عنوان

Ideology and dystopia :

TLets529922

Ideology and dystopia :

[Thesis]

Paz, Mariano

political discourse in contemporary fiction cinema

The University of Manchester

2010

Ph.D.

The University of Manchester

2010

The present thesis consists of a discussion of contemporary Western science fictioncinema from a cultural studies perspective. In particular, this work is focused on theanalysis of political ideology and its discourses as they are conveyed in the visual, aural,and narrative dimensions of a selected corpus of films from three different countries:Argentina, Britain and the United States. The selection of this range of cinemaindustries is informed by the intention of widening the spectrum of science fictioncriticism, which is mostly focused on American cinema, and also on the cross comparativepurpose of examining three central forms in which Western films areproduced and distributed: the hegemonic American blockbuster, the independentperipheral cinema of Latin America, and the mid-level position exemplified by aEuropean film industry such as Britain's.The analysis of the selected corpus is approached from an interdisciplinary perspectivethat draws on several theoretical frameworks from cultural studies and socialphilosophy, such as Lacanian psychoanalysis, postcolonial theory, post-structuralism,and critical theory. The underlying premise of this thesis is that, through therepresentation of imaginary, dystopian worlds and societies, science fiction films are infact engaging with the critique of contemporary reality and articulating collectiveconcerns and anxieties about the present. In consequence, films are examined here in ahermeneutic manner, with the objective of identifying and revealing the complex set ofcritiques of contemporary institutions, practices and discourses that are conveyed inthe texts. The discussion is organised in three chapters, each covering three casestudies that are representative of the selected cinema industries. Films studied in detailinclude the Star Wars prequels (1999-2005), La Sonämbula (1998), Adios Querida Luna(2005), La Antena (2007), Code 46 (2004), Children of Men (2006), and 28 Weeks Later(2007). Each chapter is organised according to certain theoretical parameters thatallow for a critical reading of the texts, establishing connections between the films'subtexts and the social contexts in which they were produced.This work aims to demonstrate that the analysis of popular culture is essential for theunderstanding of how political concerns, anxieties and traumas can be expressed andarticulated, whether in avowed or disavowed forms, not only in hegemonic texts butacross the entire field of Western cultural production. Additionally, this thesis arguesfor the need to approach the study of cinema from the point of view of critical theory,as an appropriate way to uncover the ideological dimensions, represented in the films,that are critical of dominant discourses and institutions.

Paz, Mariano

The University of Manchester

p

[Thesis]

276903

a

Y