Planet Paprika

Planet Paprika is the title of a fantastic hit song by Shantel. I was at a loss on what to write tonight, and the song inspired me, so I decided to go with it and see where it takes me.

Imagine, instead of being from Planet Earth, a planet that is starting to bore us, annoy us, and exasperate us - through our own fault of course - being from Planet Paprika. 

What could Planet Paprika be like? 

The landscape would not only be green, some trees would be red and blue, and would borrow each others' color during the seasons' changing. The sky and the water would change their color depending on the population's mood. There won't be any buildings, only beautiful suburban houses painted with all kinds of colors. 

People would be generally happy and content. Nobody would be short of anything, everything will be provided to the comfort of the population, in exchange for 4 hours of work per day in a chosen trade or craft. 

Everyone would have an artistic talent, but only one, and they would be extremely good at it. Competition would serve to push people forward, but no one would be jealous or envious, the words won't even exist in Planet Paprika.

Food will be imported from Earth mainly, because that is one good thing about Earth that people of Planet Paprika like, but whatever they are eating, it is seasoned with Paprika of course, because Paprika for them is like water for Earth people, they can't survive without it. 

Paprika is a drug free planet, but alcohol is something its people enjoy making and drinking. They know how to have a good time, and they have a special Paprika mix to avoid hangovers. 

Parents and children in Planet Paprika have a very harmonious relationship. Children are granted a house each at their 18th birthday. They also get 20 Paprika dollars (equivalent to 20,000 USD) to furnish it.

Planet Paprika knows no religion. People aren't considered atheists though because they have no idea what religion is to begin with. They appreciate each other and respect one another as well as the rules of their community, that is about as religious as it gets for them. 

No conflicts arise in Paprika. There is no religion, no racism, and especially, no politics. They have no elections, no politicians and no public offices. Each family runs its own house and helps keeping order in the neighborhood. No one meddles in their neighbor's business, and peace reigns all over the planet.

People are allowed to choose whatever future they would like to have. They could be construction workers or bank managers, they would still be earning the exact same amount of money, and they will be happy doing what they do.

Traveling around Planet Paprika is free. Every individual is entitled to 5 days off per month, plus weekends, plus a full month of annual leave.

Education on Paprika is mandatory. Starting the age of twelve, each student must read at least one book a month, and start taking lessons to improve their artistic skills. They are all grateful for it when they turn eighteen.

Crimes do occur on Planet Paprika, but they are mostly small crimes, such as candy theft and the like. Murder is unheard of on Paprika, except for people who have been to Earth and brought back CSI DVDs as souvenir.

For entertainment, people of Planet Paprika throw huge block parties once, if not twice, every week. They also enjoy visiting art galleries and museums.

There are no fashion trends on Planet Paprika. People dress as they like and see fit. Negative comments and criticism are considered rude, and thus banned. 

The people of Planet Paprika are fit and well built. Other than the occasional headache, there are no illnesses, except for people who catch a cold or something similar while visiting Earth. It is usually treated with Paprika tea. People of Paprika die of old age, normally between 80 and 90 years old. Smokers tend to live to be a 100. 

I will leave the rest of Planet Paprika's aspects to your imagination, while I meditate on Aldoux Huxley's Brave New World and George Orwell's 1984; I believe these works are the true inspirations for this article.