New Materialism in Shaping Dystopias

In my last blog (which you can check here! [1]) we used the theory of New Materialism as a tool to look at the effects of the environment on the story and characters of Ernest Cline's Ready Player One (2015). In this post, I will be looking onto the larger scheme of things to see how our own understanding and discussions of environments gets written into dystopian fiction, and how dystopian fictions can get people discussing current day affairs.

What Do I Mean By "Environments?"

When mentioning environmentalism it is important to remember that with New Materialism, and thus in this article, it is not referring to just the flora and fauna of a setting, but the economic environment, mental environments, and numerous other factors in the vicinity of the main character(s). And while it is important to remember that environment does not purely refer to the biological definition, New materialism does attempt to break down the binary of nature vs technology/institution, instead choosing to intermingle the abiotic, biotic, and unnatural parts of an environment. (For the original article on New Materialism by Jane Bennett click here! [2]).

To get us started on our discussion, I want to start with looking at something well known, but not often used as a learning tool: Zombies.

[3] The Main character of Resident Evil 3 (Remake 2020), Jill Valentine, facing numerous zombies

Zombies? Yes, Zombies.

Zombies are an age old tale that started as a voodoo tale and the rising dead and has since changed with the evolution of science, into a dytopian trope that, when done well, effectively reflects the environmental concerns into media, and when consumed, the media prompts discussions. Dytopian fiction is part of a cycle of environmental concern and twisting possible futures into fictional stories. Modern media zombies typically have two origins, from what, personally have seen/read/heard about: Nuclear radiation, or pandemic outbreak. Now, in this year, 2020, the second one is much more topical, but both "options" reflect environmental concerns, albeit in two different ways.

If you're interested in reading about the best known origin of the zombie myth, check out this NPR article about it here [4]!

[5] Book Cover of World War Z 2007 Paperback

Pathogenic Zombies Reflect Current Environments?

Zombies in stories such as World War Z (2006) [6], The Resident Evil Series 1996-present) [7], or Feed (2010) [8], reflect the fears of healthcare related issues. Typically, in these stories, a new virus appears (or is even constructed) and no one has the means to stop it, resulting in a zombie apocalypse. This idea of an incurable disease is nothing new to the concerns of people and their environments. From the common cold to the new COVID-19, things without proper cures are terrifying, and author's use these scenarios, push them to their limits, and create entertaining, and conversational stories. There have been plenty of times my family and myself have gone to see a zombie movie and we've left the theater wondering if/when we could be faced with a zombie apocalypse, and what we could do about it. So rather than the physical environment itself, pathogenic zombie dystopias reflect a thought-based climate, the healthcare and medical climate (this could possibly be grouped under political climate, depending on your personal views) and people's growing fears and concerns about it.

[9] Player of Fallout 4 and Dogmeat, his companion, exploring a desolate post-apocalypse Boston, Massachusetts

Radioactive Zombies as a Reflection of Current Environments?

While not as popular now as the germ-based flesh-eaters, radioactive zombies are not a lost fad. One of the big video game franchise, The Fallout Series (1996-present) [10] banks on the popularity of nuclear wastelands and irradiated zombies to create a functional setting for the player to explore, quest through, and survive in. Nuclear winter based zombies are probably easier to relate back to New Materialism, since in most cases the radioactive, highly lethal and hazardous environment is what creates the zombies in the first place, whereas with the viral zombies, its the opposite (generalizing, of course). Nuclear bomb creates nuclear wasteland full of radioactive air, water, animals, and environments; radioactive environment makes zombies; non-zombies must "deal with" the zombies, simple. This version of the zombies is less provocative in questions since threats of nuclear war (while still present) is not as aggressive as it one was, so not many people playing Fallout: New Vegas (2010), or Fallout 4 (2015) are going to save, quit, and then ask what they would if they found themselves in a zombie apocalypse.

What About Everything Aside from Zombies?

In this article, I used zombies as my specific example because it is easily identifiable, quick to explain, and overall simple in concept, but this same cycle of: current environment-> questions about future -> fiction -> questions about present environments. Sometimes it's in the more abstract, such as Netflix's Black Mirror (2011-2019), wondering if humanity will lose itself to any number of technological or scientific conformity. In other times, its a question of when the corruption of those in power will lead to the downfall of civilization, eugenics, and any other terrible solutions to international issues, such as human organ farms like in Never Let Me Go (2005) by Kazuo Ishiguro [11]. Even my own story, "Long Story Short," which is a current work in progress, uses the basic trope of zombie apocalypse and uses it's ecological and social environment to address modern issues such as prejudice, corporate corruption, environmental issues, and more. (Stay tuned for my next post for more info on that!)

Before you leave, if you've maybe drained your Netflix library and read your bookshelf five times over, and what to broaden your horizons, check out The Promised Neverland. Keep an open mind and check out this Japanese anime. I don't want to spoil anything, but you mind find it interesting if you keep an open mind until the end of the first episode. I think the underlying plot as well as the set of characters allows for an interesting application of New Materialism to the environment of this show.

Here's a link to the opening sequence! [12]

Here's a link to a brief summary! [13]