Seminar paper from the year 2020 in the subject Literature - Modern Literature, grade: 1,7, University of Bremen, course: Transnationale Literaturwissenschaft, language: English, abstract: Postmodern SiFi series like "The 100" or "Snowpiercer" also employ methods of colonialism and imperialism reminiscent of classic novels like "The Time Machine". Class societies and discrimination seem to be firmly linked to the genre. This thesis compares "The 100" series to "The Time Machine", focusing on the aspects of the narrative that are shaped by colonialism and imperialism. Auch in postmodernen SiFi Serien wie "The 100" oder "Snowpiercer" werden Methoden des Kolonialismus und Imperialismus angewendet, die an Klassiker wie "The Time Machine" erinnern. Klassengesellschaften und Diskriminierung scheinen fest mit dem Genre verbunden zu sein. Diese Arbeit vergleicht die Serie "The 100" mit "The Time Machine" und fokussiert sich dabei auf die Aspekte der Narration, die von Kolonialismus und Imperialismus geprägt sind.

This groundbreaking study explores science fiction's complex relationship with colonialism and imperialism. In the first full-length study of the subject, John Rieder argues that the history and ideology of colonialism are crucial components of science fiction's displaced references to history and its engagement in ideological production. With original scholarship and theoretical sophistication, he offers new and innovative readings of both acknowledged classics and rediscovered gems. Rider proposes that the basic texture of much science fiction—in particular its vacillation between fantasies of discovery and visions of disaster—is established by the profound ambivalence that pervades colonial accounts of the exotic “other.” Includes discussion of works by Edwin A. Abbott, Edward Bellamy, Edgar Rice Burroughs, John W. Campbell, George Tomkyns Chesney, Arthur Conan Doyle, H. Rider Haggard, Edmond Hamilton, W. H. Hudson, Richard Jefferies, Henry Kuttner, Alun Llewellyn, Jack London, A. Merritt, Catherine L. Moore, William Morris, Garrett P. Serviss, Mary Shelley, Olaf Stapledon, and H. G. Wells.

Science Fiction explores the genre from 1895 to the present day, drawing on examples from over forty countries. It raises questions about the relationship between science fiction, science and technology, and examines the interrelationships between spectacle, narrative and self-reflexivity, paying particular attention to the role of special effects in creating meaning and affect. It explores science fiction’s evocations of the sublime, the grotesque, and the camp, and charts the ways in which the genre reproduces and articulates discourses of colonialism, imperialism and neo-liberal globalization. At the same time, Science Fiction provides a thorough analysis of the genre’s representation of race, class, gender and sexuality, making this text an essential guide for students, academics and film fans alike. Key films discussed include: Le voyage dans la lune (1902) 20,000 Leagues under the Sea (1916) L’Atlantide (1921) King Kong (1933, 2005) Gojira (1954) La Jetée (1962) The Abominable Dr Phibes (1971) Tetsuo (1989) Sleep Dealer (2008) Avatar (2009)

Though science fiction is often thought of as a Western phenomenon, the genre has long had a foothold in countries as diverse as India and Mexico. These fourteen critical essays examine both the role of science fiction in the third world and the role of the third world in science fiction. Topics covered include science fiction in Bengal, the genre's portrayal of Native Americans, Mexican cyberpunk fiction, and the undercurrents of colonialism and Empire in traditional science fiction. The intersections of science fiction theory and postcolonial theory are explored, as well as science fiction's contesting of imperialism and how the third world uses the genre to recreate itself. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

Seminar paper from the year 2010 in the subject American Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 1,0, University of Frankfurt (Main) (Neue Englischsprachige Kulturen und Literaturen), language: English, abstract: "Space, the Final Frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go, where no one has gone before." - Opening credits of Star Trek: The Next Generation These are the opening lines of one of the most successful franchises of popular culture: Star Trek. In 1966 when the first episode of the science-fiction series "Star Trek" The Original Series was aired on US television author and creator Gene Roddenberry would not possibly have envisioned the cultural and political impact Star Trek would have even four decades later. He nevertheless envisioned very clearly that this "trek" would take its audience to "strange new worlds [...] and new civilizations". That this would exactly fall into the field of the discourses of postcolonial studies is no mere coincidence. The opening credits very straightforwardly indicate what voyages the audience will participate in. The exploration of "strange new worlds" and "new civilizations" recalls the narratives of Imperialism and Colonialism. Accordingly Star Trek can be read as another form of travelogue. The purpose of this work is to establish the narratives of Star Trek as a travelogue in the context of imperialist and colonial discourses. Having done so, I will examine Star Trek's standing within these discourses. My focus will be on the depiction of "the other" within Star Trek. On the basis of one episode of the TV series, Star Trek: The Next Generation I will juxtapose the argument of critics that Trek is either racist and imperialist in its conception or the depiction of a desirable Utopia.

"Reverse colonization narratives are stories like H. G. Wells's War of the Worlds (where technologically superior Martians invade and colonize England) that ask Western audiences to imagine what it's like to be the colonized rather than the colonizers. In this book, David M. Higgins argues that although some reverse colonization stories are thoughtful and provocative (because they ask us to think critically about what empire feels like from the receiving end), reverse colonization fantasy has also led to the prevalence of a very dangerous kind of science fictional thinking in our current political culture. Everyone, now (including anti-feminists, white supremacists, and far-right reactionaries) likes to imagine themselves as the Rebel Alliance fighting against the Empire (or Neo trying to escape the Matrix, or Katniss Everdeen waging war against the Capitol). Reverse colonization fantasy, in other words, has a dangerous tendency to enable white men (and other subjects of privilege) to appropriate a sense of victimhood for their own social and political advantage"--