Paradise on Fire: Dialectics of Utopia in Edward Bond’s The War Plays

Edward Bond’s The War Plays align with Theodor Adorno’s characterization of utopia as the recognition of reality’s dialectically gleaned potential for change. Formal and dramaturgical contradictions within The War Plays serve to stimulate social and political possibilities. Within this context, art...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Utopian studies 2024-03, Vol.35 (1), p.105-125
Main Authors: Khalifezadeh, Asiyeh, Rezaei, Tahereh
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
aesthetics of the “Ugly,” The War Plays
determinate negation
Economics
Edward Bond
History
Philosophy
Theodor Adorno
utopia
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Summary:Edward Bond’s The War Plays align with Theodor Adorno’s characterization of utopia as the recognition of reality’s dialectically gleaned potential for change. Formal and dramaturgical contradictions within The War Plays serve to stimulate social and political possibilities. Within this context, art functions as a form of “determinate negation,” acting as a tool of resistance against ideological manipulations. As such, this study unveils how Bond’s early confidence in the capacity of art to drive positive societal change evolves into a more nuanced position that recognizes both the enduring impact of cultural norms, and their tendency to recur throughout history. Any optimistic utopianism within Bond’s The War Plays is therefore accompanied by the inescapable shadow of past conflicts.
ISSN:1045-991X
2154-9648
DOI:10.5325/utopianstudies.35.1.0105