Content Language
EN
Abstract
The Argentine film La Sonámbula (dir. Fernando Spiner, 1998) is one of the most renowned examples of local science fiction cinema. The film portrays a post-apocalyptic, totalitarian Argentina in the year 2010 (the near future at the time of the film’s release). Since this dystopian scenario never materialized, it might be assumed the concerns and anxieties about Argentine politics that the film conveys might have been exaggerated or unfounded. Drawing on the concept of chronopolitcs, as defined by Paul Virilio, and on the theoretical framework proposed by Paul Ricoeur related to the study of memory and forgetting, this paper discusses the political critique that underlies La Sonámbula. Through a close textual reading of the film, I argue how many of the implications contained in the film, regarding the political and biopolitical manipulation of memory and the representation of the city of Buenos Aires, as well as alluding to the military dictatorship of 19876-1983, can be still considered as valid in today’s Argentina. This argument highlights the relevance of the critical dimension that can be associated with science fiction dystopias.
DOI
http://dx.doi.org/10.5038/2167-6577.1.1.7
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Recommended Citation
Paz, Mariano
(2013)
"Buenos Aires Dreaming: Chronopolitics, Memory and Dystopia in La Sonámbula,"
Alambique. Revista académica de ciencia ficción y fantasía / Jornal acadêmico de ficção científica e fantasía: Vol. 1
:
Iss.
1
, Article 7.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5038/2167-6577.1.1.7
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/alambique/vol1/iss1/7
Included in
Film and Media Studies Commons, Latin American Languages and Societies Commons, Latin American Literature Commons
