The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Terminators, monkeys and mass culture: The carnival of time in science fiction films

Terminators, monkeys and mass culture: The carnival of time in science fiction films
Terminators, monkeys and mass culture: The carnival of time in science fiction films
This article is concerned with time in science fiction films. The authors' contention is that the current fascination with the time travel motif can be understood in terms of an oppositional cultural narrative running counter to dominant forms of temporality within capitalism. Such an approach allows a negotiation of the wide (mass) appeal of films based on the time travel motif without resorting to the primal scene fantasy. The argument, attempting a Marxist reading of the construction of time, challenges the views which dismiss mass culture as merely escapist.
Specifically, the authors argue that the potentially subversive element of time travel films lies precisely in a particular conceptualization and experience of time and history as cyclical and in flux. Drawing on Bakhtin, this understanding of time is antithetical to the temporalities generated within late capitalist societies where time emerges as both linear and fragmented. Through the reading of films such as Twelve Monkeys, Terminator and others the authors attempt to show that time in this context entails a possibility of intervention in history (both personal and social) and is presented as non-linear and non-teleological.
science fiction film, time travel, capitalism, bakhtin, carnival, marxist cultural theory
0961-463X
209-231
Dimitrakaki, Angela
c8f31031-99a9-4d06-8198-7570d82a0736
Tsiantis, M.S.
0aa58e1e-2da5-4b3c-9671-437b8a425633
Dimitrakaki, Angela
c8f31031-99a9-4d06-8198-7570d82a0736
Tsiantis, M.S.
0aa58e1e-2da5-4b3c-9671-437b8a425633

Dimitrakaki, Angela and Tsiantis, M.S. (2002) Terminators, monkeys and mass culture: The carnival of time in science fiction films. Time & Society, 11 (2/3), 209-231.

Record type: Article

Abstract

This article is concerned with time in science fiction films. The authors' contention is that the current fascination with the time travel motif can be understood in terms of an oppositional cultural narrative running counter to dominant forms of temporality within capitalism. Such an approach allows a negotiation of the wide (mass) appeal of films based on the time travel motif without resorting to the primal scene fantasy. The argument, attempting a Marxist reading of the construction of time, challenges the views which dismiss mass culture as merely escapist.
Specifically, the authors argue that the potentially subversive element of time travel films lies precisely in a particular conceptualization and experience of time and history as cyclical and in flux. Drawing on Bakhtin, this understanding of time is antithetical to the temporalities generated within late capitalist societies where time emerges as both linear and fragmented. Through the reading of films such as Twelve Monkeys, Terminator and others the authors attempt to show that time in this context entails a possibility of intervention in history (both personal and social) and is presented as non-linear and non-teleological.

Text
16323.pdf - Version of Record
Restricted to Repository staff only

More information

Published date: September 2002
Keywords: science fiction film, time travel, capitalism, bakhtin, carnival, marxist cultural theory

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 16323
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/16323
ISSN: 0961-463X
PURE UUID: a32bf44b-09d1-4028-b65f-c30cfabcb267

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 22 Jul 2005
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 05:47

Export record

Contributors

Author: Angela Dimitrakaki
Author: M.S. Tsiantis

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×