New Perspectives on Contemporary German Science Fiction demonstrates the variety and scope of German science fiction (SF) production in literature, television, and cinema. The volume argues that speculative fictions and explorations of the fantastic provide a critical lens for studying the possibilities and limitations of paradigm shifts in society. Lars Schmeink and Ingo Cornils bring together essays that study the renaissance of German SF in the twenty-first century. The volume makes clear that German SF is both global and local―the genre is in balance between internationally dominant forms and adapting them to Germany’s reality as it relates to migration, the environment, and human rights. The essays explore a range of media (literature, cinema, television) and relevant political, philosophical, and cultural discourses.
Author(s): Lars Schmeink, Ingo Cornils
Series: Studies in Global Science Fiction
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 321
City: Cham
Acknowledgements
Contents
Notes on Contributors
List of Figures
Chapter 1: Introduction: New Perspectives
A Brief History of German SF
A Renaissance of German SF
The German Contribution to SF
New Perspectives Explained
References
Part I: New Inspirations
Chapter 2: Going Round in Cycles: Time Travel and Determinism in the Netflix Show Dark
Time Travel as ‘Novum’: Mysterious Passages and Ancient Symbols
Theoretical Discussions: Wormholes, Dimensions, Paradoxes
Cyclical Time: The Lunar-Solar Cycle and Eternal Recurrence
Family Ties: Personal Connections as a Motor of Time Travel
Changing the Past: Determinism, Free Will, and Desire
Becoming What You Are: Destiny, Continuity of Self, and Technological Evolution
Conclusion
References
Chapter 3: Popular German Science Fiction Film and European Migration
Migration in Popular Discourses
Migration and German Science Fiction Film and Television
Volt
Aufbruch ins Ungewisse
Immigration Game
Reception
References
Chapter 4: White German Agency in the Science Fiction Films Transfer (2010), Die kommenden Tage (2010), Hell (2011)
German SF Cinema at the Intersection of Race, Politics, and Finance
Transfer’s Body-Swapping Hell
Hell’s Hellish Hell
The Coming Days’ White Teutonic Hell
And On and On
References
Part II: New Criticism
Chapter 5: Apocalyptic Greeneries: Climate, Vegetation, and the End of the World
Broken Promises
Stone Age (Ransmayr)
Ice Age (Kracht)
There Is No “Back” to Nature (Fritsch)
References
Chapter 6: The Language of Ice in the Anthropocene: German Science Fiction and Eco-Literature
Historical Background
Dominating Nature: Ice in Eiszeit in Europa?
Ice as Home: EisTau and “Der Gletscher”
Ice as a Way to Redefine Identity: Ins Nordlicht blicken
Conclusion
References
Chapter 7: Environmental Destruction and Misogyny in Karen Duve’s Novel Macht
Karen Duve’s Criticism of Modern Society
Climate Change, Violence, and Power Relations
Unequal Power in Gender Relations
Conclusion
References
Part III: New Identities
Chapter 8: The Paradoxes of Illness and Health in Juli Zeh’s Corpus Delicti
The Health Dictatorship
Mia: Emotion Work
Moritz: Fear and Loss
Mia: Quest and Voice
Conclusion
References
Chapter 9: Coming to Terms with the Present: Critical Theory and Critical Posthumanism in Contemporary German Science Fiction
Critical Posthumanism, Critical Theory, and Dystopia
From Dystopia to Utopia in Dath’s Die Abschaffung der Arten
Stasis and “Eternal Return”: Jirgl’s Nichts von euch auf Erden
References
Chapter 10: The End of Humanity’s Monotony: Posthumanism and Artificial Life in Dietmar Dath’s The Abolition of Species and Venus’ Victory
Augmented Posthumanism
Continued Thought Experiments
Imagination Prevails in Science and Social Fiction
“The Doing, not the Things”
References
Chapter 11: Optimizing the Human: A Posthuman Taxonomy in the Works of Theresa Hannig
Automation and the State
Biological Humanity
Digital Humanity
Posthumanity
References
Part IV: New Boundaries
Chapter 12: Marc-Uwe Kling’s QualityLand: “Funny Dystopia” as Social and Political Commentary
Peter’s Problem
Critical Dystopia, Satire, Anxiety
Critique of Capitalism
Conclusion: Defining the Funny Dystopia
References
Chapter 13: Beyond the ‘Last Man’ Narrative: Notes on Thomas Glavinicʼs Night Work (2008)
Genre Tradition, End-Time Poetry, or Philosophical SF?
Identity, Worldliness, and Time
References
Chapter 14: A Utopianism That Transcends Books: Dirk C. Fleck’s Ecological Science Fiction
Literary Utopianism
Utopian Politics
Equilibrism
References
Chapter 15: Conclusion: Dark Mirrors? German Science Fiction in the Twenty-First Century
The Apocalyptic Desire
German Science Fiction at the Crossroads
Toward a Concrete Utopia
Artificial Intelligence to the Rescue?
A Human Post-Humanity?
Conclusion
References
Index
