Futures of a Troubled Present. 'Dark Fluid' and Science Fiction as Socio-Political Critique in Hong Kong

A malleable macro-genre entailing a strong potential for socio-political critique, speculative fiction offers the narrative framework and tools to challenge fundamental assumptions, subvert dominant worldviews, and ultimately re-evaluate the current state of affairs. In particular, sci-fi – as Jameson points out – is not so much a representation of a possible future as a radical defamiliarization and restructuring of the present, which in turn is based on an informed vision of the past. From this perspective, the sci-fi developed in Hong Kong – a city tragically caught between its recent colonial past, a present plagued by waves of dissatisfaction, and a feeling of general anxiety in the face of its future – proves particularly instructive. For instance, the influential collection Dark Fluid (An liuti 暗流體, 2017) addresses a number of issues that have been deeply relevant to Hong Kong in recent years, and still are today – social disparities, disadvantaged districts, the housing crisis, an ageing population etc. – framing them against the background of universal concerns. By focusing on this collection, selected as a case study, I seek to investigate how non-realist fiction can be presented as a tool for rethinking the status quo and inspiring social change. I also intend to look into a Hong Kong-specific articulation of the relationship between literature and civil consciousness, revealing the continuum that exists between artistic and social engagement, as well as the connection between local action and global awareness.