All my life, I wanted to be pretty. Joey Kings Tally Youngblood recites those words in Uglies, Netflixs new dystopian teen drama. In a futuristic world, 16-year-olds undergo a cosmetic operation to become Pretties, a new version of themselves that satisfies societys beauty standards.

Pretties move across the river to live among one another in a community with no responsibilities or obligations. Without the surgery, people are known as Uglies. Tally has been dreaming of becoming a Pretty forever. But after learning about the governments nefarious reasons for the surgery, Tally questions everything shes ever known about her life.

Ugliesis an adaptation of the 2005 novel by author Scott Westerfeld. Its been a long and arduous process, but Westerfelds ideas in the book are finally on the big screen. In an interview with Digital Trends, Westerfeld discussed the dystopian boom of the 2000s, the dangers of social medias unrealistic beauty standards, and the importance of being our authentic selves.

Note: This article has been edited for length and clarity.

Digital Trends: I want to start with how youre feeling right now. Its definitely been a long process, to say the least. You wrote the book in the mid-2000s. Do the math, and its almost 20 years since 2005. Even filming wrapped up three years ago. How did you remain patient for so long with this project?

Scott Westerfeld: Well, I mean, it is kind of funny. First, there was a pandemic, and then there was a writers strike and an actors strike. I felt like everything has been thrown at this movie. But at the same time, there was a cast, a director, and Netflix, who were all super behind it. Theres a huge fan base out there who wanted it and kept asking for it. It just goes to show you that no matter how much global bad luck you have, you can still get a movie made if people are passionate about making it.

I feel Uglies came at the beginning of the young adult teen boom. You have Harry Potterbefore [Uglies], and then the Hunger Games and Divergentafter it. Why do young adult books and their themes remain so popular with teens?

What Ive always liked about writing for teenagers is that the amplitude of their emotions is very high. Like, the best day when youre a teenager is amazing and incredible. But a bad day is really, really bad. Its like the end of the world. You can write these big dramatic sweeps [for teens] that adults dont really have. Were a little bit more regulated in our emotions. Were a little bit more boring in our lives. So it lends itself to natural drama.

I think the dystopian boom that Uglies was pretty much at the front of is also about the way teenagers exist in the world. That theyre under the control of other people. I always used to say that five little kids in your store is cute, and five adults in your store is good business, but five teenagers is a time to call the cops. [laughs] Theres this sense that teenagers are not old enough to be under the rule of law and not young enough to push them around. Theyre dangerous, and I think they feel that. They know that theyre on enemy territory, so dystopian stories make a lot of sense to them.

Uglies | Official Trailer | Netflix Did you have any non-negotiables when adapting the book to the screen? As an executive producer, were there one or two things where you said something has to go in no matter what?

The most important thing was for it to not look like every other dystopian movie. Because most movies about a dystopia are about being punched in the face every day. They are stormtroopers with big truncheons, riot shields, black helmets, and boots. That is not what Uglies is about. Its not about the government oppressing you; its about the way that you oppress yourself.

Its about the way you are seduced into wanting something and to give up part of yourself to get that thing. Its a lot more like the world we live in now than some world in the future. Trying to make sure that it [the setting] didnt look like a big prison camp was really important to me. In fact, it looks more like a big, giant playground, and thats what I love about it.

You mentioned timing. I dont want to say it was a blessing in disguise because Im sure you would have liked Uglies to come out earlier, but, it [the movie] fits in with todays themes of beauty and image. Was this the perfect time for it to come out?

Yeah. I think that if it had come out 20 years ago, it would have been about plastic surgery. Now, its about all this other stuff. Its about social media and the way that we Facetune ourselves, and change and present ourselves online, and try to make ourselves look like movie stars every freaking day when were not. Its this idea that were expressing ourselves when we make content, but were not really expressing our authentic selves.

Sometimes, were sad. Sometimes, were boring. Sometimes, we didnt get the best latte in the world, but we pretend like we did. That yassification of our life creates such a demand, especially for young people. I think that thats what Pretties is about now. Not so much plastic surgery, but digital surgery.

I even find myself trying to stay off the internet as much as I can, even though were doing it right now. You try and give yourself a little break, but its hard.

No, its wild. [laughs]

I want to talk about the famous line Joey says toward the end. Im Tally Youngblood. Make me pretty. Its very powerful the way she delivers it. How did you come up with that line? Did you know early on in your process that it would be one of the final lines?

Thats interesting. I mean, it is the final line of the movie, and its the final line of the book. That was really good. That was really important to me that it works that way. Theres a funny thing where the last line of Uglies is pretty, the last line of Pretties is special, and the last line of Specials is ugly. [laughs] I hope we get to keep that little thing because I put that in there thinking no one would notice it. And of course, people do notice it because people notice everything.

Its [the final line] about the fact that everything that happens is linked to the next thing that happens. The end of every story is the beginning of the next story. And I think thats how life works. Its how trends work, and its how the future works. The solutions to our last problems are our next problems.

Uglies is now streaming on Netflix.

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