النص
Volume 12, Numéro 1, Pages 116-130
2026-06-11
Science Fiction Then And Now: A Comparative Reading Between The War Of The Worlds And Zero K
Authors : Ournid Soumia .
Abstract
This article traces the evolution of the science fiction genre from the mechanical imagination of the late Victorian Age to the biotechnological complexities of contemporary times. To achieve this, a comparative analytical study is conducted between H. G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds (1898) and Don DeLillo’s Zero K (2016), with the aim of addressing existential questions regarding war, technology, and human survival within unconventional settings. The analysis is grounded in a posthumanist theoretical framework, drawing on the works of Donna Haraway, N. Katherine Hayles, Rosi Braidotti, Cary Wolfe, Gilles Deleuze, and Félix Guattari. Reflecting on these perspectives, the paper demonstrates that the science fiction trajectory often aligns with the doctrines of posthumanism that reject the humanist anthropocentrism, yet the latter still occasionally surfaces. While Wells and DeLillo envision a world where technology is the leading character, each one contemplates the specific sensations related to its role in driving the variations of their fictional worlds, which can be said to be a mirror of the public opinions of those different times. Ultimately, the comparison reveals that the genre’s development corresponds with the growth of human self-understanding in a rapidly technologically advanced world.
Keywords
Posthumanism ; Science Fiction ; Survival ; Technology ; War
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