The Fantastic From Counterpublic to Public Imaginary: The Darkest Timeline?

Abstract

As the fantastic has gone from subculture to mass culture, it has moved from a counterpublic sphere to the public sphere, forcing us to rethink its political role. In “post-normal times,” the structuring role that the fantastic has come to play in the public sphere means that we need to pay attention to its rhetorical uses—the ways in which it sets and transgress political boundaries.