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Ken Bugul is a Senegalese writer; widely acclaimed for her semiautobiographical novels; where she uses writing as a form of auto‑ therapy. However; in La Piece d’or; published in 2006; the reader is surprised to find supernatural elements that can be interpreted as science fiction. The author paints a striking picture of the African society after the sixties; torn apart by corruption; violence; urbanization and lack of perspectives. This dystopian universe is threatened by an asteroid; which can only be stopped with the use of a gold coin. The purpose of this article is to analyze three elements of science fiction in the novel: the title objet; the mythical creature and the alien. It aims to show how the author blends science fiction with African tradition in order to remind the reader of the need for solidarity and return to traditional values. The study is based; among others; on the works of Gilbert Millet and Denis Labbe; Katarzyna Gadomska; Isaac V. Joslin and Alison Rice.
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This article aims to study space presented in the neo‑Gothic novel La Meute by Serge Brussolo as an example of the desecrated sacred space; a spatial figure characteristic of the Gothic novel; present in the genre from its beginnings. In La Meute; Serge Brussolo refers to the cult of the archaic mother associated with nature; embodying excessive and uncontrolled violence that arises in the middle of the modern metropolis. The Mondescos’ house; located in the center of a big city; appears as a temple of pagan idols depicting terrible and merciless animals which demand human sacrifices to compensate for endured desecration. The sacredness of the house is reinforced by the presence of a room where a statue of its former owner receives a kind of veneration. The sacred becomes affected by the violation; whereas the statue is destroyed at the end of the text in a desecrating act.
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Nowadays, urban fantasy has become one of the most popular subgenres of fantasy. In contemporary urban fantasy, the city is a place where the real world and the supernatural interfere. Their coexistence catalyzes several struggles and only the female protagonist, who becomes an urban hunter, is able to overcome these urban problems. The complexity of relation between her and the city gives an opportunity to present typical urban issues of contemporary city dwellers. The aim of the present article is to reveal those two constitutive elements, the city and the female protagonist, as well as their role and importance in Cassandra O’Donnell’s French series Rebecca Kean.
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The question of invisibility is a common thread shared by J.R.R. Tolkien and J.K. Rowling, not only because it appears explicitly in their two fictional works, namely The Hobbit (or The Lord of the Rings) and the Harry Potter book series, but also because it can be related to the two heroes’ personalities and families, as well as to the political context of the time they were written. It is a matter of specifying how the authors use invisibility in their respective works’ dynamics and what that means. I propose a nuanced answer highlighting the similarities, but also the differences between the two works. Heroes find themselves in a struggle against the incarnation of Evil. Both of them also make sacrifices in order to figth it.
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This paper aims to analyse the novels Heloise (1980); by Anne Hebert; Moi; Tituba sorciere… Noire de Salem (1986); by Maryse Conde; and La sorciere (1996); by Marie NDiaye; to present three female characters endowed with supernatural powers. On one hand; we see a vampire who exhibits the crack of human psychology; namely the double essence of the world; shared between Good and Evil. On the other hand; there is Tituba; who uses magic as the last anchor of an identity built on the black diaspora; and as a space of freedom that allows the realization of the most primitive desires; where a collective past is released. Finally; there is Lucie; a failed modern witch; whose powers serve to exhibit the nonsense of reality.
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The aim of the present study is to understand the particular relation between the real and the imaginary in Pierre Pevel’s novel Les Enchantements d’Ambremer by analyzing how these two separate modes interact and contribute to the creation of a unique fantasy universe. The author, an important figure of French fantasy literature, has shown predilection for combining history and fancy multiple times also in his other series, such as La trilogie de Wielstadt, in which the Thirty Years’ War is reimagined in the context of a fantasy story. The same model appears in Le Paris de Merveilles, another trilogy incorporating elements of the real in the framework of a fantasy narrative. The structure of the presented world may be interpreted as being composed of several layers or sets, whereby each contributes to the construction of one cohesive universe. The traces of extra‑ literary reality provide the reader with the point of departure and make the fantasy world more familiar. They also constitute the basis for modifications allowing another version of the city of Paris to be born. This alternative French capital is deeply influenced by the neighboring land of magic, inhabited by fairies, gnomes and other fantastic creatures, thus constituting the other extreme as opposed to the references to reality.
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The aim of this article is to study and question the specifics of the Japanese fantastic in literature and cinema; through the prism of the socio‑historical context and the literary evolution (by considering; for example; the assimilation of Western influences on modern Japanese culture and the blend of folkloric imagery and modernity). The fantastic in Japanese literature develops an atmosphere of otherness and strangeness; a representation of the empirical reality that creates a liminal world; where the supernatural becomes almost commonplace and acceptable; as can be seen in Haruki Murakami’s fiction. This brings to another aim of this study; which is to look the Japanese attitude toward the “real”; insofar as this monistic attitude is markedly different from the dualistic conception of the world in force in Western countries. Since the supernatural is omnipresent throughout Japanese culture and society; the Japanese fantastic is not based on traumatic events whose anxiogenic character creates fear. This leads us directly to the question of the particular fictional space identified in the Japanese fantastic.
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Since the end of the 20th century; the phenomenon of young adult imaginary literature – originated in the Anglo‑American world – has spread to France; resulting in the creation of a new literary category. Thanks to translations of bestsellers such as The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman or Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling; this literature established itself an important place in French publishing industry. Nevertheless; it is clear that this literary category often escapes a strict and unanimous typology; especially since the generic categories differ according to cultural areas. Therefore; this study will aim to reveal the characteristic of this vaguely defined literature; in order to determine the elements of its definition through the prism of French reception.
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In many ways; it may seem redundant to speak about “literatures of the imagination”. Is literature not necessarily a product of what philosophy calls creative imagination? Can we say that some literary works are more “of the imagination” than others? In this comparative paper; I study the way animals are anthropomorphised in Redwall; an animal fantasy series written by Brian Jacques; and in Jean de La Fontaine’s Fables. Indeed; those two fictional works share a common core: they belong to animal literature. Thus; the objective is to determine if Redwall is really more “of the imagination” than the famous fables of the 17th century.
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In 2018; the entertainment platform Netflix released its new series: Chilling adventures of Sabrina; which is a contemporary and horrifying adaptation of an American 1960s comic book. The purpose of this article is to study why this character is so often taken over and the changes that she has gone through the decades.
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French theatre for young people has had an increasing repertoire which explores children’s relationship with the world in an ethic and aesthetic context. It also questions the message transmission from the author to the young addressee. The author takes responsibility of his texts; offering a broad perspective of the world. On one hand; he confronts the young audience with major social issues; while on the other hand; he wants to assert the sanctity of childhood. Several detours are used to enable them to understand the world and its complexity. The registers of the fantastic; the wondrous and the strange are a part of this project. Indeed; it is a possible way to present another reality to face the real world. But this process poses a major obstacle to the reception of the young reader. This article also aims to analyze and criticize the several aspects of running away – when children characters leave their lives and the sad reality to take refuge in a new world – in dramatic literature for young people.
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U „građanskom ratu sećanja” ovih dana je na nov način oživljen Sarajevski atentat. Okvir je ostao tanato-politički, ali se više ne eksploatiše samožrtvovanje Principa nego smrt Ferdinanda. Ko je odgovoran za to što su mladobosanci od tiranoubica postali teroristi? Svi oni u regionu koji strepe od jugoslovenstva i svi oni iz okruženja koji žele da rasterete vlastite nacije od imperijalističke odgovornosti za klanicu Prvog svetskog rata. Da li će oni uveriti javnost da su atentatori bili teroristi? Verovatno hoće zato što Princip danas nema valjanog advokata. Srušene su one strukture koje su Principa iznedrile i koje su ga docnije opravdano heroizovale. Država Jugoslavija je Principu s razlogom dizala spomenike i po njemu imenovala ulice. Danas nikakva kohorta blistavih istoričara ne može odbraniti Principa zato što nema južnoslovenske države kao ostvarenja mutnog ideala koji je vodio mladobosance. A što se rečena država danas više shvata kao iluzija ili kao tamnica to su veće šanse da Princip o neslavnom jubileju bude stigmatizovan kao terorista.
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Kasnim sa reagovanjem jer sam se sve nadao da će ovo umesto mene napisati neko drugi. A nije. Možda je kašnjenje na mestu, zbog pijeteta prema Milunki Savić, kojom se svi zajedno nečasno poštapamo. Istina, Dejan Ilić je na Peščaniku 15. novembra dao umestan impuls, ali se na tome i završilo. Reč je naime o tome kako je četnički vojvoda Tomislav Nikolić, u svojstvu predsednika Srbije, iskoristio naknadnu sahranu Milunke u Aleji velikana da ideološki našminka časnu pokojnicu. Mislim na ovo što je rekao: Tako je Milunka Savić podelila sudbinu Srbije i bila nevidljiva, neprimetna, beznačajna – ne za Srbiju već za komunističku Jugoslaviju… pa dalje: Zato što je ostala Srpkinja i srpski borac, a nije postala Jugoslovenka i nije bila jugoslovenski partizan… i još: …da je jugoslovenska ideologija, doktrina umanjivanja značaja svega što je srpsko, gurnula u mrak Srbiju i njenu tradiciju, a za njom i sve velikane ratova, kulture, privrede… – tako je govorio imenovani.
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Povodom izložbe „Kraljevski namesnici (1934–1941)“ Pre skoro mesec dana u Domu narodne skupštine je otvorena izložba „Kraljevski namesnici (1934– 1941)“. Iako je proteklo izvesno vreme od otvaranja izložbe, a za ovu temu sam veoma zainteresovan, nije bilo umesno da o izložbi pišem pre nego što je posetim – što sam tek nedavno i učinio, pa otuda i ovaj relativno zakasneli izveštaj.
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Davno, gotovo da se ne mogu sjetiti godine, moj otac me poveo sa svojom firmom na ekskurziju u Drvar. Važna napomena je – stari je radio kao policijski inspektor – cijeli autobus je bio pun policije. Šofer, ohrabren sastavom tima u autobusu, nije poštovao ograničenja te je put prolazio brzo i uzbudljivo. Improvizovani desant na Drvar je bio razlog našeg putovanja. Bila je to odlična prilika da se u svom sjaju pokaže tadašnje stanje jugoslovenskih RV i PVO jedinica. Bivši partizani su svuda uokolo pričali svoje ratničke priče sjećajući se kako su spasili Vrhovnog komadanta u operaciji Konjićev skok.
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U oktobru 2011. putovala sam u New York, i već drugi ili treći dan nakon dolaska uputila sam se prema Wall Streetu, i ne provjerivši gdje se točno nalazi Zuccotti Park. Izašavši iz metroa ugledala sam, na sreću, informacijski punkt.
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