Utopia
- For the Doctor Who episode "Utopia", see Utopia (Doctor Who episode).
Utopia (from the 1516 novel by Thomas More usually known by that name) designates a culture depicted in fiction or non-fiction, which is presented by the creator as being or approaching an ideal of human organization. (Some critics will use the term "utopian" to disparage an allegedly excessively idealistic concept or project.)
Science fiction and fantasy, for obvious reasons, are ideal media in which to present utopias.
More's book, originally written in Latin, is presented as a 'true story' as told by Raphael Hythloday, and is arguably the first work of sf. More uses frequent puns in Ancient Greek to suggest Hythloday's story is less than genuine; 'Hythloday', for example, translates as 'teller of tales/nonsense'; 'Utopia' translates as 'nowhere'. The island Utopia as described by Hythloday is, on closer inspection, anything but. While the explorers on the island are fascinated and delighted by the Utopians' world view and political/social systems, the reader is presumably meant to find the rigid social control and enforced uniformity disturbing. The ironic portrayal of Utopian ideals in this text sets the precedent: future sf utopias also tend to show damaged ideals rather than genuinely perfect worlds.
Feminist Utopias
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Some articles on the subject:
- A Brief Conversation with Susanna J. Sturgis at Ambling Along the Aqueduct, conducted by L. Timmel Duchamp in June of 2007, discusses feminist utopias and "utopian impulses".