Loneliness in Science Fiction: The Function and Workings of Loneliness in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, "Supertoys Last all Summer Long", and Klara and the Sun.
Author
Christensen, Elisabeth Meyer
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2023
Submitted on
2023-05-31
Pages
79
Abstract
Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan ensomhed virker og får betydning i science fiction, gennem tre værker: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968) af Philip K. Dick, “Supertoys Last All Summer Long” (1969) af Brian Aldiss og Klara and the Sun (2021) af Kazuo Ishiguro. Som teoretisk ramme bruger specialet Sara Ahmeds følelsesteori fra The Cultural Politics of Emotion (2014), der forstår følelser som noget, der cirkulerer mellem mennesker, steder og ting og dermed former relationer. Da Ahmed ikke skriver direkte om ensomhed, definerer specialet ensomhed som mangel på eller sammenbrud i denne følelsescirkulation. Der inddrages også teori om androider og transhumanisme (idéer om at overskride eller ændre det menneskelige), og specialet præciserer, hvad der menes med ensomhed for at kunne kategorisere figurerne. Analysen er opdelt i tre kapitler, ét for hver tekst. I Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? undersøges, hvordan tomme, affolkede omgivelser får ensomhed til at “hænge ved” mennesker og sprede sig mellem dem. Analysen ser også på, hvordan hierarkier, følelseskulturer (normer for, hvordan man bør føle), og de opløsende grænser mellem menneske og maskine forstærker ensomhed. Her fungerer androider til tider som “tomme rum”, der suger følelser til sig uden at sende dem retur. I “Supertoys Last All Summer Long” fokuserer analysen på tid, skønhed og kunstighed, og hvordan en fiksering på ydre fremtoning gør mennesker til “non-stick”-overflader, hvor følelser ikke kan fæstne sig eller cirkulere mellem dem. I Klara and the Sun undersøges ensomhed gennem forældelse (en kultur, hvor individer gøres udskiftelige og ikke-særlige), følelsesmæssig outsourcing, afvisning og kærlighed. Børn bliver særligt udsatte i de ulige relationer mellem Artificial Friends og deres ejere, hvor følelser ofte er simulerede og utilstrækkelige. En afsluttende diskussion sammenligner de tre værker og spørger, om det altid er negativt at være alene. Specialet viser, at ensomhed er kompleks og kan fæstne sig til mennesker på mange måder. Det gør ingen brede påstande om ensomhed i al science fiction, men drager sikre konklusioner for de udvalgte tekster og kan fungere som et afsæt for videre forskning.
This thesis examines how loneliness functions and takes shape in science fiction through three works: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968) by Philip K. Dick, “Supertoys Last All Summer Long” (1969) by Brian Aldiss, and Klara and the Sun (2021) by Kazuo Ishiguro. The study uses Sara Ahmed’s emotion theory from The Cultural Politics of Emotion (2014), which understands emotions as circulating between people, places, and things and thus shaping relationships. Because Ahmed does not address loneliness directly, the thesis defines loneliness as a lack or breakdown of this circulation. It also draws on theory about androids and transhumanism (ideas about exceeding or altering the human) and clarifies how characters are categorized as lonely. The analysis is organized into three chapters, one per text. In Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, the thesis shows how empty, depopulated settings make loneliness “stick” to people and spread between them. It also examines how hierarchies, emotion cultures (norms about how one should feel), and the blurring of boundaries between human and machine intensify loneliness. Here, androids at times act as “voids” that absorb emotions without returning them. In “Supertoys Last All Summer Long,” the focus is on time, beauty, and artificiality, and how an obsession with outward appearance turns people into “non-stick” surfaces where feelings cannot attach or circulate among them. In Klara and the Sun, loneliness is explored through obsolescence (a culture that makes individuals feel replaceable), emotional outsourcing, rejection, and love. Children are particularly affected by unequal relationships between Artificial Friends and their owners, where emotions are often simulated and insufficient. A final discussion compares the three works and asks whether being alone is always negative. The thesis concludes that loneliness is complex and adheres to people in many ways. It does not make broad claims about all science fiction but offers grounded conclusions about these texts and a starting point for further research.
[This summary has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]
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