The dystopian fiction genre within Western media has historically highlighted the flaws associated with societal attempts to achieve an unattainable ideal – or utopia. Through storytelling, these texts highlight the present issues in society, and among them, readers find deeply concerning messages about dehumanisation and oppression. The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil by Stephen Collins is uniquely placed within this larger genre due to the exceptional use of negative space; that is, the text communicates multiple meanings through what Collins includes and does not include. The following article engages in a deep reading of The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil through textual analysis to interpret and describe the message Collins communicates highlighting institutional ageism and bereavement. Consideration for the use of both negative and positive space within narrative construction reveals a story that encourages societal and social change to better care for the mentally ill, geriatric population.

西方媒体中的反乌托邦小说类型在历史上一直强调社会试图实现无法实现的理想或乌托邦的缺陷。这些文本通过讲故事，突出了当前的社会问题，读者在其中发现了关于非人性化和压迫的深切关注的信息。斯蒂芬·柯林斯 (Stephen Collins) 的《邪恶的大胡子》由于对负空间的特殊运用，在这一更大的流派中占据了独特的地位。也就是说，文本通过柯林斯包含和不包含的内容传达了多种含义。下面这篇文章就对《邪恶的大胡子》进行深度解读通过文本分析来解释和描述柯林斯传达的强调制度性年龄歧视和丧亲之痛的信息。在叙事结构中考虑使用消极和积极空间揭示了一个鼓励社会和社会变革以更好地照顾精神病患者和老年人群的故事。