The genre of dystopia – the ‘not good place’– has captured the imaginations of artists and audiences alike for centuries. But why do we bother with all this pessimism? Alex Gendler explains how dystopias act as cautionary tales – not about some particular government or technology, but the very idea that humanity can be molded into an ideal shape.

Nevermore Academy holds their annual competition for the Poe Cup. The various teams racing in the competition must choose their team name based on an Edgar Allan Poe short story. Each team is depicted bringing their short story of choice to life through their chosen competition strategy.

Nevermore Academy crafts an advertisement to promote the school. Throughout the advertisement, Edgar Allan Poe is depicted as one of Nevermore's famous alumni. The ad highlights Nevermore's inclusiveness on all things weird, supernatural, and horrific, all of which are ideals found in Edgar Poe's writing. Throughout the tour, symbols of Poe's work are seen in the raven sightings scattered throughout the video, as well as a statue of Poe holding a book and raven.

Immediately after Rango mentions the need for a hero to face conflict in a story, the car in which he's riding collides with an armadillo on the street, sending his tank out the back window. Rango finds himself in a desert without water, and he is evidently not adapted to this new hot and dry environment.

Wednesday is held hostage by her peers at the Nightshade Society headquarters. When questioned by the members, Wednesday explains that she was able to determine the location of the Nightshade entrance by solving a set of riddles. The riddle reveals that the entrance was a large statue of Edgar Allan Poe holding a book and a raven - an allusion to Poe's poem, "The Raven," as well as Poe's fascination for solving riddles and mysteries.