SF and the Weird

doi:10.1017/9781009071550.014

11 - SF and the Weird

from Part II - Genres

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 July 2022

Betsy Huang

Edited by

Stephen Shapiro and

Mark Storey

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Stephen Shapiro: Affiliation:
University of Warwick
Mark Storey: Affiliation:
University of Warwick

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Summary

This chapter examines the way two related genres, science fiction (SF) and the weird, deploy horror to critique the sources and expressions of “American horror” – namely, the dark side of American exceptionalism and the social and environmental consequences of its imperialist projects. The two genres share similar generic genealogies, but they diverge teleologically. SF is built on the assumptions of scientific rationalism and therefore follows an identifiable internal logic, relying on our implicit or explicit belief in the plausibility of the story. The weird, by contrast, is resolutely committed to the inexplicable. Both, however, use horror to disrupt our reliance on realist modes of representation that flatter our epistemological certainties. As such, both SF and the weird have been platforms for colonialist and nationalist imaginations, but both have also been potent vehicles for revealing, resisting, and repairing the brutalities of such imaginations.

Keywords

science fiction Gothic monstrosity miscegenation hybridity alien ecology Anthropocene climate eco-weird,

Type: Chapter
Information: The Cambridge Companion to American Horror , pp. 169 - 182

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009071550.014 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2022

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