The Dystopian Imagination in Contemporary Spanish Literature and Film (Hispanic Urban Studies)

This study examines contemporary Spanish dystopian literature and films (in)directly related to the 2008 financial crisis from an urban cultural studies perspective. It explores culturally-charged landscapes that effectively convey the zeitgeist and reveal deep-rooted anxieties about issues such as globalization, consumerism, immigration, speculation, precarity, and political resistance (particularly by Indignados [Indignant Ones] from the 15-M Movement). The book loosely traces the trajectory of the crisis, with the first part looking at texts that underscore some of the behaviors that indirectly contributed to the crisis, and the remaining chapters focusing on works that directly examine the crisis and its aftermath. This close reading of texts and films by Ray Loriga, Elia Barceló, Ion de Sosa, José Ardillo, David Llorente, Eduardo Vaquerizo, and Ricardo Menéndez Salmón offers insights into the creative ways that these authors and directors use spatial constructions to capture the dystopian imagination. Dedication 6 Preface 7 Acknowledgments 9 Contents 11 List of Figures 14 Chapter 1: Introduction 15 The Dystopian Imagination in Urban Cultural Studies 16 Studies of Spanish Dystopias 18 Definitions of Dystopia 20 Criteria for Dystopia 24 Contemporary Spanish Dystopias: Anticipation and Aftermath of the 2008 Financial Crisis 26 Bibliography 36 Chapter 2: The Path to Voluntary Confinement: Dystopian Spaces of Consumerism in Ray Loriga’s Tokio ya no nos quiere 42 The Rise of Consumerism and Neoliberal Globalization 44 Spanish Consumerist Dystopias 46 Tokio ya no nos quiere 48 Non-Places 51 Spaces of Disorder 56 Landscapes of Waste and Excess 62 Conclusion 66 Bibliography 73 Chapter 3: Grafting the Global North onto the Global South: Dystopian Transhumanism in Elia Barceló’s “Mil euros por tu vida” 78 The Rise of Immigration 79 Spanish Immigration Dystopias 81 “Mil euros por tu vida” 82 Between the Spaces of Disciplinary Power and Biopower 87 Allegory of Transference 96 Conclusion 105 Bibliography 114 Chapter 4: The Architecture of Avarice in Ion de Sosa’s Sueñan los androides or How I Learned to Stop Worrying About the Economic Crisis and Love the Sheep 121 The Age of Avarice 122 Spanish Financial Crisis Dystopias: Landscapes of Postapocalypse and Avarice 126 Sueñan los androides 128 The Accumulation of Symbolic Capital 131 Conclusion 143 Bibliography 152 Chapter 5: Sensescapes of Precarity in El salario del gigante by José Ardillo, Madrid: frontera by David Llorente, and Nos mienten by Eduardo Vaquerizo 160 The Age of Rage 161 Spanish Financial Crisis Dystopias: Landscapes of Precarity 163 El salario del gigante 166 The Punishment of the Senses 168 Madrid: frontera 173 Interdictory Spaces and the Purification of Places 175 Nos mienten 179 Technology as a Proxy for the Senses 180 Conclusion 183 Bibliography 187 Chapter 6: The Cartography of In/Subordination in El sistema by Ricardo Menéndez Salmón 193 The Age of Resistance 196 Spanish Financial Crisis Dystopias: Landscapes of Resistance 198 El sistema 199 The Mapping of In/Subordination 202 Inside Out: Counter-Mapping 211 Conclusion 216 Bibliography 222 Chapter 7: Conclusion 228 Bibliography 237 Index 239 Front Matter ....Pages i-xv Introduction (Diana Q. Palardy)....Pages 1-27 The Path to Voluntary Confinement: Dystopian Spaces of Consumerism in Ray Loriga’s Tokio ya no nos quiere (Diana Q. Palardy)....Pages 29-64 Grafting the Global North onto the Global South: Dystopian Transhumanism in Elia Barceló’s “Mil euros por tu vida” (Diana Q. Palardy)....Pages 65-107 The Architecture of Avarice in Ion de Sosa’s Sueñan los androides or How I Learned to Stop Worrying About the Economic Crisis and Love the Sheep (Diana Q. Palardy)....Pages 109-147 Sensescapes of Precarity in El salario del gigante by José Ardillo, Madrid: frontera by David Llorente, and Nos mienten by Eduardo Vaquerizo (Diana Q. Palardy)....Pages 149-181 The Cartography of In/Subordination in El sistema by Ricardo Menéndez Salmón (Diana Q. Palardy)....Pages 183-217 Conclusion (Diana Q. Palardy)....Pages 219-229 Back Matter ....Pages 231-235