Power Glove: Biopower and Video Games in The Three-Body Problem
by Liam Title
June 2018
One of the key concepts discussed in Michel Foucault’s History of Sexuality is that of biopower. Loosely defined, biopower is “the disciplines of the body and the regulations of the population,” with these practices constituting how “organization of power over life [is] deployed” (Foucault, 139). Given this definition, a significant aspect of biopower’s depiction in Cixin Liu’s The Three-Body Problem is in the titular virtual-reality game of “Three Body”.
The White Tiger
by Jessica Dai
Aravind Adiga’s novel The White Tiger tells the story of the self-made man, Balram Halwai, who claims himself to be many things: a servant, a philosopher, an entrepreneur, and a murderer. Although these professions are certainly apart of Balram’s repertoire of trade, his journey from his birthplace— which he dubs the Darkness—to his office at the end of the novel in the Light (Bangalore), serves as an overarching metaphor for the transition of India from the old into the new.
The Effects and Reflection of Space in Émile Zola’s Germinal
By Bianca Chui
In Émile Zola’s novel Germinal, the distinction between characters from differing social classes can be seen in their outward appearances. However, a subtler distinction can be seen through the use of space. Zola uses contrasting physical surroundings, from the larger perspective of a neighbourhood to the smaller perspective of living quarters, to showcase the differences in social class.
Panasonic: The Power Of Language In White Noise
By Maggie Coval
Used to establish keystones of identity, emotion, and culture, language defines many of the parameters of human life. In his novel, White Noise, Don DeLillo analyzes the power and limitation of language in a technologically advancing world.
