As socio-economic and technological gaps between East and West close, writers are increasingly envisioning the far future from an Eastern lens. Yoshikazu Tsuno / AFP
As socio-economic and technological gaps between East and West close, writers are increasingly envisioning the far future from an Eastern lens. Yoshikazu Tsuno / AFP
As socio-economic and technological gaps between East and West close, writers are increasingly envisioning the far future from an Eastern lens. Yoshikazu Tsuno / AFP
As socio-economic and technological gaps between East and West close, writers are increasingly envisioning the far future from an Eastern lens. Yoshikazu Tsuno / AFP

Will Asian and African sci-fi take over our idea of the future?


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At its best, science fiction is supposed to serve as an interrogation of contemporary political and ethical dilemmas. And at a time of widespread global anxiety – over climatic cataclysm, political disorder and financial crunches – how we envision the future has become more relevant than ever.

But sci-fi has not always been a diverse canon. As the North American author William Gibson once noted: “The future is already here, it’s just not very evenly distributed.” That is true. Being shaped by Anglo-American writers, editors and markets has imbued the genre with a Eurocentric worldview.

Furthermore, one could trace the modern history of sci-fi through its entanglement with colonialism. According to British literary scholar Adam Roberts, sci-fi served as the “dark subconscious to the thinking mind of imperialism”, where underpinning universal progress and rationalism were brutal projects of exploitation and domination.

Popular superhero film Black Panther has helped spur a revival of the 'Afrofuturism' genre. Matt Kennedy / Marvel Studios-Disney via AP
Popular superhero film Black Panther has helped spur a revival of the 'Afrofuturism' genre. Matt Kennedy / Marvel Studios-Disney via AP

Lately, however, the rest of the world has begun to write back. And in doing so, it has heralded in a new era in global sci-fi – one that increasingly orbits around audiences in Africa, the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent and China.

This is an important development, because just as the genre has previously legitimised imperial fantasies, it has also provided fertile ground for allegorical critique. As a result, non-white populations with violent histories of colonialism and slavery have used sci-fi to draw upon their own heritages, displace the West from the centre of popular imagination and reclaim agency. Indigenous and diasporic cultures, therefore, have been able to interrupt whitewashed imaginations of a high-tech future.

Think about the tropes at the heart of sci-fi and the colonial enterprise, one example of which is a long-standing fascination with alien lands to be “settled in” and eventually “civilised”. Well into the 20th century, sci-fi was a vehicle for revealing the dreams and fears of the western psyche. The rest of the world functioned as the “other” against which the western rational imagination juxtaposed itself.

Indigenous and diasporic cultures have been able to interrupt whitewashed imaginations of a high-tech future

One prominent cultural intervention has been "Afrofuturism" – which sought to address the concerns of African-Americans in the context of socio-political movements of the 1960s and 70s. It incorporated sci-fi, technology, Afro-culture and a language of rebellion to re-centre black identity and transcend the trauma of the past. The success of Marvel's Black Panther has largely contributed to the revival of Afrofuturism in popular culture.

The advent of globalisation has produced a profound but uneven process of development across the world. And the residue of economic and political transformation has filtered into the realm of cultural imagination, generating multiple motivations to map trajectories of the future.

Consequently, global sci-fi highlights a fraught relationship with modernity across specific contexts. Genre rigidity is dispensed with in favour of absorbing national or cultural elements – be it folkloric, mythological, surrealist or supernatural – and fusing it with a techno-scientific gloss.

As "techno-capitalism", which broadly refers to changes in capitalism associated with the emergence of new technology sectors, clashes with ethnic conflicts and ecological collapse, authors and filmmakers across the globe are claiming the future as their own.

Environmental devastation in Dhaka, where this woman sleeps on a polluted riverbank, is the inspiration for Saad Hossain's dystopian sci-fi. Amdad Hossain / Courtesy CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year
Environmental devastation in Dhaka, where this woman sleeps on a polluted riverbank, is the inspiration for Saad Hossain's dystopian sci-fi. Amdad Hossain / Courtesy CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year

One of the catalysts for sci-fi's global turn is the AfroSF series, which has contributed to the rise of African sci-fi. Ken Liu's Invisible Planets anthology presents Chinese sci-fi to a global audience. And the Gollancz Book of South Asian Science Fiction is a trailblazing collection of contemporary sci-fi from the subcontinent.

Climate fiction is a recurring theme, as utopian and dystopian responses are both explored. Wanuri Kaihu's film Pumzi depicts the impact of climate change on Kenyan cultural traditions. Saad Hossain's futuristic Dhaka is ravaged by environmental desolation. Liu Cixin's Hugo Award-winning The Three-Body Problem is not only an examination of environmental activism and willed human extinction, but one of the most compelling 21st-century meditations on the notion of utopia.

Those exploring the political dimensions of dystopia do not have to look far either. The invasion of Iraq provides the backdrop for Ahmed Saadawi's Frankenstein in Baghdad, where a body assembled from fragments of bomb victims comes to life and takes revenge. Following the counter-revolutionary terminus of the Arab uprisings in the previous decade, a host of writers foreground a near-future where economic impoverishment intensifies under an apathetic ruling elite.

The Palestine+100 anthology envisions a future utopia on Palestinian land, pictured here in the wake of an Israeli missile strike in 2019. Yousef Masoud / SOPA
The Palestine+100 anthology envisions a future utopia on Palestinian land, pictured here in the wake of an Israeli missile strike in 2019. Yousef Masoud / SOPA

Turbulent histories are cast in a new light to conceive of radically different futures. Take Yudhanjaya Wijeratne's trilogy The Commonwealth Empire, which envisages Kandy in a future in which the British empire has endured with advanced technology. Or the Iraq+100 and Palestine +100 anthologies that imagine utopias a century following the catastrophes of the US invasion in 2003 and Nakba in 1948, respectively.

A long-standing sci-fi trope is the first contact with aliens. Nnedi Okorafor's Lagoon and Tade Thompson's Rosewater flip this narrative on its head to sharply appraise colonisation. Who gets to explore space – itself a question that has been racialised – is powerfully emphasised in Deji Bryce Olukotun's books Nigerians in Space and After the Flare.

These are but some of the contributions towards sci-fi's burgeoning global footprint. As the craft's production, circulation and reception mature internationally, its Anglophone hegemony will eventually erode. Mithila Review, South Asia's first magazine of international sci-fi and fantasy, points in the right direction. Founded and edited by futurist Salik Shah, it operates as both a transnational community and literary movement.

That being said, it is equally important to pay attention to how discourses around sci-fi can be used in service of cultural-economic power. As an ideological plank for its hegemonic aspirations, China vigorously promotes the genre in schools to push domestic innovation. The Indian film industry has embraced sci-fi and CGI spectacles to embellish pro-Hindu-nationalist story-lines. Anime and manga are a major component of Japan’s “soft power” diplomacy.

With the global ascent of sci-fi, new spaces for innovative thinking on our precarious present and post-crisis future are manifesting. Its popularity serves to reiterate the importance of speculative fiction in reflecting upon possible and desirable futures, as diverse texts and voices are increasingly brought to the table.

Amar Diwakar is a freelance journalist and writer

While you're here
Key facilities
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  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
THE BIO: Mohammed Ashiq Ali

Proudest achievement: “I came to a new country and started this shop”

Favourite TV programme: the news

Favourite place in Dubai: Al Fahidi. “They started the metro in 2009 and I didn’t take it yet.”

Family: six sons in Dubai and a daughter in Faisalabad

 

Panipat

Director Ashutosh Gowariker

Produced Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohit Shelatkar, Reliance Entertainment

Cast Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon, Mohnish Behl, Padmini Kolhapure, Zeenat Aman

Rating 3 /stars

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Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Fasset%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2019%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Mohammad%20Raafi%20Hossain%2C%20Daniel%20Ahmed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%242.45%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2086%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Pre-series%20B%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Investcorp%2C%20Liberty%20City%20Ventures%2C%20Fatima%20Gobi%20Ventures%2C%20Primal%20Capital%2C%20Wealthwell%20Ventures%2C%20FHS%20Capital%2C%20VN2%20Capital%2C%20local%20family%20offices%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Cricket World Cup League Two

Teams

Oman, UAE, Namibia

Al Amerat, Muscat

 

Results

Oman beat UAE by five wickets

UAE beat Namibia by eight runs

Namibia beat Oman by 52 runs

UAE beat Namibia by eight wickets

 

Fixtures

Saturday January 11 - UAE v Oman

Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia

Emiratisation at work

Emiratisation was introduced in the UAE more than 10 years ago

It aims to boost the number of citizens in the workforce particularly in the private sector.

Growing the number of Emiratis in the workplace will help the UAE reduce dependence on overseas workers

The Cabinet in December last year, approved a national fund for Emirati jobseekers and guaranteed citizens working in the private sector a comparable pension

President Sheikh Khalifa has described Emiratisation as “a true measure for success”.

During the UAE’s 48th National Day, Sheikh Khalifa named education, entrepreneurship, Emiratisation and space travel among cornerstones of national development

More than 80 per cent of Emiratis work in the federal or local government as per 2017 statistics

The Emiratisation programme includes the creation of 20,000 new jobs for UAE citizens

UAE citizens will be given priority in managerial positions in the government sphere

The purpose is to raise the contribution of UAE nationals in the job market and create a diverse workforce of citizens

The Specs

Engine 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Power: 582bhp (542bhp in GTS model)

Torque: 730Nm

Price: Dh649,000 (Dh549,000 for GTS) 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company profile

Date started: 2015

Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki

Based: Dubai

Sector: Online grocery delivery

Staff: 200

Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends

Results

6.30pm: Dubai Millennium Stakes Group Three US$200,000 (Turf) 2,000m; Winner: Ghaiyyath, William Buick (jockey), Charlie Appleby (trainer).

7.05pm: Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Cliffs Of Capri, Tadhg O’Shea, Jamie Osborne.

7.40pm: UAE Oaks Group Three $250,000 (Dirt) 1,900m; Winner: Down On Da Bayou, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.

8.15pm: Zabeel Mile Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Zakouski, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby.

8.50pm: Meydan Sprint Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,000m; Winner: Waady, Jim Crowley, Doug Watson.

Western Region Asia Cup T20 Qualifier

Sun Feb 23 – Thu Feb 27, Al Amerat, Oman

The two finalists advance to the Asia qualifier in Malaysia in August

 

Group A

Bahrain, Maldives, Oman, Qatar

 

Group B

UAE, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia

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