The World is Not Alright
- courtneytreglia
- Feb 5
- 6 min read
After finishing my M.Ed. in Art and Art Education, I have decided to move forward with the research that fascinates me. Leading up to the 2024 elections, I thought my research and book that I am writing in conjunction to the research would be meaningless because I thought we would have a female president. I didn't think we would have Trump as our president once again, but here we are. Maybe that is my own privilege and ignorance to think people would not make the same mistake again. Now, Trump is trying to undermine every single federal agency that has been put in place and I fear my research is more important than ever. Below is my research proposal. I will also share my developing outline in a future post.
I’m eager to work on my research in the Creative Practice PhD program at Trans Art Institute, currently titled, “Straylight Bias: A Personal and Cultural History of Science Fiction and its Impact on a Divided Society.”
The goals of it include taking personal and meaningful connections to the genre and critically reviewing them as a form of creative storytelling in media across the world including literature, cinema, music, and art. It will address questions about sci-fi’s role in education and culture of a divided civilization such as the United States during an extremely difficult phase of coexistence between polarizing belief systems. It will also assess the history of sci-fi's patterns in reinforcing harmful stereotypes as it is used to portray the fear of the “unfamiliar” in juxtaposition with identifying the genre’s nuanced allegories of collective liberation through the dismantling of systematic oppression.
Whether we like it or not, the topic of living in space seems closer to nonfiction than ever before as CEOs and technology enthusiasts believe the next course for civilization is to colonize space while others believe these funds for experiments in space travel should be implemented back into the planet we already have. While most sci-fi texts offer warnings for relying too heavily on technology, many of these books are being banned state by state. In history and in fiction, if we do not have these materials to learn lessons and deepen our understanding of humanity, what problems will we cause colonizing outer space? If biomimicry is looking towards nature to find solutions to humanity’s problems, then what do we call the act of rejecting nature to solve humanity’s problems?
This research has many influences but there is one event that sparked it. In 2015, Disney released the trailer for Star Wars Episode VII. For many it was pure excitement and for some it was rage. Over a black man. Then, a woman. Then, a Guatemalan-American man. The trailer for the film received major backlash for being “anti-white propaganda,” promoting “white genocide.” The backlash continued three years later when a Vietnamese-American actress, Kelly Marie Tran, wrote an empowering essay for the New York Times about marginalization and online harassment from starring in the franchise’s following film, Episode VIII. Unfortunately, experiencing racism and sexism are nothing new to the fandom during the more recent shift to larger audiences since the 2000s.
Catherine Hardwicke, the film director of the vampire teen romance, Twilight, reflected on what she witnessed ten years after the film’s release at the 2018 Comic-Con. She was appalled by the frustrated fanboys who were deeply offended by the “shrieking teen girls” flooding the convention during the promotion of the film. A franchise that also owes its success to perpetuating themes of gender roles, abusive relationships, and lazily exoticizing Indigenous storytelling that propelled the story’s lore.
History and fiction have been seen as separate entities, but sci-fi can reveal trends in political history that have yet to be collectively discussed. Adjacent to these events, the extremist alt-right organization, the Proud Boys, set off a campaign of hateful rhetoric referring to the 1999 film The Matrix as “taking the redpill.” Meaning men need to wake up to the perceived threat of male subjugation under feminism where women choose black and brown men as their ideal partners, perpetuating the concept of “white genocide.” This delusional fear was a call to action for violence against BIPOC communities and forcing women into traditional roles with a lack of freedom and bodily autonomy.
There are other fans of sci-fi who use storytelling as codified language to express their own identities in a space where they feel it is unsafe to do so openly, including the creators of The Matrix themselves. The Wachowskis are transgender writer and director siblings who created The Matrix as an allegory for the trans experience. The very term the Proud Boys use to enforce their agenda was created by two people who represent everything they are against.
The Wachowskis are not alone as more diverse creatives recognize the advantages of using the genre for complex storytelling. Nonbinary musical artist, Janelle Monae spent years crafting a dystopian universe as the conceptual framework for their music stating in a 2010 interview with the Rolling Stone magazine, “I only date androids” as a metaphor for thinking beyond heteronormative love. The Kenyan born artist, Wangechi Mutu, uses imagery of women to reconfigure them into new forms, shaping them into magnificent powerful beings inspired by similar aesthetics in afrofuturism.
The genre is vast and has not been properly examined as a whole in history artistically, culturally, and educationally. While reading, watching, listening, and assembling this research, I will also explore themes of human connectedness with the aesthetics of sci-fi while processing my own experiences in my creative practice, resulting in written works and visual art. I’m currently working on my first novel and documenting the process of writing. I will document its release and feedback.
Aspects of qualitative research in this project include critical race theory, queer theory, feminist theory, disabled theory and autotheory. My book and artwork will be included as part of my arts-based research with the inclusion of A/R/T, narrative inquiry, and art history as the United States continues to further de-evolve into an oppressive system of its own. I will examine philosophical theories including speculative idealism, escapism, and ways of knowing.
After publishing my poetry book titled, “Lost Objects & Found Memories,” I formed a friendship with an independent publisher who will publish my novel. Once I am done with the program, I plan to publish my research on science fiction. After my research is published, I’d like to teach art history courses on science fiction at the undergraduate level.
Annotated Bibliography
Nesvold, Erika. Off-Earth: ethical questions and quandaries for living in outer space. The MIT Press. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 2023
The author asks ethical and logistical questions about space travel that the scientific and financial leaders in the field have left unanswered in hopes the book will provide solutions for the people who live on earth.
Rothchild, Julia. “Five Things to Know about Biomimicry.” Smithsonian Science Education Center. 2014. https://ssec.si.edu/stemvisions-blog/five-things-know-about-biomimicry
This article explains the use of biomimicry positing the use of biomimicry will help us question some of the most rigid theories created by humans.
Blair, Elizabeth. “Report: Last year ended with a surge in book bans.” National Public Radio. 2024.
This article covers PEN America’s report that 2023 saw a surge in states reporting a ban on local books with a look at which states had the most bans and what kind of books were banned.
Lee, Benjamin. “Twitter trolls urge boycott of Star Wars over black character.” The Guardian. 2015.
This article shares the trailer and the positive and negative points of view for the release of the Star Wars film featuring a black lead actor.
Wang, Emily. “Kelly Marie Tran Wrote a Powerful Essay About the Racism She Experienced After Star Wars.” Glamour. 2018.
This article summarizes the actress’ life before fame and life after the Star Wars film, reflecting on the triggering backlash she received.
Donnelly, Matt. “Women Creators, Fans at Comic-Con Rise Up Against Culture of Misogyny.” Variety. 2019
As women become a more present force in the world of comics, they discuss the creative efforts to make the media more accessible to diverse viewers while facing extreme backlash from the white men who traditionally ingested the media before and continuing to push past the misogyny to protect the work they are making.
Kutner, Samantha. “Take the Redpill: Understanding the Allure of Conspiratorial Thinking Among Proud Boys.” Georgetown Journal of International Affairs. 2020.
The covert radicalization of white men has led to dangerous extremism advancing the fascist agenda with crypto-fascist strategies of denial and post hoc distancing to obscure their intent.
Dale, Lauren. “With the Matrix 4 Coming, Let’s Talk About How the First Movie is a Trans Allegory.” Syfy Wire. 2019
The author discusses the inspiration for the original Matrix film reflecting on the directors projecting their closeted experience onto the silver screen.
Romano, Aja. “Janelle Monae’s body of work is a masterpiece of modern science fiction.” Vox. 2018.
Janelle Monae’s role in music as an afrofuturist across five albums with the most recent contribution being the final release of the main character’s journey.
Tylcz, Dominika. “Wangechi Mutu” Museum of Modern Art. 2023
A synopsis of the artist’s practice mixing materials through collage and other assemblage to represent reconfiguration and resilience. The transformation of her figures serves as a healing reincarnation of power and potential.
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