Fafnir – Nordic Journal of Science Fiction and Fantasy Research 2/2018
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Bodhisattva Chattopadhyay, Aino-Kaisa Koistinen, Laura E. Goodin & Dennis Wise
Editorial 2/2018
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Articles
Gardner Pottorff
Misanthropic Messiahs: Timon of Athens and Dune – The Role of Christ-like Leaders
Abstract: This article discusses the religious imagery found in Timon of Athens and Dune, both well-known works. On the surface, it may seem that these works have very little connection. However, a closer examination offers an abundance of religious imagery from both works. The main characters in Timon of Athens and Dune – Timon and Paul Atreides, respectively – act as reverse Christ figures that are sometimes analogous to the Biblical Christ, but often serve as the antithesis to Christ as represented in Biblical narratives. The attributes and life episodes of Christ can be inverted to identify, examine, and analyse characters who can be considered anti- messiahs, and to aid in understanding the themes that the authors of these characters aim to express.
Keywords: Dune, Timon of Athens, religious, messianic structure
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David Garfinkle
Mimesis: Beyond Opsis in the Star Trek Universe
Abstract: This case study considers popular examples of science fiction in film and on television for classroom instruction at the junior undergraduate level of coursework. Drawing on the familiarity of Star Trek in popular culture, this study uses episodes from the original series and scenes from the later film franchises as exemplars to introduce the irrational and extra-visual aspects of mimesis in contemporary science fiction. The article offers a conversation between the popular moments of Star Trek and the elements and variations of mimesis as defined by Michael Taussig in his Mimesis and Alterity: A History of the Senses (1993). The distinctive variations of mimesis as examined focus attention on Taussig’s notions of alterity, similarity, contact, and absorption, and how these features combine in terms of self-reflection, representation and self-identification. Variants of mimetics on screen pose further exemplars of degrees of absorption, in co-encounters, co-identifications, and co-poiesis, or shared meaning-making, which can help the reader to make connections with other theorists for future examination. Sample mimetically influenced theories include Adorno’s mimetic comportment, Baudrillard’s telemorphosis, Kristeva’s intertextuality, Hellstrand’s ontological mimicry, and Freud’s primary mode of ego-identification in terms of the cinematic image, as explored by Doane and Metz, as well as the cyborg hybrid figurations of Haraway, Braidotti, and the Deleuzian body-without-organs.
Keywords: Star Trek, mimesis, alterity, contact, identification, similarity, absorption
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Book reviews
James Hamby
Book Review: Pagan Saints in Middle-earth
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T. May Stone
Book Review: The Great Tower of Elfland: The Mythopoeic Worldview of J.R.R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, G. K. Chesterton, and George MacDonald
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Katherine E. Bishop
Book Review: Dis-Orienting Planets: Racial Representations of Asia in Science Fiction
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Call for Papers: Fafnir 2/2019 – Special edition of Fafnir on Speculative Climate Fiction
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