Keywords
dystopia
narrative of the crisis
consumer society
Homo consumericus
Gilles Lipovetsky
Zygmunt Bauman
Erich Fromm
Marc Augé
How to Cite
Abstract
The paper is an attempt at shedding light on the issues related to the dystopian vision of postmodern society metonymically represented by Vado, an imaginary city, in the novel Un incendio invisible written by Sara Mesa. This abandoned urban space causes us to reflect on crucial topics in postmodern society, such as incorporation into unknown place, redefinition of the concept of parenthood, liquid and perverse love, social inequalities, abandoned elders, consumption, role of shopping malls and their significance, human alienation, all phenomena that we find in the novel. The city of Vado plays symbolic role in that piece, hence its devastation and ruin show a close connection with the consumer society and the actions of Homo consumericus. We base our analysis on the philosophical and sociological postulates of Gilles Lipovetsky, Zygmunt Bauman, Erich Fromm and anthropological one of Marc Augé, as well as on the proposal of how to read a novel by Javier del Prado Biezma in order to describe the nature of all these mentioned problems and expose the criticism of Homo consumericus concealed in the novel.
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