I wrote my senior undergraduate thesis on the adaptation of Shakespeare to science fiction, using as case study 2 modern sci-fi novels drawi
happy pride month my thesis is here #mythesis
Just as the West constructs the East in order to define itself, writers construct science fictional worlds to create an Other by which they can define their own environment. And, Suvin notes, science fiction does not only define, but also redefines, criticizes, and reimagines the world: science fiction is “a diagnosis, a warning, a call to understanding and action, and—most important—a mapping of possible alternatives.” ... Thus, science fiction is perhaps the exact genre in which Cleopatra belongs: a mirrorball genre of constant reflection and infinite variety, a genre playing the eternal Other just as Cleopatra has for centuries. In the two specific science-fictional retellings I will examine, this generic estrangement lends itself to sympathetic depictions of Cleopatra, running against centuries of stories of the vamping, seductive evil queen. In a science fictional world, where the very rules of reality are Other, it is easier to explore what “Other” really means. In a science fictional world, in fact, with the laws of gender and location bent, Cleopatra might not be Other at all. Is Cleopatra exotic in science fiction, or is she right at home?
hello. some of you (all of you) may have heard me wailing and gnashing teeth from the senior thesis dungeon. here she is. thesis about cleopatra + science fiction as a genre + shakespearean reception work + adaptation as a concept + a little judith butler. and other things i like, presumably!
