Dystopian Fiction Has Been Moved to Current Affairs
A podcast in association with BeingSociety.com, in which Clare Coombe and Masha Yakovleva explore the politics, ethics, and societal visions of dystopian tv, film, and literature.
Episodes
In Episode 30, Masha and Clare are talking about the mysterious and important show that is Severance.
While not providing any answers to the many questions posed by the show's complex narrative, we do our best to unpick the ethical implications of the premise: what if a brain-chip could offer the ultimate work-life balance?
As well as discussing ideas around memory and self, we look at the way Severance parodies and amplifies the...
In Episode 29 of Dystopian Fiction Has Been Moved to Current Affairs, Masha and Clare are discussing the 2011 film In Time, and its concept of 'Darwinian Capitalism'.
We look at the metaphor of 'time is money' as made literal in the film. We look at the nature of wealth disparity and how wealth redistribution functions as a step within systemic change. We discuss the ethics of Will and Sylvia's 'Robin Hood' tactics and the theme o...
Masha and Clare are back with Dystopian Fiction Has Been Moved to Current Affairs, and our new season kicks off with an episode on Wicked, specifically the 2024 film, with reference to the current political situation in the USA and UK.
In this episode, we discuss the eradication of the Animals as a metaphor for marginalized peoples. We explore the othering and eventual persecution of Elphaba. We look at the presentation of disabili...
In Episode 27 of Dystopian Fiction Has Been Moved to Current Affairs, Masha and Clare discuss the 1976 film Logan's Run, and its themes of aging, societal control, hedonism, AI, and the nature of freedom. We draw contrasts with other depictions of the allegory of Plato's cave, the apparent rejection of 1960s culture in favour of more conservative values, and the vision of a response to ecological crisis and resource scarcity. We al...
In this post-US election episode, Clare Coombe and Masha Yakovleva are talking about the 2006 Mike Judge comedy film, Idiocracy, called by some 'a documentary' and others (ie. Masha) 'the worst film I've ever seen'.
This film imagines a future in which intelligence has been bred out of the human race, with chaotic social and political consequences. In our discussion, we critique the use of stereotypes and depiction of lower social-...
In our Halloween special, and 25th episode, Clare and Masha are discussing the 2000 film American Psycho and the 1991 novel by Brett Easton Ellis on which it was based.
In our analysis, we approach American Psycho as a dystopia in which Patrick Bateman represents the everyman of 1980s Wall Street, and his construction of his identity is mimetic and post-modern, just like the complex genre of the film and novel.
We discuss the alleg...
In Episode 24 of Dystopian Fiction Has Been Moved to Current Affairs, Clare Coombe and Masha Yakovleva are discussing Society of the Snow [La Sociedad de la Nieve], the 2023 film dramatizing the events of the Uruguayan plane crash of 1972 and the subsequent survival of 18 victims in the Andes. We also make comparisons with the 1993 film Alive.
Our themes include surviving in inhospitable landscapes, including reliance on anthropoph...
In Episode 23 of Dystopian Fiction Has Been Moved to Current Affairs, Clare Coombe and Masha Yakovleva are discussing the 2023 film, The End We Start From, starring Jodie Comer.
Our discussion explores flooding and the climate crisis, and how prevalent these issues already are, especially in the global south, but also worsening in Europe and some parts of Britain. We talk crisis response, prevention, and the need for more beavers.
...
In Episode 22, Clare and Masha are discussing the amazing 1997 film, Gattaca.
In our conversation we look at the science and ethics of gene editing, including the advocacy for an update in the law to eliminate hereditary disease.
We explore the fascinating theories of genetics and the impact on us of our DNA, with particular reference to Robert Plomin's book, Blueprint, as well as passing reference to Robert Sapolsky's work on fre...
In Episode 21 of Dystopian Fiction Has Been Moved to Current Affairs, Clare and Masha are discussing the miniseries Last Light.
We focus on responses to the climate crisis, the difference between eco-activism and eco-terrorism, the role of disruption and violence in social justice and driving change, and how we can bring about an end to fossil fuels.
In this episode, Masha talks about Alain de Botton on the media. Clare quotes Mik...
In our 20th episode, Masha and Clare are discussing the 2019 film Joker, looking at its presentation of societal impact on mental health, its depiction of the consequences of wealth disparity, and how it reflects ableism in our society.
In this episode, we draw on some of the ideas in Daraiseh and Booker's 2020 article: 'Jokes from Underground: The Disintegration of the Bourgeois Subject and the Progress of Capitalist Modernization...
Dystopian Fiction Has Been Moved to Current Affairs is back! Masha and Clare have returned from our summer break, and we have a new episode out for you on the tv drama Fallout (Amazon Prime).
In this episode, we discuss depiction of post-nuclear apocalypse, and the formation of societies within this.
We talk about the Golden Rule vs immoral lawlessness, and whether trust and community can survive societal destruction.
We are espec...
In Episode 18 of Dystopian Fiction Has Been Moved to Current Affairs, Clare and Masha are discussing the iconic and much-beloved 1998 film, The Truman Show.
In this episode we discuss the appeal of reality television and what it says about our society.
We look at how The Truman Show posits Seahaven as a 'utopia' and the price that Truman is made to pay for his so-called safe and comfortable existence, with reference to the social c...
In this episode of Dystopian Fiction Has Been Moved to Current Affairs, Clare and Masha are discussing the incredible yet harrowing 1984 film, Threads, a graphic depiction of the aftermath of nuclear attack, set in Sheffield (where Masha lives!).
Content warning: violence and sexual violence; still-birth
In this episode we discuss the impacts of nuclear attack on infrastructure and human bodies, along with the history of nuclear we...
In Episode 16 of Dystopian Fiction Has Been Moved to Current Affairs, Clare Coombe and Masha Yakovleva are discussing the mind-bending physics-filled Netflix Drama, 3 Body Problem.
In this episode, we look at the depiction of Mao's China and the Cultural Revolution, and the Chinese novel on which the show is based. We mention articles from The Guardian, New York Times, and Radio Free Asia.
In Episode 15 of Dystopian Fiction Has Been Moved to Current Affairs, Clare and Masha are discussing Oscar-winning film Poor Things, which we absolutely loved.
Content Warning: suicide, sexual content, FGM
Themes in this episode include:
- brain transplants, animal and human testing, and medical ethics
- the legacy of Frankenstein, Gothic literature, and monstrosity
- identity, social mores, nature vs nurture, and growing up
- issues o...
In Episode 14 of Dystopian Fiction Has Been Moved to Current Affairs, Clare and Masha are discussing The Way, a recent dystopian drama from the BBC, set in Port Talbot, Wales.
Content Warning: this episode includes reference to suicide.
In this episode, we talk about divided families and generational trauma, with particular relation to changing industrial landscapes in Britain. In particular, we discuss the theme of Welsh steel, an...
In Episode 13 of Dystopian Fiction Has Been Moved to Current Affairs, Clare and Masha are talking about the film Downsizing. Resting on the premise that people can choose to shrink to around 10cm tall as part of a project to reduce overpopulation, this odd comedy is full of themes of science fiction, environmentalism, innovation, social justice, and relationship.
In this episode, we refer to this study in our discussion of global m...
In Episode 12 of Dystopian Fiction Has Been Moved to Current Affairs, Clare and Masha discuss the 2023 Netflix film, Leave the World Behind.
As well as themes of cyber warfare, disinformation, privilege in the apocalypse, fear, and the place of trust, we also look at how to see off a f***load of deer, and whether people are really as dreadful as one of the characters proclaims.
In this episode, we reference the interview with Rober...
In our eleventh episode of Dystopian Fiction Has Been Moved to Current Affairs, Clare and Masha are diving into A Clockwork Orange, both the Stanley Kubrick film of 1971 and the novella by Anthony Burgess from 1962.
Content Warning: themes of sexual violence, physical violence, and suicide
In this episode, we look at multiple layers of dystopian society: the violent world where Alex and his droogs commit their ultraviolence; the po...
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