Thoughtful Response by @intelwire to our essay on the positive side of dystopian fiction
https://slate.com/technology/2020/07/dystopian-fiction-coronavirus-pandemic.html

Think our primary divergence would be 1) categorization (what is in it or not), quality (IE, perhaps we should have said "good" as a caveat vs dreck), 3) agency https://twitter.com/intelwire/status/1285274898689150978

Indeed, agency is elemental; without the character choices, there is no story. And that agency has an effect that usually ends positive, even in dystopian. Sometimes effect is world changing (most stories), or small, just to another character or themselves.

E.G. I can't think of a bleaker dystopian tale than The Road, from start to middle to that dam ending. But even in it, The Father saves the Son