Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Politics
RADICAL CULTURAL STUDIES
Series editors: Fay Brauer, Maggie Humm, Tim Lawrence, Stephen Maddison, Ashwani Sharma and Debra Benita Shaw (Centre for Cultural Studies Research, University of East London, UK)
The Radical Cultural Studies series publishes monographs and edited collections to provide new and radical analyses of the culturopolitics, sociopolitics, aesthetics and ethics of contemporary cultures. The series is designed to stimulate debates across and within disciplines, foster new approaches to Cultural Studies and assess the radical potential of key ideas and theories.
Titles in the Series
Sewing, Fighting and Writing: Radical Practices in Work, Politics and Culture , Maria Tamboukou
Radical Space: Exploring Politics and Practice , edited by Debra Benita Shaw and Maggie Humm
EU, Europe Unfinished: Europe and the Balkans in a Time of Crisis , edited by Zlatan Krajina and Neboja Blanua
Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Politics: Transmedia World-Building Beyond Capitalism , Dan Hassler-Forest
Austerity as Public Mood: Social Anxieties and Social Struggles , Kirsten Forkert (forthcoming)
Metamodernism: Historicity, Affect, Depth , edited by Robin van den Akker, Alison Gibbons and Timotheus Vermeulen (forthcoming)
Pornography, Materiality and Cultural Politics , Stephen Maddison (forthcoming)
Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Politics
Transmedia World-Building Beyond Capitalism
Dan Hassler-Forest
London New York
Published by Rowman & Littlefield International Ltd.
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Copyright 2016 by Dan Hassler-Forest
All rights reserved . No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: HB 978-1-78348-492-8
PB 978-1-78348-493-5
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Hassler-Forest, Dan, author.
Title: Science fiction, fantasy, and politics : transmedia world-building beyond capitalism / Dan Hassler-Forest.
Description: Lanham, Maryland : Rowman & Littlefield, [2016] | Series: Radical cultural studies | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016014471 (print) | LCCN 2016029533 (ebook) | ISBN 9781783484928 (cloth : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781783484935 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781783484942 (electronic)
Subjects: LCSH: Science fictionHistory and criticism. | Science fiction FilmsHistory and criticism. | Fantasy fictionHistory and criticism. | Imaginary places in literature. | Capitalism and mass media. | Culture and globalization. | Politics and literature.
Classification: LCC PN3433.8 .H376 2016 (print) | LCC PN3433.8 (ebook) | DDC 809.3/8762dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016014471
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
Printed in the United States of America
Dedicated with love and gratitude to my mother, Laura Hassler, and to the memory of my grandfather, Alfred Hassler.
Contents
Acknowledgments
This book began with an invitation from Amsterdam University Press to write a short introductory volume on transmedia storytelling. The topic had evolved, on the one hand, from my earlier book Capitalist Superheroes and, on the other, from a lecture series on transmedia and convergence culture that I had given for the John Adams Institute in Amsterdam. Both AUP and the JAI have never been anything but supportive and encouraging, and I would especially like to thank Ebiss Rouw, Jeroen Sondervan, and Jan-Peter Wissink at Amsterdam University Press; Russell Shorto, Maarten van Essen, Yara Deuss, and Tracy Metz at the John Adams Institute; and all the enthusiastic participants in the lecture series I gave in the spring of 2014.
As the book began to take shape, I must first thank my two online nemeses, Mark Bould and Gerry Canavan, both of whom offered invaluable advice and feedback in the early stages of development. Other crucial input at this point came from the incorrigible David Nieborg, whose recommendation of the book Games of Empire gave me an excellent model to copy shamelessly, and from fellow radical and comrade-in-arms Jan Teurlings, whose politely phrased feedback on a quite terrible early proposal draft pointed me toward ways of improving it.
A crucial event as my book proposal slowly took more definite shape was the wonderful conference SF/F Now, organized at Warwick University by Rhys Williams with Mark Bould. At the conference, I finally got to meet in person long-admired scholars such as Carl Freedman, Sherryl Vint, and Mark Fisher, and I was given the opportunity to present an early version of my work on Janelle Mone, which was published soon thereafter in a special issue of the journal Paradoxa . Rhys, Carl, Sherryl, Gerry, both Marks, and many others gave generous and extremely helpful feedback, both during and after the conference, and the delightful Stephen Shapiro was another presence there whose supportive and stimulating input has helped me enormously.
I also wish to express my deep and undying gratitude to the students who took action against the financialization and neoliberalization of academic life through a series of occupations at the University of Amsterdam. These student protests, undertaken by De Nieuwe Universiteit, Humanities Rally, and the University of Color, sparked a long-overdue debate about the nature of higher education that resonated throughout the academic community and far beyond. I feel pride beyond words to have been a small part of their movement, and my work on this book draws courage and inspiration from their anticapitalist chant We are unstoppable / Another world is possible! I also wish to thank the many former colleagues and friends who advised and supported the student protest as part of ReThink UvA. There are too many to mention, but my particular thanks and solidarity go out to Claire Weeda, Robin Celikates, Markus Stauff, Guy Geltner, Amade MCharek, Pieter Pekelharing, Enzo Rossi, Julie McBrien, Umut Kibrit, Sicco de Knecht, Linda Duits, Natalie Scholtz, Joost de Bloois, Josef Frchtl, Sanli Faez, Mieke Aerts, Marco de Waard, Patricia Pisters, Geert Lovink, Ewald Engelen, and Gijs van Donselaar.
At Rowman & Littlefield International, I must thank commissioning editor Martina OSullivan, whose patience was sorely tested by my egregious failure to meet even the most generous deadline. Sinad Murphy was similarly forced to put up with my bad behavior, and I thank both for their flexibility, their optimism, and their confidence-building faith in this project. Thanks also to Steve Coulson and Jackson Bird for graciously suffering through my inept interviewing style on Skype, to Colin Harvey for generously passing on a copy of his own recent book on transmedia world-building, and to Matt Hills for putting up with me while I kept prioritizing this book over our editorial work on the book series Id gotten him involved in.
