Revising reality : how sequels, remakes, retcons, and rejects explain the world /
We record history, as it was and as it happens, sequentially. However, new discoveries and decisions made everyday force us to revise and rethink what came before. Free from such sequence, novels, comics, films and television shows continue previous events (sequels), reveal previously unknown events...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
London ; New York :
Bloomsbury Academic,
[2024].
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| Subjects: |
| Summary: | We record history, as it was and as it happens, sequentially. However, new discoveries and decisions made everyday force us to revise and rethink what came before. Free from such sequence, novels, comics, films and television shows continue previous events (sequels), reveal previously unknown events (retcons) or restart events (remakes), and audiences can still ignore any of these revisions if they chose (rejects). But what if these revisionist tropes adopted by popular media now provide us with the essential tools and rhetoric for understanding the nature of the real world and how we discuss it? Deriving revision types from those present in fictional franchises such as Star Wars, Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings and the Marvel comics, Chris Gavaler and Nate Goldberg apply them to events and debates in American history, politics, law, science and culture to explore how storytelling frames our engagement with historiography, metaphysics, society and current events. Covering case studies such as the reversal of Roe vs Wade, identity politics, the discoveries of Copernicus, memory, cancel culture, supreme court rulings, revisionist history, critical race theory, paradigm shifts and much more, this book makes our perceptions of the world and their relation to an ever-changing reality accessible and coherent. |
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| Physical Description: | 221 pages ; 25 cm. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (pages [195]-206) and index. |
| ISBN: | 9781350439627 1350439622 9781350439610 1350439614 |