Dystopian Fiction Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Brett Josef Grubisic, Gisèle M. Baxter, and Tara Lee, eds. Blast, Corrupt, Dismantle, Erase: Contemporary North American Dystopian Literature. Waterloo: WLUP, 2014. 480 pp.

O presente ensaio analisa a construção da identidade e suas formas de subversão representadas na narrativa literária O conto da aia (1985), de Margaret Atwood, observando como o narrar a si e ao mundo pode abrir possibilidades de crítica... more

O presente ensaio analisa a construção da identidade e suas formas de subversão representadas na narrativa literária O conto da aia (1985), de Margaret Atwood, observando como o narrar a si e ao mundo pode abrir possibilidades de crítica ao vivido, bem como as barreiras que os discursos não podem ultrapassar. Percebe-se que o espaço subversivo ocorre apenas no plano discursivo, no qual a personagem mostra resistência ao sistema por não permitir o esquecimento de si ao narrar-se mesmo representando o papel social ao qual foi designada.

Dystopian short stories about technology and totalitarianism. Part I of a duology.

This article addresses the charge that the introduction of the electric light in the late nineteenth century increased disruptions to the human body's biological processes and interfered with the oscillating sleeping-waking cycle. By... more

This article addresses the charge that the introduction of the electric light in the late nineteenth century increased disruptions to the human body's biological processes and interfered with the oscillating sleeping-waking cycle. By considering the nineteenth century research into the factors that motivate and disrupt sleep in concert with contemporary discussions of the physiology of street lighting, this article exposes how social and political forces shaped the impact of artificial light on sleep and, more perniciously, on bodily autonomy. As a close reading of artificial light in three influential dystopian novels building on these historical contexts demonstrates, dystopian fiction challenges the commonplace assumption that the advent of the electric light, or of widespread street lighting in public urban spaces, posed an immediate or inherent threat to sleep. Beginning with H. G. Wells's The Sleeper Awakes (1899), in which the eponymous sleeper emerges from a cataleptic trance into a future in which electric light and power are used to control the populace, representations of artificial light in early dystopian fiction of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries depict a nightmare of total illumination in which the state exerted its control over the individual. In Aldous Huxley's Brave New World (1932), constant artificial illumination plays a vital role in the chemical and behavioural conditioning undergone by individuals in a post-Fordian world. George Orwell intensifies this relationship between light and individual autonomy in Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), where access to electric current (and thus light) is limited at certain times of the day, brownouts and electrical rationing occur intermittently, and total illumination is used to torture and reprogram individuals believed to have betrayed Big Brother.

A review of Waubgeshig Rice's novel, Moon of the Crusted Snow

An anlysis of the dystopian aspects of TV seiries Black Mirror.

Review of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick

The article Worlds of Lords of Logos. Dystopian Narratives in Literary Fiction revisits fundamental terminological discrepancies functioning within utopian studies in order to propose a world-centered model for analyzing (e)u-/dystopian... more

The article Worlds of Lords of Logos. Dystopian Narratives in Literary Fiction revisits fundamental terminological discrepancies functioning within utopian studies in order to propose a world-centered model for analyzing (e)u-/dystopian narratives. First and foremost, the text proposes to focus on utopian storyworlds rather than storylines and to determine their axiolog-ical attribution (i.e. whether they are ideal, eutopian, or non-ideal, dystopian) not by follow-ing a specific genre pattern, but by interacting with them as if they were not separated from the empirical reality. Utopia would, therefore, become eutopia or dystopia only when judged as such by the reader or focalizer, in their hermeneutic meeting with the text. Secondly, it will be argued that utopias and dystopias prove striking similarity from the world-building per-spective, as they either utilize a travel narrative to guide the protagonist from empirical to counterempirical world, or shape an equivalent heterotopia, translating this dual-world opposi-tion into a topography of the walled off asylum and a surrounding wasteland. Since there is nothing positive nor negative in such a way of world-building, any axiological valorization (and, thereby, a recognition of either eu-, or dystopia) would appear only when provided by the character narrator, who can either come from within (in an inclusive type of utopian narra-tive), or from without (in an adaptative type of utopian narrative) the (e)u-/dystopian world. Consequently, the paper will provide tools for interpreting utopias as eutopias or dystopias, along with a selection of world-building and philosophical categories potentially helpful at describing the imagery of dystopian storyworlds comprising the artificial paradise, “todetitis”, conjuration of reality, the fouding lie, anamorphotic illusion of ideal reality, or the eponymous lordship of logos.

Automata (2014), is a dystopian film that reveals postmodern tendencies around the materialization and conceptualization of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari’s philosophical notions like territority, deterritorialization,... more

Automata (2014), is a dystopian film that reveals postmodern tendencies around the materialization and conceptualization of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari’s philosophical notions like territority, deterritorialization, reterritorialization. Deterritorialization becomes the key element of the film as it describes displacement, emplacement and replacement of human and automata in both geographical and individual aspects. Humans emigrate from radioactive places to narrow zones, also from human to automaton which becomes more human than human. On the other hand automata move over inversely from narrow zones to radioactive places, from slavery to freedom and from automata to human.
This paper discusses the future design of Automata, in which human beings and automata, the innate and design reciprocate roles, focusing on its content built by many deterritorializations and reterritorializations between biological, geographical, intellectual and ideological territories. It explores the film as a cultural text revealing a postmodern discourse through its transitions between territories and searches the meaning of this transition as a postmodern fact both in positive and negative aspects. It searches viability and importance of these notions in a postmodern reality and analyzes how Automata uses them through its content.

This article attempts to portray how a contemporary young adult literature entitled The Giver (Lowry, 1993) illustrates the operation of state apparatus in a dystopian setting of time and place. Applying Althusser's theory of state... more

This article attempts to portray how a contemporary young adult literature entitled The Giver (Lowry, 1993) illustrates the operation of state apparatus in a dystopian setting of time and place. Applying Althusser's theory of state apparatuses, the study particularly focuses on a prominent issue of Ideological State Apparatuses (ISA) which is operated within the The Giver's society. Descriptive qualitative research is applied to interpret the data in the novel. The result of this study reveals that the novel draws ISA as a tool to control and to maintain the dominance in this dystopian community. The ISA operates through training system, particular rule of language used by the community, media censorship, and family's role.

Student Learning Outcomes Students will be able to— 1. Demonstrate familiarity with Plato’s concepts of the ideal society as described in his Republic 2. Demonstrate familiarity with the Socratic method of inquiry 3. Argue whether or... more

Student Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to—
1. Demonstrate familiarity with Plato’s concepts of the ideal society as described in his Republic
2. Demonstrate familiarity with the Socratic method of inquiry
3. Argue whether or not the society portrayed in Genesis is “ideal” (why or why not)
4. Construct a definition of what it means to be “human” and argue whether or not animal life or artificial intelligence can ever approach that definition (why or why not)

My presentation collects a canon of dystopian comics appeared in Italian comics’ magazines during the so-called ‘dystopian turn’, that is, ‘the growing shift in cultural production towards dystopia, and the increasing diffusion of... more

My presentation collects a canon of dystopian comics appeared in Italian comics’ magazines during the so-called ‘dystopian turn’, that is, ‘the growing shift in cultural production towards dystopia, and the increasing diffusion of dystopian frames in popular culture beginning with the Sixties and Seventies’ (Francucci 2018). Adapting to a wide range in readership of various phases in the history of ‘fumetti’, the theme of dystopia was the choice of many Italian cartoonists of disparate backgrounds, and publishing on different magazines. Through an analysis of the magazine story format, it is possible to understand the impact of the dystopian turn on a public that expects the assortment of short graphic tales, rather that the album architecture in serial publications, or the long narration of the graphic novel. In fact, the format of the magazine contextualizes the dystopian story in a collection of short narrations of different genres, and makes possible its assimilation, together with contents of a completely different nature. Examples of dystopia can be found in Italian magazines targeting different readers and expressing heterogeneous aesthetics, including: children’s magazines, such as «Il Giornalino»; underground inspired groups or independent productions, such as «Il Male», «Cannibale», «Frigidaire», «Undercomics»; auteurs’ movements, such as «Métal Hurlant», «Linus», «Orient Express», and «Comic Art».

BEST SMALL FICTIONS reprint (Sonder Press 2020). This flash-fiction is the opening of "A Terrible Racket," a novel-in-progress. The action takes place on a hill-top street, Caiseas, looking west over the Caribbean, where an invalid,... more

BEST SMALL FICTIONS reprint (Sonder Press 2020). This flash-fiction is the opening of "A Terrible Racket," a novel-in-progress. The action takes place on a hill-top street, Caiseas, looking west over the Caribbean, where an invalid, Gabriel, and his wife Marta, make the best of what is left to them from the Glory Days. The sexual undercurrents and post-apocalyptic backdrop which run throughout the novel are introduced here.

Student Learning Outcomes At end of this class students will be able to… 1. Identify & Discuss some of the classical mythology & history that inspired Suzanne Collins’ novels. 2. Discuss the major themes and ideas in the novel, such as... more

Student Learning Outcomes
At end of this class students will be able to…
1. Identify & Discuss some of the classical mythology & history that inspired Suzanne Collins’ novels.
2. Discuss the major themes and ideas in the novel, such as dystopias, totalitarianism, oppression, scapegoating, death games, PTSD and reality television
3. Identify and discuss parallels in the students’ own and other world cultures.

Suddenly Don Quijote doubts his squire’s embassy. It would be miraculous for Sancho to have returned in just over three days because El Toboso is more than thirty leagues away, seventy-five miles or one hundred and twenty-five kilometers... more

Suddenly Don Quijote doubts his squire’s embassy. It would be miraculous for Sancho to have returned in just over three days because El Toboso is more than thirty leagues away, seventy-five miles or one hundred and twenty-five kilometers from where Don Quijote was in the Sierra Morena.

Many studies have investigated the notion of utopia in history, philosophy and literature. However, little attention has been devoted to its negative counterpart. Dystopia is the “utopia’s twentieth-century doppelgänger” (Gordin et al.,... more

Many studies have investigated the notion of utopia in history, philosophy and literature. However, little attention has been devoted to its negative counterpart. Dystopia is the “utopia’s twentieth-century doppelgänger” (Gordin et al., 2010:1). This essay claims the deconstruction of traditional opposites by using Dystopology. This multifocal literary theory expands the dystopian analysis to other genres. Additionally, this paper will provide a dystopological overview of literature to better understand the pure dystopias of the era of social deception, conceiving not only the genesis of a new literature, but also another way of perceiving reality, through comics, cinema and other arts. The new millennium secured the fears of the dystopian trilogy ‒Huxley, Orwell and Bradbury. Therefore, when dystopia turns into reality, the only solution for contemporary authors is apocalypse. Following anarchic ideals, the coming generations see the destruction of society as the only opportunity for humanity to be reborn again.

Loss of will and determination is not a theme exclusive of postmodernism and contemporary works, but from the 1950’s on it has become a recurring subject-matter in fictional and nonfictional works. Dystopian societies conform a very... more

Loss of will and determination is not a theme exclusive of postmodernism and contemporary works, but from the 1950’s on it has become a recurring subject-matter in fictional and nonfictional works. Dystopian societies conform a very appropriate setting to develop such a complex and purposeful theme. The aim of this paper is to analyze the theme that concerns us in two dystopian novels: A Clockwork Orange (1962) and the recent Never Let Me Go (2005), evaluating the features that connect two key characters.

The paper explores Tati's use of new film media in 'Playtime' in ways that reveal more fundamental modes of social, mimetic and situational mediation as performed in the film by architects, and architect-like characters, and by the... more

The paper explores Tati's use of new film media in 'Playtime' in ways that reveal more fundamental modes of social, mimetic and situational mediation as performed in the film by architects, and architect-like characters, and by the architectural settings which Jacques Tati devised.

This article argues that Elysium communicates a 'critical dystopia' that illuminates and interrogates global capitalism's worst social, political, ecological and technological conditions and shows them being resisted and changed, for the... more

This article argues that Elysium communicates a 'critical dystopia' that illuminates and interrogates global capitalism's worst social, political, ecological and technological conditions and shows them being resisted and changed, for the better. To this end, our article's first section contextualizes Elysium by building upon recent studies of global Hollywood, the genre characteristics and politics of science fiction films and 'critical dystopia'. The second section interprets Elysium's dystopian future of society, the state, environment and technology, and argues it forwards a critique of present-day global capitalism's class divisions and dispossessions, neo-liberal security state, ecological catastrophe and militarized technology. The third section excavates Elysium's alternative to the fictional and actual dystopic conditions of capitalism the film critiques, thereby liberating the film's imminent utopian content from the cage of its commodity form. The conclusion addresses some important criticisms of Elysium's politics: its perpetuation of Hollywood's 'white saviour' trope, regressive gender dynamics, and 'single point of failure' fantasy. Despite these problems , Elysium still has value as a critical dystopian film.

Dystopian fiction is evolving in one of the most interesting literary genres for youth. Education in "Divergent" constitutes a domain of the society which affects directly the citizens and turns to be a catalyst for the establishment of... more

Dystopian fiction is evolving in one of the most interesting literary genres for youth. Education in "Divergent" constitutes a domain of the society which affects directly the citizens and turns to be a catalyst for the establishment of the regime. This article focuses on the role and aspects of education and portrays some representations of the educational system in force in "Divergent", making possible associations with our social and educational worlds. Using the method of quantitative content analysis, we found that "ranking" and "training" have the most powerful presence in the novel. In this dystopian society, the concept and institution of education has a very different role of the one we would imagine in another more friendly and warless society. Based on our findings, we propose ways in which students can actually learn from dystopian fiction and make steps towards the change of their own educational system and society.

Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins has acknowledged that her series was significantly influenced by classical mythology and history. Readers can see echoes of potential sources in the timely descent of those little silver parachutes –... more

Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins has acknowledged that her series was significantly influenced by classical mythology and history. Readers can see echoes of potential sources in the timely descent of those little silver parachutes – each one delivering life-saving food, medicine, or tools – of the gifts and aid the Olympian gods sent to their chosen heroes in Greek mythology. Likewise, the manipulation of the arena’s environment by the all-powerful Gamemakers is reminiscent of the way the gods used weather and other natural elements to help or hinder mortal champions.

This is an introduction to a collection of essays that look at current developments of Young Adult Dystopian Literature from both a literary and cultural studies perspective and a didactic angle. The introduction briefly discusses... more

This is an introduction to a collection of essays that look at current developments of Young Adult Dystopian Literature from both a literary and cultural studies perspective and a didactic angle. The introduction briefly discusses questions of genre definitions and features before giving an overview of the collection's content.