Utopian Dreams, Apocalyptic Nightmares: Globalization in Recent Mexican and Chicano NarrativeUtopian Dreams, Apocalyptic Nightmares traces the history of utopian representations of the Americas, first on the part of the colonizers, who idealized the New World as an earthly paradise, and later by Latin American modernizing elites, who imagined Western industrialization, cosmopolitanism and consumption as a utopian dream for their independent societies. Carlos Fuentes, Homero Aridjis, Carmen Boullosa, and Alejandro Morales utilize the literary genre of dystopian science fiction to elaborate on how globalization has resulted in the alienation of indigenous peoples and the deterioration of the ecology. This book concludes that Mexican and Chicano perspectives on the past and the future of their societies constitute a key site for the analysis of the problems of underdevelopment, social injustice, and ecological decay that plague today's world. Whereas utopian discourse was once used to justify colonization, Mexican and Chicano writers now deploy dystopian rhetoric to interrogate projects of modernization, contributing to the current debate on the global expansion of capitalism. The narratives coincide in expressing confidence in the ability of Latin American and U.S. Latino popular sectors to claim a decisive role in the implementation of enhanced measures to guarantee an ecologically sound, ethnically diverse, and just society for the future of the Americas. |
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Acapulco America Amerindians Ángel años apocalyptic Aridjis Arira Atlántidos Aztec Boullosa capital Carlos Carmen Boullosa century Chicano Cielos ciudad Coatlicue colonial conquest contemporary corruption critical cultural depicts destruction día dystopian ecological economic elites emphasis environment epidemic Estela ethnic European Fahrenheit 451 Fifth Sun Fuentes Fuentes's Cristóbal Nonato future García Canclini globalization Gregory había haces el amor hegemonic Hernando highlights hombre Homero human indigenous communities indios industrialization José Juan L'Atlàntide LAMEX Latin American Lear Leyenda literary López marginalized mass media memory mestizaje mestizo Mexican Revolution Mexican society Mexico City miscegenation Moctezuma Moctezuma City Morales mundo NAFTA narrator nation native nature Néstor García Canclini Nineteen Eighty-Four Pacífica piensas cuando haces political population postrevolutionary project of modernity protagonist racial Rag Doll Plagues representation represents Revolution Revueltas role Sandra science fiction sectors social soles Spanish Tenochtitlan Tezcatlipoca tiempo tierra tion Tlatelolco transculturation underscores urban utopian utopian dreams Western women