Ecological Consciousness in Contemporary American Science Fiction: Posthuman Subjectivity and the Paradox of the Hyperreal
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Abstract
This article examines representations of human and nonhuman subjectivity in Ray Bradbury’s The Veldt (1950) and Philip K. Dick’s I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon (2013), and Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One (2011) through the lens of environmental criticism. Specifically, it traces how the texts’ representations of the hyperreal—a condition where simulated reality replaces the real one—lead to an expansion of human subjectivity to include the nonhuman other, whether organic or mechanical. The article argues that these stories highlight the dangers of the human self as separate from the nonhuman world. Such detached subjectivity results in a misconception of human control over nature and technology. My analysis of the texts suggests that the overwhelming impacts of the hyperreal, closely tied to images of nature, challenge and eventually debunk the notion of human superiority. Ultimately, these literary texts promote the construction of posthuman subjectivity, prompting the characters to realize that their human autonomy cannot exist in isolation. This article also suggests that the underlying trope of posthuman representations reflects an ecological consciousness in contemporary American science fiction.
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