Dystopian Fiction

When reading about another classmates' views on new materialism, which you can find  here , I really like how the author, Caitlyn Dorsch, explained the dynamic of Thing-power within society. What's interesting is that it's somewhat representative of both dystopian environments, but also of today's society as well. Dorsch explains how dominant cultures attempt to restrict the concepts of new materialism, and particularly Thing-power, in order to maintain their power and control over minority groups. After all, the whole concept of new materialism is to break the barriers between binaries and social constructs so that every person and every thing is seen to have equal value and importance. Going off of this, Dorsch chose a great example to reflect this notion by highlighting some examples from within Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games . We see a lot of things that are given Thing-power, such as nature, weapons, jabberjays, muttations, trackerjackers, and the mo

For me, I like the fact that dystopias can take place anywhere. I like reading about the cause that sparked a change, resulting in what's now a dystopian world. For my final project, I want to address the environment of dystopias. Particularly, my life as a result of the covid-19 pandemic. For my final project, I want to show what being in quarantine feels like not just for me, but for probably a majority of people. After all, it's everyone's new reality. My concept is this: If we had to relive the same day of our lives for weeks on end, what would we do? I want to take short 2-3 seconds of what I'm doing throughout the day, for however many days. For the most part, I do the same thing everyday. Wake up, do homework, participate in online classes, work on my thesis, repeat, etc. There's some variance, such as going on runs, working out with my mom, etc. I think it would be cool to document this point in time as well as my experience of it.

The first thing I imagine when I think of the word nature is actually the color green. From there I begin to construct an image of a vibrant and welcoming forest- the kind that inspires you to appreciate all of its beauty and forget about everything else. To me, nature is a safe space. It's alive. It's free. An ideal depiction of nature. Perhaps my idea of nature is inspired by all of the dystopian fiction novels I've read since I was a kid. The concept that nature is a safe haven in contrast to the separate identity that is humanity and its corruptness. I think it's difficult for people to think of the two, nature and humanity, as one and the same. Which is interesting from a new materialist perspective, considering that it advocates for a dissolution of binaries. I think a step in this direction is the fact that nature is also referenced as "mother". And in doing so, we personify the constructs we have of women and mothers on the entity of na