Netflix’s dystopian sci-fi,Uglies, has the most outrageous solution to humanity’s biggest problems, but that’s entirely the point. The film is based on the 2005 book of the same name by author Scott Westerfeld, who followed up the story with two direct sequels,PrettiesandSpecials. The series was an intriguing YA hit, approaching the dystopian future in an entirely unique way. Of course, the process of adaptingUgliesinto a movie resulted in a somewhat different story, to the point that Westerfeld’s “Pretty” solution seems even more outrageous.
Theopening scene inUgliesprovides a look at all the things modern humans are doing to destroy the planet, accompanied by Tally’s voice (Joey King) explaining how we destroyed the world. It’s a lesson that the young teens of Tally’s city have been taught time and time again—that the constant need for people to be better than everyone else led to a greedy scramble for resources, wars, murders, and more. After society had all but collapsed, a solution was found to solve everything and create a utopia—make everyone beautiful, and no one would fight anymore.
Uglies Ending Explained: What That Final Tally Scene Really Means
Netflix’s sci-fi book adaptation, Uglies, ends with an ambiguous twist, leaving some questions about Tally that a potential sequel could answer.
Uglies' “Pretty” Solution Is One Of The Most Ridiculous Dystopian Society Fixes
Uglies' Big Societal Fix Looks Strange On The Surface (But That’s The Point)
From our perspective, the dystopian society solution inUgliesseems pretty outrageous. The idea is that if everyone in the world is beautiful, they would be too happy to fight. Combined with wholly renewable resources, this means that the perfect utopia is successfully achieved. Of course, theUgliesmovie ultimately reveals that it’s actually thebrain lesions making Pretties passiveand easy to control—not everyone’s contentedness with their own beauty. However,a common criticism of the Netflix sci-fi film is that Tally and her peers ever believed that simply being pretty had achieved peace on Earth, to begin with.
Tally’s City Is Brainwashed Into Thinking Being Pretty Fixed Everything
Being Pretty Was Never Really The Solution (It’s The Bait)
While theUgliesmoviegot the gist across, the “Pretty” solution seems a lot more unbelievable without Tally’s inner dialogue in the books. Sure, modern audiences know enough about beauty standards, war, and resources to recognize that being pretty wouldn’t fix anything. However, Tally’s teachers constantly told her about what a mess the world was centuries before, and she could use the evidence of her eyes to see that she had all the resources she would ever need. Then,she was told day after day that poverty and war no longer existed because everyone was beautiful—Tally had no reason to doubt it.
All Tally had to do was look at Uglies and Pretties to provide herself further evidence that this solution worked.
All Tally had to do was look at Uglies and Pretties to provide herself further evidence that this solution worked. Uglies were moody and messy, while Pretties were always happy and never fought. No one knew about the lesions, socenturies of societal brainwashing meant that everyone truly believed that being ugly was what made humans do bad things. The Pretty solution inUgliesissupposedto sound outrageous to audiences since the whole point of Tally’s story is, asWesterfeld himself said, “It’s not about the government oppressing you; it’s about the way that you oppress yourself.”
Uglies
Cast
In a futuristic society where everyone undergoes compulsory cosmetic surgery at 16 to become “pretty,” Tally eagerly awaits her transformation. However, when her friend goes missing, she embarks on a journey that challenges her beliefs about beauty, conformity, and rebellion, ultimately questioning the foundations of their world.
