The Beautification of Dystopias across Media: Aesthetic Ambivalence from We to Black Mirror

Despite the implied critical stance of dystopian narratives, there is a strand of beautiful, aesthetically pleasant dystopias—inherently ambivalent texts that are—both fascinating and horrifying. Drawing from examples in literature and television, this article argues that “beautified dystopias” gene...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Sebastián Martín, Miguel
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión enviada para evaluación y publicación
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Salamanca (USAL)
Repositorio:GREDOS. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Salamanca
OAI Identifier:oai:gredos.usal.es:10366/168331
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10366/168331
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Philosophy
Science Fiction
Twentieth/twenty-first century
Dystopia
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spelling The Beautification of Dystopias across Media: Aesthetic Ambivalence from We to Black MirrorSebastián Martín, MiguelPhilosophyScience FictionTwentieth/twenty-first centuryDystopiaDespite the implied critical stance of dystopian narratives, there is a strand of beautiful, aesthetically pleasant dystopias—inherently ambivalent texts that are—both fascinating and horrifying. Drawing from examples in literature and television, this article argues that “beautified dystopias” generate a surplus (or excess) of aesthetic enjoyment, harboring a mystifying potential in tension with the critical-satirical potential of dystopias. In a rereading of Yevgeny Zamyatin's We, this article first examine how D-503's aestheticizing voice—although undeniably constructed for a satirical effect—fosters a degree of fascination toward the dystopian world in excess of Zamyatin's intentions. Second, taking Black Mirror's “Fifteen Million Merits” as an example of contemporary televisual dystopias, this article argues that the supposedly ironic construction of beautified cinematic mise-en-scènes deepens and complicates the underlying ambivalence of “beautified dystopias.” The author's assumption is that this is not an exceptional case, but rather an integral part of the current dystopian structure of feeling.202520252021info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/submittedVersionhttp://hdl.handle.net/10366/168331reponame:GREDOS. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Salamancainstname:Universidad de Salamanca (USAL)InglésAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internacionalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:gredos.usal.es:10366/1683312026-06-07T06:28:51Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv The Beautification of Dystopias across Media: Aesthetic Ambivalence from We to Black Mirror
title The Beautification of Dystopias across Media: Aesthetic Ambivalence from We to Black Mirror
spellingShingle The Beautification of Dystopias across Media: Aesthetic Ambivalence from We to Black Mirror
Sebastián Martín, Miguel
Philosophy
Science Fiction
Twentieth/twenty-first century
Dystopia
title_short The Beautification of Dystopias across Media: Aesthetic Ambivalence from We to Black Mirror
title_full The Beautification of Dystopias across Media: Aesthetic Ambivalence from We to Black Mirror
title_fullStr The Beautification of Dystopias across Media: Aesthetic Ambivalence from We to Black Mirror
title_full_unstemmed The Beautification of Dystopias across Media: Aesthetic Ambivalence from We to Black Mirror
title_sort The Beautification of Dystopias across Media: Aesthetic Ambivalence from We to Black Mirror
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Sebastián Martín, Miguel
author Sebastián Martín, Miguel
author_facet Sebastián Martín, Miguel
author_role author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Philosophy
Science Fiction
Twentieth/twenty-first century
Dystopia
topic Philosophy
Science Fiction
Twentieth/twenty-first century
Dystopia
description Despite the implied critical stance of dystopian narratives, there is a strand of beautiful, aesthetically pleasant dystopias—inherently ambivalent texts that are—both fascinating and horrifying. Drawing from examples in literature and television, this article argues that “beautified dystopias” generate a surplus (or excess) of aesthetic enjoyment, harboring a mystifying potential in tension with the critical-satirical potential of dystopias. In a rereading of Yevgeny Zamyatin's We, this article first examine how D-503's aestheticizing voice—although undeniably constructed for a satirical effect—fosters a degree of fascination toward the dystopian world in excess of Zamyatin's intentions. Second, taking Black Mirror's “Fifteen Million Merits” as an example of contemporary televisual dystopias, this article argues that the supposedly ironic construction of beautified cinematic mise-en-scènes deepens and complicates the underlying ambivalence of “beautified dystopias.” The author's assumption is that this is not an exceptional case, but rather an integral part of the current dystopian structure of feeling.
publishDate 2021
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2021
2025
2025
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/submittedVersion
format article
status_str submittedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/10366/168331
url http://hdl.handle.net/10366/168331
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internacional
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internacional
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:GREDOS. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Salamanca
instname:Universidad de Salamanca (USAL)
instname_str Universidad de Salamanca (USAL)
reponame_str GREDOS. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Salamanca
collection GREDOS. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Salamanca
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