What would the world look like if the Electronic Frontier Foundation didn't exist? Perhaps like one of sci-fi cinema's most debilitating dystopias.

The nonprofit group has fought hard in the courts, and in the court of public opinion, for privacy, free speech, innovation and other indispensable digital rights ever since its 1990 founding by Mitch Kapor and John Perry Barlow.

With the EFF turning 21 this year, the foundation is staging an open-bar birthday blowout Wednesday in San Francisco's BAMM.tv studio. The party will feature chiptune and nerdcore artists Doctor Popular, Dual Core, Crashfaster and Trash80, as well as an interactive digital art exhibit. Donations of $30 ($25 for EFF members) are ideal, but no one will get bounced for lack of funds. Those who can't make the party in person can view the live stream on BAMM.tv.

To help prep you for the party conversation, Wired.com asked the EFF to name-drop its top nine cinematic dystopias exhibiting what the world might look like, now or later, if nobody fought the good fight for digital rights. Drop your own fearsome futurism in the comments section below.

Above:

Dystopian readout: Predictive crime-analysis technology forecasts an upswing in civil liberties violations.