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Lily Herne’s Deadlands series and the practice of zombie politics in present-day South Africa
Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2017.
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| Language: | en_ZA |
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Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2017
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| _version_ | 1867613765247172608 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Davis, Tatum |
| author2 | Oppelt, Riaan |
| author_browse | Davis, Tatum Oppelt, Riaan |
| author_facet | Oppelt, Riaan Davis, Tatum |
| author_sort | Davis, Tatum |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2017. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/101263 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | en_ZA |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:41:20.497Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publishDateRange | 2017 |
| publishDateSort | 2017 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/101263 Lily Herne’s Deadlands series and the practice of zombie politics in present-day South Africa Davis, Tatum Oppelt, Riaan Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of English. Dystopian fiction Deadlands series -- Criticism and interpretation Zombies -- Juvenile fiction 'Zombie politics' -- South Africa Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2017. ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Since its initial publication in 2011, the Deadlands series gained an increasing amount of critical attention, owing to its relevance to contemporary South African society. The series demonstrates the relevance of zombies to reading present-day South Africa in local literature. Like most South African literature, Deadlands and other science fiction novels grapple with the memory of Apartheid and how the youth approaches this anxiety. As Sarah Nuttall noted of young South Africans in the first decade of the new millennium, large parts of the South African youth today (now sometimes referred to as “Born Frees” if they were born in or after 1994) understand Apartheid as a history that does not belong to them yet. Ironically, many young people in South Africa incorporate struggle icons into everyday fashion, music and other facets of popular culture as a means of understanding history. Although the struggles faced by the current youth and that of the previous generations are not the same, they are related to one another via the different political conditions that characterised apartheid and post-apartheid circumstances. For the post-apartheid youth the new, democratically elected governments have done little to better the lives of all South Africans, with media and social media portraying a corrupted government that chooses to increase its own wealth rather than the lives of South African citizens. For the French sociologist Jean Baudrillard and Canadian scholar and critic Henry Giroux, this practice – referred to as zombie politics by Giroux— is symptomatic of a modern capitalist society that celebrates social and civil decay and undermines the notion of a healthy democracy. In this worldview, wealth and affluence are linked to political gain and are measured by the number of outward symbols thereof, rather than embracing democratic principles. Furthermore, the practitioners of zombie politics use such symbols in order to manipulate the voting populace. The Deadlands series parodies this process to show that such practices are futile and that the apartheid legacy, specifically with reference to present-day political and economic discourse, is subject to decay over time. While this parody is from the perspective of two white South African women, Death of a Saint parodies the formative narrative of establishing whiteness in South Africa by re-enacting the Great Trek in a future, post-cataclysmic South Africa in which zombies have taken over most of the landscape. The second novel in the series rewrites this narrative in a way that suggests migration and conflict are means toward progress. For the protagonists, the information they discover toward the end of Death of a Saint can be used in order to change the hierarchal structure that exists in the Cape Town enclave but instead, they are captured and enslaved by affluent overlords who profit from the existence of zombies and capitalism that ironically references its own origins in Northern Africa throughout Army of the Lost. The series humorously suggests that South Africa is embroiled in zombie politics, and that citizens are responsible for ensuring peaceful co-existence with the Other embodied by the zombie. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Sedert die reeks se publikasie in 2011 het die Deadlands boeke toenemende kritiese aandag geniet te danke aan die reeks se relevansie tot die kontemporêre Suid-Afrikaanse samelewing. Die reeks demonstreer die relevansie van zombies in die lees van die hedendaagse Suid-Afrika in plaaslike literatuur. Soos die meeste Suid-Afrikaanse literatuur worstel Deadlands en ander wetenskapfiksie novelles met die nagedagtenis van Apartheid en hoe die jeug hierdie onderwerp en die emosies daaraan gekoppel, benader. Soos Sarah Nuttall opgemerk het oor jong Suid-Afrikaners in die eerste dekade van die nuwe millennium, het 'n groot aantal van die Suid-Afrikaanse jeug (wie nou soms 'Born Frees' genoem word as hulle in of na 1994 gebore is) Apartheid verstaan as 'n geskiedenis wat nog nie werklik aan hulle behoort nie. Ironies genoeg inkorporeer die jeug van vandag die ikone van die stryd teen Apartheid in hul alledaagse kleredrag, musiek en ander fasette van populêre kultuur as 'n manier om sin te maak van hierdie geskiedenis. Alhoewel die uitdagings wat die jeug vandag in die gesig staar nie dieselfde is as die van die vorige generasie nie, is die twee aan mekaar verwant deur die verskillende politieke toestande wat Apartheid en die nuwe bedeling karaktiseer. Vir die jeug van die post-apartheid era wat onder 'n demokratiese gekose regering leef, blyk dit nou dat die regering verskriklik min gedoen het om die lewens van alle Suid-Afrikaners te verbeter. Die media en die sosiale media skep die beeld van 'n korrupte regering wat verkies om hul eie welvaart te verbeter instede van die welwaart van Suid-Afrikaanse burgers. Vir die Franse sosioloog Jean Baudrillard en die Kanadese geleerde en kritikus, Henry Giroux, is hierdie gebruik - wat Giroux beskou as 'zombie-politiek' - simptomaties van die moderne kapitalistiese stelsel wat sosiale verval aanhang, terwyl dit die idee van gesonde demokrasie ondermyn. In hierdie wereldbeskouing is rykdom en welvaart gekoppel aan politieke gewin en word dit gemeet aan die aantal uiterlike simbole daarvan, instede daarvan om liewer demokratiese beginsels uit te leef en te versterk. Verder maak die praktisyns van 'zombie- politiek' gebruik van hierdie uiterlike simbole om die stemgeregtigdes te manipuleer. Die Deadlands-reeks boeke is 'n parodie van hierdie proses en dit wys dat sulke praktyke tevergeefs is en dat die Apartheid nalatenskap, spesifiek met verwysing tot die hedendaagse politiese en ekonomiese diskoers, onderhewig is aan verval met verloop van tyd. Terwyl hierdie parodieë wel uit die oogpunt van twee wit Suid-Afrikaanse vroue geskryf word, is Death of a Saint (die tweede boek in die reeks) 'n formatiewe vertelling oor die vasstel van 'whiteness' in Suid-Afrika deur die heruitbeelding van die Groot Trek in 'n toekomstige Suid-Afrika na 'n ontsaglike ramp waar meeste van die land deur zombies oorgeneem is. Die tweede roman in die reeks herskryf hierdie vertelling op so 'n wyse dat dit suggereer dat hierdie migrasie en konflik 'n middel is tot vooruitgang. Vir die pleitbesorgers kan die inligting wat hulle ontdek aan die einde van Death of a Saint, gebruik word ten einde die hierargiese struktuur wat in Kaapstad se ingeslote grondgebied bestaan, te verander, maar in stede daarvan word hulle gevange geneem en as slawe gebruik vir die ryk heersers wie wins maak uit die bestaan van zombies en die kapitalistiese stelsel wat deurgaans in Army of the Lost verwys na sy eie oorsprong in Noord-Afrika. Hierdie reeks stel op humoristiese wyse voor dat Suid-Afrika te midde van 'zombie-politiek' is en dat die burgers verantwoordelik is om die vreedsame naasbestaan met die 'Other' te verseker, wat vergestalt word deur die zombie. Masters 2017-02-21T19:14:32Z 2017-03-29T12:27:01Z 2017-02-21T19:14:32Z 2017-03-29T12:27:01Z 2017-03 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/101263 en_ZA Stellenbosch University 111 pages application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Dystopian fiction Deadlands series -- Criticism and interpretation Zombies -- Juvenile fiction 'Zombie politics' -- South Africa Davis, Tatum Lily Herne’s Deadlands series and the practice of zombie politics in present-day South Africa |
| title | Lily Herne’s Deadlands series and the practice of zombie politics in present-day South Africa |
| title_full | Lily Herne’s Deadlands series and the practice of zombie politics in present-day South Africa |
| title_fullStr | Lily Herne’s Deadlands series and the practice of zombie politics in present-day South Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | Lily Herne’s Deadlands series and the practice of zombie politics in present-day South Africa |
| title_short | Lily Herne’s Deadlands series and the practice of zombie politics in present-day South Africa |
| title_sort | lily herne s deadlands series and the practice of zombie politics in present day south africa |
| topic | Dystopian fiction Deadlands series -- Criticism and interpretation Zombies -- Juvenile fiction 'Zombie politics' -- South Africa |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/101263 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT davistatum lilyhernesdeadlandsseriesandthepracticeofzombiepoliticsinpresentdaysouthafrica |