Fascist Fantasies?
Aesthetics and the Ambivalent Reception of Science Fiction and Fantasy
Twenty essays decode how the far right hijacks influential science fiction and fantasy texts
Description
Why do right-wing extremists find science fiction and fantasy so appealing? This edited collection sets out to answer that question by examining ten influential genre texts, comics, and their filmic adaptations through an interdisciplinary lens. The wide historical scope reveals a recurring pattern: The far right has repeatedly attempted to claim interpretive authority over popular fiction as a means of establishing what Antonio Gramsci called “cultural hegemony.” By investigating how and why right-wing audiences gravitate toward these genres—and why those works may carry an inherent susceptibility to such readings—the collection offers timely insights into how core elements of fascist ideology can be transmitted both subtly through narrative and symbolism, and more deliberately through right-wing appropriation. The volume also explores how certain authors—whether intentionally or not—have lent themselves to this agenda through ambivalent storytelling choices.
Works examined include The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and The Matrix, and many more to enable a nuanced decoding of ambivalent texts, semiotics, and cinematic codes, while also assessing their potential real-world impact. Balancing scholarly rigor and an accessible style, the collection will be of interest to students and university instructors, as well as to engaged film enthusiasts and fantasy fans eager to think more critically about the genres they love.
Tobias Hof is Associate Professor of History and German Studies at the University of Toronto and Privatdozent for Modern and Contemporary History at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich.
Jan Süselbeck is Professor of German Cultural Studies at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), and Adjunct Professor at the University of Calgary in Alberta.