Graduation Year

2021

Document Type

Campus Only Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Art

Reader 1

Kasper Kovitz

Reader 2

Nancy Macko

Abstract

The world is obsessed with dystopia. We seem to crave these dark stories, and even romanticize the end of the world. Somehow, dystopian media has failed to evoke its desired impact. Instead of inspiring fear and change, its underlying cautionary messages seem to be lost on most audiences, whose denial allows them to separate these imagined futures from their own reality. In this work, I explored dystopian art and media as a way to figure out which artistic methods are most effective in reminding us all that history will never fail to repeat itself if we choose to ignore the real and obvious messages of dystopian art. As a society, we are quick to celebrate our advancements and hail each coming year as another step toward a technological new age, however, the fact is that many of the terrible challenges that have plagued us in the past remain. Sadly, greed continues to drive much of human ambition and advancement, as does selfishness and fear. These negative attitudes and emotions are obscured by a false sense of improvement and progression. Perhaps blinded by the shiny objects of late-capitalist consumerism, we cannot see or actively deny the evidence of our crumbling, dying world. Our climate is in crisis, political fascism is once again tightening its grip on our lives, and cultural and scientific materialism holds our hearts and compassion captive as we continue to gauge success largely by the bounty we can extract from nature and the less fortunate. Now more than ever, we need to look to science-fiction art for its cautionary lessons, and not just consume the genre as an entertainment media. We are at a critical point in our societal development, and we need to make sure that we are careful to critically reevaluate our interest in individual prosperity and materialism. In fact, I believe we need to re-establish a shared societal value of communal prosperity.

Link to Image Gallery

novissimis.cargo.site

Download

This thesis is restricted to the Claremont Colleges current faculty, students, and staff.

Share

COinS