This research looks at the role and characterization of non-binary characters in SF TV. With the focus specifically on the shows Another Life and Nightflyers, this paper analyses both human, non...Show moreThis research looks at the role and characterization of non-binary characters in SF TV. With the focus specifically on the shows Another Life and Nightflyers, this paper analyses both human, non-human, and post-human figures of the genre and the possible implications. The overall research has shown that science fiction tends to erase non-binary identities, and that is no different here: despite the existence of non-binary characters, their gender identity is erased from the story.Show less
This thesis explores the literary theme of aliens in disguise, taking the sit-com 3rd Rock from the Sun as its main focus, yet drawing on various works of science fiction. The disguises used by the...Show moreThis thesis explores the literary theme of aliens in disguise, taking the sit-com 3rd Rock from the Sun as its main focus, yet drawing on various works of science fiction. The disguises used by the aliens in this TV-show are explored in relation to character roles and dramatic purposes, revealing set tropes as well as the ways in which the disguises are used to reflect on human practices such as emotions, gun control and gender. It is through the aliens' disguises that the audience learns about humanity, along with the aliens.Show less
Robert Heinlein is not only one of the most influential science fiction writers of the twentieth century, he is also one of the most controversial science fiction writers of this century. Heinlein...Show moreRobert Heinlein is not only one of the most influential science fiction writers of the twentieth century, he is also one of the most controversial science fiction writers of this century. Heinlein implemented his political convictions into his work, evolving through his career from a socialist viewpoint to a libertarian – arguably even anarchistic – viewpoint. This thesis tracks this development through a critical analysis of three novels from the early, middle, and late stages of his career. In Beyond this Horizon, which is a reaction to the Great Depression in the United States, Heinlein describes a utopian society based on a socialist economy in which all problems of the twentieth century are solved. In Starship Troopers, which is Heinlein’s response to President Eisenhower’s decision regarding the end of nuclear testing, he explores the ideology of a society which promotes individual freedom, arguing that freedom and responsibility ultimately leads to patriotism. The third novel, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, is Heinlein’s libertarian retelling of the American revolution and is the culmination of his political development from socialist to libertarian ideology.Show less
This thesis provides an exploration of Carl Jung’s concept of individuation and proves how this concept is fictionalised by Philip K. Dick in his novel 'Ubik'.
Focusing on second-wave feminism, this thesis explores the representation of gender and the expression of the predominant feminist ideas in Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness (1969),...Show moreFocusing on second-wave feminism, this thesis explores the representation of gender and the expression of the predominant feminist ideas in Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness (1969), Joanna Russ’s The Female Man (1975) and Pamela Sargent’s The Shore of Women (1986).Show less
Over the recent years Japanese animation has seen the rise of a new form of the science fiction genre, namely technoludic anime, or anime that involves video game elements. Commentative technoludic...Show moreOver the recent years Japanese animation has seen the rise of a new form of the science fiction genre, namely technoludic anime, or anime that involves video game elements. Commentative technoludic anime, the main focus of this research, are part of a critical discourse on techno- culture and its future. This genre of anime taps into themes such as gender identity, nationalism, societies of control and the disintegration of ontological boundaries while using video game portrayal and video game play as the main focus of their narrative. It also either tends to smear or beautify video games through technophobic or technophilic themes which are supported by binary opposition such as lived experience and fantasy, and the real and the virtual. Considering the popularity of video games, it is no surprise that commentative technoludic anime have not only gained recognition in "digitally native" Japan, but also resonate with viewers on a global scale. Kawahara Reki's Sword Art Online has gained massive attention and can be seen as one of the icons of this commentative technoludic anime genre. Through its technophilic-tinted themes the series stimulates philosophical thinking by proposing a different understanding of virtual worlds and ontological boundaries. Throughout its story a young otaku recluse heightens the intensity of his life by moving into a new virtual exterior, finding its beauty along the way. The story's proposition, one that accentuates the merits, beauty, and realness of the virtual, is strengthened through the addition of life-like AI characters, exciting adventure, a beautiful environment and most surprisingly, death. Furthermore, even though Sword Art Online represents its virtual world as a video game, its world lacks the characteristics of play, showing that the virtual world Sword Art Online revolves around isultimately, not really a video game, but a sensational replacement for life in the real world.Show less
This thesis seeks to find general commonalities and differences between Japanese science fiction and Western science fiction. exploring the definitions of science fiction and fantasy, looking at...Show moreThis thesis seeks to find general commonalities and differences between Japanese science fiction and Western science fiction. exploring the definitions of science fiction and fantasy, looking at technophobia, using the movies Ghost in the Shell and Robocop as case studies.Show less
This thesis takes as its subject Octavia Butler’s science fiction trilogy Lilith’s Brood which it reads in the context of the neo-slave narrative, using the theoretical framework of posthumanism as...Show moreThis thesis takes as its subject Octavia Butler’s science fiction trilogy Lilith’s Brood which it reads in the context of the neo-slave narrative, using the theoretical framework of posthumanism as its angle of inquiry. Most criticism concerning Lilith’s Brood fails to adequately address the discursive tension in the work between these two competing discourses: posthumanism and the neo-slave narrative. The alien invasion in Dawn for example is figured in highly contradictory terms. On the one hand it is cast in the historically grounded and emotionally charged, racialized terms of American slavery and oppression, on the other hand it is embraced as an occasion for a long overdue, radical transformation of the humanist subject into a posthuman one. The question of how these two discourses conflict and interact with each other is one that this thesis engages at length by analyzing the way Lilith’s Brood reconfigures three foundational concepts that are found in humanist philosophy – rationality, autonomy, and authenticity. According to posthumanism these virtues on which the humanist subject is founded delineate a narrow and exclusionary concept of the human. In Lilith’s Brood however they are reconfigured in order to extend to non-human creatures as well. At the same time this reconfiguration of subjectivity also more accurately describes the human condition when it is exposed in the light of posthumanism and stripped of its humanist pretentions. Each chapter takes one of the novels in the trilogy and demonstrates how it deconstructs one of these foundational concept: autonomy, authenticity and rationality. At the same time the themes of slavery and subjection run as a red thread throughout the work, at times corroborating Lilith’s Brood’s posthumanist message, at times problematizing it. In keeping these themes foregrounded the trilogy gives full expression to the struggle and danger that accompanies change, bravely acknowledging troublesome conclusions such as the inevitable inequality that haunts all power relations and the necessity of sacrifice.Show less
This thesis explores intersections between scientific, fictional and religious discourses in Milton's Paradise Lost and Cavendish's Blazing World, and the threat the scientific revolution posed to...Show moreThis thesis explores intersections between scientific, fictional and religious discourses in Milton's Paradise Lost and Cavendish's Blazing World, and the threat the scientific revolution posed to religion. Especially the development of optical instruments is taken into account.Show less
Throughout the years, young adult dystopian fiction has become a well-known and widely-read genre. Simultaneously, the division of the world into typically masculine or feminine matters has changed...Show moreThroughout the years, young adult dystopian fiction has become a well-known and widely-read genre. Simultaneously, the division of the world into typically masculine or feminine matters has changed as well. This same idea applies to literary genres. Science fiction has been dominated by male characters and writers throughout the years, for instance in books such as Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, or in television series like Star Trek and Babylon 5. Nevertheless, the more contemporary young adult dystopian novels, as a subgenre of science fiction, have seen an emergence of other heroic protagonists, namely girls. These girls, such as Katniss Everdeen in Suzanne Collin’s Hunger Games, are suddenly able to exert agency in a genre that initially mainly had male protagonists, and in which female characters were merely supporting those real heroes. In fact, the modern female protagonists use their gendered traits to drastically change the society they live in. While these capacities were usually not given to young women in dominant patriarchal societies, nowadays it has been made possible by the increasing presence of conventions of the romance genre in science fiction, and its subgenre, dystopian fiction. The combination of the conventions of both genres results in a change of subject matter of dystopian fiction, but also a change in the intended audience. This is because both genres have a different focus as well, as the focus of science fiction is scientific and technical developments and societal problems, whereas the focus of romance fiction is romantic behaviour, emotions, and relationships. The increasing popularity of contemporary young adult dystopian fiction shows that adolescents are ready for a change. My thesis will analyse the portrayal of female characters in a popular Young Adult dystopian fiction series, namely Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games (2008-2010), and it will examine how the genres of science fiction and romance have merged together, and what the consequences have been. To ensure a thorough analysis that is supported by relevant and substantiating theories, the thesis is divided into two parts. The first part contains thorough analyses of the romance genre, the science fiction genre, and the latter’s subgenre dystopian fiction. The focus is on these genres, for the reason that the text in question, The Hunger Games, fuses these genres, and one of the objectives of this thesis is to place Young Adult dystopian fiction between the two seemingly conflicting genres, in order to show that these two genres have combined their characteristics. By examining these genres individually, I shall eventually demonstrate to what extent these genres merged together, and what the consequences have been in terms of role division and the distribution of power between the male and female characters. The second part of my thesis explores the portrayal of female characters in Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games, to research the extent to which certain characteristics of the romance genre and the strong female characters have invaded the science fiction and dystopian genre, and what the effects have been in this particular series. In other words, the second part will demonstrate how romance in The Hunger Games has resulted in the creation of a strong female character, Katniss Everdeen, who exerts agency and who is able to use her femininity in order to rebel against and change the government of Panem. This part consists of three chapters, all of which contain an analysis of one book of the trilogy. The three analyses will show how the female protagonist in the series has obtained agency by embracing her own femininity, which has been made possible by the addition of important characteristics of the romance genre, and how this change in agency, created by the combination of the two genres, enables her to fight against and bring down the totalitarian government, and create a better place for all Panem’s citizens.Show less
