Real and Unreal: Hierarchical Binaries and the Role of Technology in Science-Fictional Dystopias Restricted; Files Only

Abstract

This thesis considers the role of technology in establishing and maintaining hierarchical binaries such as real/unreal, and the potential for such devices to be appropriated in order to disrupt the binary. Following Jean Baudrillard, I define the real as associated with the established order that serves the interests of the dominant group and maintains their hegemonic position. The unreal, however, is significantly more fluid: as the binary Other, it includes the artificial, virtual, and the pretend, as well as the dreamlike and the imaginary. I read Manjula Padmanabhan’s Harvest and Vandana Singh’s Are You Sannata3159? to argue that the manifestations of this real/unreal binary are not identical, but in each case the real is privileged over its binary opposite to enforce underlying systems of power. Chapters 1 and 3 advance the argument that dominant groups maintain power by (mis)using technology to enforce the hierarchical binary, and that the ‘inferior’ category of unreality cannot be meaningfully reversed onto these powerful people. Subsequently, I read ‘failed’ textual examples of resistance to argue that although they seem ambiguous or hopeless, they succeed in undermining the hierarchical power of the binary. These methods of resistance involve mobilizing every resource at one’s disposal to threaten the notion of a ‘dominant real’ without attempting to magically transcend the binary or privilege the unreal over the real. Instead, having generated a nuanced understanding of the hegemonic process at work, it becomes necessary to target the underlying systems of inequality to enact substantial change.

Table of Contents

Introduction  1

Chapter 1: “This Whole Dream Will Come Crashing Down Around Us:” Real and Unreal in Manjula Padmanabhan’s Harvest 9

Chapter 2: “I Don’t Want Your Make-Believe:” Disrupting the Hierarchical Binary in Harvest  32

Chapter 3: “You’ve Just Been Playing Pretend:” Real and Unreal in Vandana Singh’s Are You Sannata3159?  49

Chapter 4: “Not Quite Real:” Disrupting the Hierarchical Binary in Are You Sannata3159?  75

Conclusion 91

References 99

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	English
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Literature, English
Mot-clé	Postcolonial Dystopian Science Fiction
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Sinykin, Dan, Emory University
Committee Members	Davenport, Emma, Emory University Meighoo, Sean, Emory University

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