- A futuristic setting with amazing technological advancements
- A back story involving war, revolution or some variety of natural disaster which changed the old systems so the new dictatorship could take over
- A hero from this society who feels there is something wrong with the way it is run and fights to change the accepted order
- A figure of conflict who represents everything that the dystopia promotes
- A group of people who are not under the state's control; the hero puts his (or her) hopes in this band of rebels.
- A climax followed by the sense that everything is not completely resolved in the end.
I recognize most of the above elements from the movie: 2001: A Space Odyssey, especially the futuristic setting with the technological advancements. The City of Ember fits most of these because it has a back story that involves an apocalyptic event or a war or event of some sort. It also fits the futuristic setting even though it doesn't have much advanced technology.