Consciousness, Literature and the Arts
Archive
Volume 12 Number 2, August 2011
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Pordzik, Ralph, ed., Futurescapes Space in Utopian and Science Fiction Discourses. Netherlands: Rodopi, 2009.366 pages. ISBN 978-90-420-2602-5. Hardback: US$ 110
Reviewed by
İzmir Institute of Technology
Ralph Prodzik collects articles related to the concept of spatiality in utopian and dystopian science fiction discourse. Prodzik works on this subject as a result of the significant role of space in science fiction discourse especially utopias and dystopias in recent years. It is not surprising that spatiality has gained popularity not only in literature but also in cultural and social contexts recently. Today’s man desires to escape to far places in order to be happy and peaceful; therefore, buildings, lifestyles are based on space. The more space we have, the happier we are. Accordingly, it is inevitable to have a close look at the spatial analysis of utopian literary works in the world of science fiction.
Futurescapes consists of twelve articles, one of which belongs to the editor of the book Ralph Pordzik. These articles are categorized according to their subjects under specific titles. This structure is something beneficial for the reader, because he can consider the articles according to the related chapter. Moreover, the subject is a vast field to explore, so the categorization with chapters is guiding.
The book starts with an introduction by the editor Ralph Pordzik. He introduces the subject with the title The Overlaid Spaces of Utopia. In this part, Pordzik explains the purpose of the collection of the articles in that volume. He draws our attention that spatiality is examined in social and cultural aspects in addition to literary texts.
The first chapter of the book is Constructing Borders, Defining Limits: The Ideal Space of Utopia Revisited. There are four articles in this chapter each of which starts with quite an explanatory abstract. Another practical point of these articles is that the articles have subtitles. Thus, the reader does not come across a tedious piece of writing; he can read the article part by part, which sounds more practical. The first article of the first chapter, The Translation of Paradise: Thomas More’s Utopia and the Poetics of Cultural Exchange, belongs to Gabriela Schmidt. In this article, the writer deals with relation between the utopian literature and humanist translation. Schmidt focuses on the role of translation in the lives of people in utopias. Here, Thomas More’s Utopia is given as an example first, and then other examples are given to discuss the difficulty of ideal translation in order to achieve communication. The second article is Utopia, Nation-Building, and the Dissolution of the Nation-State Around 1900 by Hans Ulrich Seeber. In this article, the reader is informed about the types of utopias with the examples A Modern Utopia by H.G. Wells, Lord of the World by Benson, and the Island by Whiteing. The writer compares and contrasts the utopias of the Renaissance period and the utopias after globalization. The third article is Discoveries of the Future: Herbert G. Wells and the Eugenic Utopia by Richard Nate. Nate especially deals with H.G. Well’s two works; A Modern Utopia and Men Like Gods. The writer draws our attention to Wells’ interest in eugenics – I have learnt about this while reading this article – and the effect of it on his utopian fiction. This article gives information about H.G. Wells’ scientific theories and the background related to this subject, which makes reading more interesting and more enjoyable if you are interested in Wells’ fiction like me! At the end of the article, the conclusion part is provided which could be regarded as practical and less tiring. The last article of the first chapter belongs to the editor of the book Ralph Pordzik. The title is Persistence of Obedience: Theological Space and Ritual Conversion in George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. Pordzik uses Orwell’s famous dystopia Nineteen Eight- Four to show the suffering of mankind under the burden of social responsibilities and individual contradictions.
Chapter Two is related to the buildings and places in utopias. Like in the first chapter, this chapter consists of four articles. The first article ‘And is not every Manor a Little Common Wealth?’ Nostalgia, Utopia and the Country House. The writer examines the country house structure in the seventeenth and eighteenth century in English and Irish literature, which she finds utopian. The second article of the chapter is The Watchdogs of Eden: Chesterton and Buchan Look at the Present of the Future by Christoph Ehland. The article is about the utopian space in garden cities studied by two writers, Chesterton and Buchan. After we are informed about the pastoral world of picturesque utopias discussed in these two articles, Elizabeth Leane in her article The Land that Time Forgot: Fictions of Antarctic Temporality, focuses on Antarctica as a proper setting for science fiction and dystopias. The last article of the second chapter is written by Dunja M. Mohr. The title is “The Tower of Babble”? The Role and Function of Fictive Languages in Utopian and Dystopian Fiction. The desire to achieve a perfect language which makes mutual intelligibility possible in the idealized worlds and the relation between one’s language and cultural reality are discussed with specific examples such as The Tower of Babble.
The last chapter of the book is Worlds Beyond Worlds – The Limits of Geographical and Perceptual Space. The first article Rethinking Deterritorialization: Utopian and Apocalyptic Space in Recent American Fiction is written by Martina Mittag. The narrative in utopian discourse and the utopian’s reflection by the use of the language is explained with details. The second article Space Construction as Cultural Practice: Reading William Gibson’s Neuromancer with Respect to Postmodern Concepts of Space belongs to Doreen Hartmann. The writer specifically deals with the novel Neuromancer considering virtual and urban space. This article is especially for the readers interested in cyberspace and virtual issues. The third article Peripheral Cosmopolitans: Caribbeanness as Transnational Utopia? is written by Saskia Schabio. The writer deals with the specific points in Caribbean writing. The last article “Utopian and Cynical elements”: Chaplin, Cinema, and Weimar Critical Theory is written by Antonis Balasopoulos. The link between Chaplin’s cinema and Weimar thought, Chaplin’s cinematic approach are investigated in the light of utopian elements.
To conclude, Futurescapes Space in Utopian and Science Fiction Discourses edited by Ralph Pordzik can be used to get information about utopian and science fiction discourse from a different point of view. Despite the fact that some articles might be said to be too detailed, the readers specifically interested in those subjects are equipped with the information they need. Scholars from various disciplines can find a great variety of information ranging from philosophy to film industry.