In a series of essays, Mathis Gasser writes about recent science fiction films, novels or mangas. By locating major themes and focusing on the interaction between fictional texts and our very lives, Gasser proposes a lecture beyond utopia vs. dystopia. The texts under review open a space where ethical dilemmas can be negotiated: in these stories we face experimental case studies for decision-making processes and the rethinking of institutional design.
Will you find yourself in a zoo? Zoos — facilities where typically wild animals are kept, cared for by zookeepers, displayed to the public and in some cases bred — have been around for over 200 years. Throughout history people have been put in enclosures as well — prisons being the first to come to mind. Below we will go through some zooish examples and scenarios.
When will ‹reality› stabilize again? Checking the incoming Covid-19 news, there is little doubt the virus has co-opted our daily routines for now. Here are some thoughts on dreams, consciousness, the virus.
In recent tales of science fiction, large-scale objects silently hover above cities or in earth’s orbit. There has been an increase in the representation of such objects after the 2007–08 financial crisis. This essay traces a partial history of such objects and speculates on what their representation might mean with regards to the most recent financial crisis, the international political economy (IPE) and the human psyche.
Advantageous (2015) and Sleep Dealer (2008) are two recent indie science fiction films evoking themes such as economic hardship, corporate greed, and the privatization of education. Advantageous takes place in an unspecified North American megacity, while Sleep Dealer’s main location is Tijuana in Mexico. The characters in both films live in an economic regime that pushes them towards challenging decisions.
Arrival depicts the alien encounter as a transformative experience. Similar to Contact, Solaris, Encounter of the Third Kind and 2001: A Space Odyssey, the narrative is underlined by a profound, sometimes teary but never dishonest humanism. Louise Banks, played by Amy Adams, is a university linguist charged with analyzing the challenging Heptapod language. The aliens are called Heptapods because of their seven limbs.
