Ali Salem’s the phantoms of new Egypt (1968)‎1 : a subversive reading of post-independence dystopia

Author

al-Khayyat, Marwah Isam al-Din Fahmi

Source

Bulletin of Advanced English Studies

Issue

Vol. 4, Issue 1 (31 Mar. 2020), pp.14-26, 13 p.

Publisher

Refaad Center for Studies and Research

Publication Date

2020-03-31

Country of Publication

Jordan

No. of Pages

13

Main Subjects

Literature

Topics

Abstract EN

The current study aims to establish Salem's The Phantoms of New Egypt2 as a dystopian drama to expose the collapse of utopia and the rise of dystopia within the national pitfalls of the ruling class in post-independence Egypt.

This provides an explanation of the title of the present paper since dystopia has been perceived as an escape to dismal socio-political conditions while utopia has been considered as an escape from a grim historical reality to an ideal hypothetical one.

Moreover, the present study examines the close relationship between dystopian drama and dark satire since each of them is a counterpoint to the vision of utopia.

Satire foregrounds the huge cleavage between a utopian dream and a dystopian bleak reality to underscore acts of resistance and struggle.

Salem's The Phantoms of New Egypt is as a perfect example of the 'totalitarian laughter' which is a prominent feature in Bakhtin's notion of 'grotesque realism'.

This highlights post-independence grotesque power which is both incongruous and monstrous.

Power abuse is also scrutinized fantastically within Foucault's 'panoptic gaze'3 to create normalized and docile subjects.

American Psychological Association (APA)

al-Khayyat, Marwah Isam al-Din Fahmi. 2020. Ali Salem’s the phantoms of new Egypt (1968)1 : a subversive reading of post-independence dystopia. Bulletin of Advanced English Studies،Vol. 4, no. 1, pp.14-26.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-962204

Modern Language Association (MLA)

al-Khayyat, Marwah Isam al-Din Fahmi. Ali Salem’s the phantoms of new Egypt (1968)1 : a subversive reading of post-independence dystopia. Bulletin of Advanced English Studies Vol. 4, no. 1 (Mar. 2020), pp.14-26.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-962204

American Medical Association (AMA)

al-Khayyat, Marwah Isam al-Din Fahmi. Ali Salem’s the phantoms of new Egypt (1968)1 : a subversive reading of post-independence dystopia. Bulletin of Advanced English Studies. 2020. Vol. 4, no. 1, pp.14-26.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-962204

Data Type

Journal Articles

Language

English

Notes

Includes bibliographical references : p. 25-26

Record ID

BIM-962204