do things like food, water, air, and education need to be earned? The bare needs of life are what they are. However, eugenicists like Ryu Seok would go so far as to claim that not everyone has a right to life. If the refugees were to be included in the relocation plans, he informed his father that there wouldn’t be enough air for them. However, it didn’t seem to be the case because there appeared to be sufficient resources to offset the pollution he was personally creating. Hard reasoning is not followed by people like Ryu Seok, or, if we may be so bold, by people who think that something like to a poverty mindset exists without taking into account actual cultural and generational privileges. Despite the availability of all available information, such people nonetheless exist. Because it suits them better than reality, they prefer the fantasy of their own grandeur. Unfortunately, these are the people who hold positions of authority, and unless society as a whole matures, nothing will ever change.
