Such a shift renders biopolitical theory indispensable to utopian studies. The topos of utopia became less a territorial space and more a corporeal space, in a shift of focus within utopianism from outer space to inner space, from geopolitics to biopolitics. This paper, however, will concentrate instead on the ways in which his theorizations of biopower expose the mechanics of utopian discourses, formations, practices, and texts.ĭuring the period of modernity, utopianism demonstrated an increasing preoccupation with issues and concerns pertinent to biopolitical governance, such as the importance of citizens’ bodily health and fitness in the service of the State, the monitoring of procreation and reproduction, and the management of populations. Foucault’s exploration of the mechanics of surveillance in the prison model of the “Panopticon” in Discipline and Punish (1975) is one of the most prominent and widely-discussed aspects of his work that is indicative of this preoccupation, whereas another, even more directly related instance is his discussion of the idea of “heterotopia” in “Of Other Spaces” (1986). Foucault’s work, in particular, must be seen as quintessential to theoretical and critical discussions of utopianism, insofar as a major preoccupation of this work is the relations between space and power, the ways in which different arrangements and configurations of space determine the distribution and circulation of power. These theories originate in the writings of Michel Foucault, but they have been developed further by intellectuals such as Giorgio Agamben, Roberto Esposito, Judith Butler, Antonio Negri and Michael Hardt, Nikolas Rose or Paul Rabinow, among others. This paper urges for further critical attention to theories of biopolitics and biopower within the discipline of utopian studies. The relations between utopianism and biopower are explored through a reading of Dennis Kelly’s TV series, Utopia (Channel 4, 2013-2015) and the focus is specifically on the ways in which representations of race in the series are determined by biopolitical discourses. During modernity, utopianism demonstrated an increasing preoccupation with issues and concerns pertinent to biopolitical governance. It concentrates on the ways in which theorizations of biopower expose the mechanics of utopian discourses, formations, practices, and texts. If any shadowy elites have a plan to get us there, this is your moment.This paper urges for further engagement with theories of biopolitics and biopower within the discipline of utopian studies. We wouldn’t have to be living in a perfect society for Utopia to play the way it’s supposed to, but we’d need to build something better than this. If the country ever gets to the other side of this pandemic, there may come a time when Utopia can be appreciated for what it is: an inferior American copy of a pretty good British TV show. There’s nothing wrong with extending that invitation, but it’s better to do it intentionally, not as an accident of history. Every time the Utopia kids uncover another piece of the conspiracy, it’s a new invitation to contemplate just how screwed we are. Make whatever art you like-the audience isn’t your problem! But if you’ve made something about a scrappy group of kids uncovering a giant conspiracy, and it turns out that in the time since you finished shooting, that exact conspiracy theory has suddenly revealed itself to be a) believed by a significant portion of the population and b) deadly, it might not be a bad idea to push the release date.Įven if everyone who sees Utopia is capable of distinguishing fact from fantasy-and that’s vanishingly unlikely in a nation that is sending QAnon followers to Congress-it’s impossible to enjoy a story where the heroes persuade themselves that shadowy forces have manufactured a phony pandemic to trick people into taking a dangerous vaccine when those exact beliefs are helping to kill hundreds of thousands of Americans. It’s not the filmmakers’ fault we’re in this mess, it’s not their fault so much of the public is superstitious and gullible, and it won’t be their fault if Utopia gives some dumbass the confidence they need to quit wearing a mask and infect and kill you or the people you care about. We are in the middle of an actual pandemic, a staggering number of Americans sincerely believe that that pandemic is a politically motivated hoax, and an equally staggering number believed vaccines were harmful years before COVID-19 emerged. You can probably see the problem here, and it’s an insurmountable one. Send me updates about Slate special offers.
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