ABSTRACT

A number of independent science fiction films released since the Great Recession feature relatively unexceptional protagonists in dystopian scenarios, thereby shifting the conventional focus of the genre from heroic action to small-scale personal and domestic dramas. This article argues that by juxtaposing issues of broader environmental degradation with more intimate private narratives of social reproduction, such films point to the limits of neoliberal austerity discourses that have become increasingly dominant since the 2008 economic crisis. Among these is Advantageous (dir./co-writ. Jennifer Phang, 2015), about the struggles of a middle-aged single mother, Gwen Koh (Jacqueline Kim, also co-writ.), to raise her young daughter Jules in a technocratic society characterized by rampant unemployment, feminist backlash, environmental ruin, and socioeconomic stratification. Using a blend of close textual analysis, genre study, and cultural critique, I argue that Phang’s film offers a timely vision of the ways in which mothers can be compelled to make drastic sacrifices for the upward mobility of their children. In combining the domestic tropes of maternal melodrama with the macroscopic concerns of dystopian science fiction, Advantageous makes openings for an immanent critique of the strivings of virtuous neoliberal subjects in the face of eviscerated notions of social solidarity and collective purpose.

摘要

自大萧条以来发行的许多独立科幻电影在反乌托邦场景中表现出相对平凡的主角，从而将类型的传统重点从英雄动作转移到小规模的个人和家庭剧。本文认为，通过将更广泛的环境退化问题与更私密的社会再生产私人叙事并置，这些电影指出了自 2008 年经济危机以来日益占主导地位的新自由主义紧缩话语的局限性。其中有优势(dir./co-writ. Jennifer Phang, 2015)，讲述一位中年单身母亲 Gwen Koh（Jacqueline Kim，也是合著者）在一个技术官僚社会中抚养她的小女儿 Jules 的故事。猖獗的失业、女权主义的强烈反对、环境破坏和社会经济分层。结合严密的文本分析、体裁研究和文化批判，我认为彭的电影提供了一个及时的视角，展示了母亲为了孩子的向上流动而被迫做出巨大牺牲的方式。结合国内母性情节剧的比喻与反乌托邦科幻小说的宏观关注，优势 面对社会团结和集体目标的尖锐观念，对有道德的新自由主义主体的努力进行了内在的批判。