Utopian and dystopian impulses in Latin American visual cultures

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

Utopianism emerged with early modernity, in close association with the European discovery and colonization of America. Utopian thinking entails the search for more equal and just societies, and the construction of a better future. But it also implies an alternative scenario: dystopia. This is not the opposite of utopia, but rather its counterpart. Both go beyond the representation of imaginary societies and have close ties with political thought and action. This panel will explore different expressions of utopianism (including both the positive and the negative impulses that the utopian imagination involves) in contemporary visual culture in Latin America, analyzing graphic novels, film, and video-on-demand content. The panel includes papers on Mexican, Brazilian, and Argentinean texts, discussing, and critiquing, how the construction of more inclusive and better futures is represented, and exploring the instrumentality of dystopian narratives in addressing current social concerns in Latin America.

Sub Track

• Mass Media and Popular Culture

Session Organizer

• Mariano Paz, University of Limerick

Chair

• Carla Almanza-Gálvez

Individual Presentations

• A posthuman critique of Mexican nationalist discourse in Edgar Clément's dystopian graphic novels - Carla Almanza-Gálvez

• I had a dream – but didn't like it that much: a critique of Brazilian history and contemporary politics in non-naturalistic visual culture - Alfredo Suppia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP)

• Cumbre borrascosa: utopianism, the uncanny and the fantastic in Santiago Mitre’s "La cordillera" - Mariano Paz, University of Limerick