Beyond Truth-Telling: Embodying and Dwelling in Truth and Hope

A history and examination of dystopia and angst in popular culture that speaks to our current climate of dread. At the dawn of the 20th century, a wide-ranging utopianism dominated popular and intellectual cultures throughout Europe and America. However, in the aftermathof the World Wars, with such canonical examples as Brave New World and Nineteen-Eighty-Four, dystopia emerged as a dominant genre, in literature and in social thought. The continuing presence and eventual dominance of dystopian themes in popular culture—e.g., dismal authoritarian future states, sinister global conspiracies, post-apocalyptic landscapes, a proliferation of horrific monsters, and end-of-the-world fantasies—have confirmed the degree to which the 21st is also a dystopian century. Drawing on literature as varied as H.G. Wells’s The Time Machine, Neil Gaiman’s American Gods, and Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games, and on TV and film such as The Walking Dead, Black Mirror, and The Last of Us, Robert T. Tally Jr. explores the landscape of angst created by the monstrous accumulation of dystopian material. The Fiction of Dread provides an innovative reading of contemporary culture and offers an alternative vision for critical theory and practice at a moment when, as has been famously observed, it is easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism.

Technology’s place in society is increasingly significant and debated. Although the inclusion of gender in discussions about technology is not novel, striking examples such as sexism (and racism) in artificial intelligence underscore the urgency of the debate. Popular sci-fi TV forms an important arena for the meaning-making on gender and technology for its audiences. Going beyond ‘gender essentialism’ and ‘technological determinism’, this study investigates gender and technology as represented in Black Mirror. As an anthology series, Black Mirror presents its audiences recognizable technologies and a diverse cast (in terms of gender and race). Employing a mixture of narrative and discourse analysis on all episodes of Black Mirror, how discourses on technology are gendered in Black Mirror is unravelled. Two dominant discourses – the Spectacle and the New Social Contract – show that beyond a manifest gender neutrality of technology, on a latent level patriarchal discourses are dominant in imagined future societies.

Netflix series have emerged as a popular culture medium with an impact on the language skills of its audience. To explore the influence of Netflix series on English teachers' language skills, this research utilized a qualitative case study approach. A total of 20 English teachers participated in the study by completing a demographic survey. Participants were selected purposively based on their experience in maintaining language skills using authentic materials, including Netflix series. Data collection involved the use of a questionnaire and interviews. The questionnaire aimed to gather demographic information and elicit participants' perceptions regarding the benefits of watching Netflix series for language skill maintenance. Subsequently, interviews were conducted to obtain in-depth insights into participants' responses from the questionnaire. Five English teachers voluntarily took part in the interview process. Thematic content analysis was employed to analyze the data collected from the questionnaire and interviews. The findings of the study revealed various benefits for English teachers in terms of strengthening their language skills. These benefits included fostering a positive attitude towards teaching, enhancing language proficiency, and improving cultural awareness. The study suggests that watching Netflix series has a profound impact on English teachers' language development. In summary, this qualitative case study highlights the positive influence of Netflix series on English teachers' language skills. The research suggests that incorporating Netflix series into language learning routines can be a valuable tool for English teachers. The study contributes to understanding the potential benefits of utilizing popular media platforms like Netflix for language skill development among educators.

<i>Dark</i> is a Netflix series that explores the interesting idea of time travel, which is very famous in popular culture. This paper is trying to interpretate the notion of time travel, as a literary theme, in its psychological aspects, in relation to the <i>Dark</i> Netflix series, using statistical analysis of the duration of every scene in each episode of the first season of <i>Dark</i>. The authors are using statistical analysis to explore (a) the conflicting relations between major characters and (b) their relationship with space and time. Our research estimated the duration of each scene in every episode of the first season in Dark. Each episode “broke down” into scenes, the duration of each scene and the duration of the timeline of each character (in every scene, sequence, episode respectively). Εach character’s relation with specific space (i.e. Winden, police station, school etc.) and time (1953, 1986, 2019 2052) was statistically measured. In addition, we measured the duration of the conflict of each character in every scene in every space and time. The duration of every scene, characters timeline and conflict time was calculated and then clustered into first order factors such as, NATURE, CIVILIZATION, CONFLICT, TIME etc. Other first order factors were clustered, such as the total duration of a character’s appearance in specific space and in certain time Statistical analysis showed that there is no significant difference in any of the 1^st order factors examined. This finding highlights key aspects of <i>hypermodernity</i>, a key term that outlines the current human condition by describing the deeper connection of an individual with space and time. The authors are arguing that time travel theme in <i>Dark</i> is very close to the theoretical construct of hypermodernity because it is expressing the profound ways in which individuals are related, intertwined, and reflecting upon their own experience with space and time. This experience of space and time is a core element in today’s hypermodernity state. In addition, this paper is also trying to articulate a psychoanalytical reading of the <i>Dark</i> series, which further highlights the hypermodernity aspect of this narration. Under this scope, the authors are arguing that “Dark” should be considered as one of the most prominent hypermodern television series.

From Rivers to Confetti: Reconfigurations of Time through New Media Narratives

The brutal gang rape of Jyoti Singh (Nirbhaya) on a bus in New Delhi became worldwide news in 2012. Widely known as the Nirbhaya rape incident, it was a landmark case that led the Indian government to amend existing criminal laws on sexual violence and rape. The rape also came to transform the media landscape into a space of social activism. Despite that popular cultural representations of the incident have been critiqued for appropriating rape myths. Through a thematic analysis of the BBC documentary, India's Daughter (2015), and the Netflix series, Delhi Crime (2019), the paper examines the ways in which popular culture sustains and furthers rape culture. By interrogating the thematic-cum-visual discourse of these texts, this paper explores the ideological and sexual tropes to understand the cultural configuration of rape and rape victims/survivors. The study finds the ongoing discourse centering rape in popular culture to be a reiteration of the patriarchal norms prevalent in Indian society.

The Power of Chaos

Whether intentional or not, the power of a moment in popular culture like The Witcher can illuminate and question what might be taken for granted or left unseen in our world. Theology, Religion and The Witcher: Gods and Golden Dragons takes a profound look at the intersection of popular culture and religious studies in Andrzej Sapkowski’s Witcher. The twelve contributors offer close readings and analysis of an eclectic tapestry of characters and stories from The Witcher games, live action role play, Netflix series, short stories and novels. This book is not only an exploration of religious symbolism or theology in the stories, but how dialogue, events and imagery in The Witcher intersect with the real world in which we live, where religious ideologies continue to shape global politics and lives, shifting and pressing upon the entirety of civilization, for better or for worse.

Racism is a social problem that widespread in society. The existence of racial or ethnic differences makes some people receive discrimination. The fact that race is still relevant in modern society. One of the popular social issues related to racism occurred in New York, America, namely the Central Park Five case. In this case, five black and latina teenagers were victims of wrongful arrest by American police for the alleged attempted rape and murder of a white American woman. The purpose of this research is to analyze the racism by white people especially police and people in American law against black people and how whites frame black people in society which leads to racism in the When They See Us series based on the Central Park Five case. The writers used popular literature and popular culture by Ida Rochani Adi (2011) and racial profiling theory by Luiza- Maria Filimon (2015). The research method used is qualitative descriptive. As a result, the form of racism in the series is racial profiling. The components of racial profiling occur in the series, there are police stops, police arrests, police questions, and police brutality. In addition, the frame practice by white people is to demonize black people. It also makes the Central Park Five boys known as the perpetrators in the Central Park Five case.

Whether it’s “Flashback Friday” or “Throwback Thursday,” audiences are hungry for nostalgic film and television, and the streaming giant Netflix serves up shows from the past that satisfy this craving, in addition to producing original contemporary content with nostalgic flavor. As a part of the series “Reboots, Remakes and Adaptations” originated by series editors Dr. Carlen Lavigne and Dr. Paul Booth, this edited volume focuses exclusively on the intersection between the Netflix platform and the current nostalgia trend in popular culture. As both a creator and distributor of media texts, Netflix takes great advantage of a wide variety of audience nostalgic responses, banking on attracting audiences who seek out nostalgic content that takes them back in time, as well as new audiences who discover “old” and reimagined content. The book aims to interrogate the complex and contradictory notions of nostalgia through the contemporary lens of Netflix, examining angles such as the Netflix business model, the impact of streaming platforms such as Netflix on the consumption of nostalgia, the ideological nature of nostalgic representation in Netflix series, and the various ways that Netflix content incorporates nostalgic content and viewer responses. Many of the contributed chapters analyze current, ongoing Netflix series, providing very timely and original analysis by established and emerging scholars in a variety of disciplines. What can we learn about our selves, our times, our cultures, in response to an examination of “Netflix and Nostalgia”?

Whether intentional or not, the power of a moment in popular culture like The Witcher can illuminate and question what might be taken for granted or left unseen in our world. Theology, Religion and The Witcher: Gods and Golden Dragons takes a profound look at the intersection of popular culture and religious studies in Andrzej Sapkowski’s Witcher. The twelve contributors offer close readings and analysis of an eclectic tapestry of characters and stories from The Witcher games, live action role play, Netflix series, short stories and novels. This book is not only an exploration of religious symbolism or theology in the stories, but how dialogue, events and imagery in The Witcher intersect with the real world in which we live, where religious ideologies continue to shape global politics and lives, shifting and pressing upon the entirety of civilization, for better or for worse.

ABSTRACTThis article attempts to expand the world in which rhetorical scholarship exists in general, and the positionality and subjectivity of the rhetorical scholar who engages in theory building specifically. Aiming to create a decolonial space to imagine a better world, I explore the tempo-spatial opening between epistemology and subjectivity as the space to realize our ontological potential. I employ the conception of Otherwise—those different ways of knowing and being – in order to enter into and grapple with this liminal space. An episode of the Netflix series, Black Mirror was used both to analyze and to illuminate one way in which rhetorical scholars can engage in liberatory rhetorical theorizing. This article, thus, ultimately offers a different way of thinking and being rhetorical scholars.

The use of iconic popular culture symbols is an increasingly common strategy applied by social protest organizers. The Guy Fawkes mask from the ‘V for Vendetta’ comic book became a symbol of the Anonymous group, and later of the Occupy Wall Street movement. The Salvador Dalí mask, popularized in the ‘La casa de papel’ Netflix series, was used in street protests in Spain and Italy. Motifs taken from the HBO adaptation of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ novel gained high visibility in thousands of women’s protests against the introduction of the de facto abortion ban in Poland. Basing on images documenting the Polish protests published in social media, we demonstrate how popular culture symbols are transformed into cultural codes which bridge on-street and online protest actions. This connection has become crucial in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using qualitative visual content analysis, we prepared a classification of the symbols employed. Our contribution to the theory of performative protests is to reveal the importance of analogies with the political series that Polish protesters have used by means of the general connotation: Poland is Gilead.

This paper considers five episodes from Charlie Brooker’s dystopian science fiction anthology series, Black Mirror (2011–present). The episodes selected are those that—as argued in this text—depict the role of technology as replacing that of religion. To build this claim, they will be compared to one another, to the Christian biblical concepts they mirror, and to historical events related to theological debates within Christianity.Throughout the history of Western civilization, Christian belief has played an important role in shaping cultural ideologies. For that reason, it could be argued that Christian ideas continue to penetrate our cultural narratives today, despite declining self-recognition in the West as religious or spiritual. Concepts of the afterlife, omniscience, vengeance, ostracism and eternal suffering spring up in some of the least expectedplaces within popular culture today. This paper argues that Black Mirror depicts the materialization of these concepts through imagined worlds, thus signaling the modern-day specters of Christianity.

What happens to our social media profiles when we die The episode Be Right Back as part of Netflix's series Black Mirror provides a possible scenario. A digital avatar is created to communicate with close relatives which learns from past social media activities of the deceased user. While the users entrust their social media content to one or more companies, even after their death, it may be reasonable to ask: What will the company really do with a deceased user's data: sell it to manipulate users or create advertisements In this paper we tackle the issues of ownership, ethics, and transparency of post mortem user data.