Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Note on the Translations
- Introduction
- Part I The Great Discourse on the Future
- 1 Utopians and Utopian Thought
- 2 Futurists and Futures Studies
- 3 Utopian/Dystopian Writers and Utopian/Dystopian Fiction
- 4 Science Fiction: The Nexus of Utopianism, Futurism, and Utopian Fiction
- Part II German Science Fiction in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries
- 5 Some Preliminary Thoughts on German Science Fiction
- 6 First Contact: Martians, Sentient Plants, and Swarm Intelligences
- 7 The Shock of the New: Mega Cities, Machines, and Rockets
- 8 Utopian Experiments: Island Idylls, Glass Beads, and Eugenic Nightmares
- 9 To the Stars! Cosmic Supermen and Bauhaus in Space
- 10 Visions of the End: Catastrophism and Moral Entropy
- 11 Virtual Realities: Caught in the Matrix
- 12 Alternative Histories: Into the Heart of Darkness
- 13 Big Brother Is Watching Us: Who Is Watching Big Brother?
- 14 Artificial Intelligences: The Rise of the Thinking Machines
- 15 Eternal Life: At What Cost?
- 16 Social Satires: Of Empty Slogans and Empty Hearts
- 17 Critical Posthumanism: Twilight of the Species or a New Dawn?
- 18 High Concept: Time, the Universe, and Everything
- Conclusion
- Appendix 1 Chronological List of German SF Novels—A Selection
- Appendix 2 Chronological List of German SF Films—A Selection
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
13 - Big Brother Is Watching Us: Who Is Watching Big Brother?
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 16 September 2020
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Note on the Translations
- Introduction
- Part I The Great Discourse on the Future
- 1 Utopians and Utopian Thought
- 2 Futurists and Futures Studies
- 3 Utopian/Dystopian Writers and Utopian/Dystopian Fiction
- 4 Science Fiction: The Nexus of Utopianism, Futurism, and Utopian Fiction
- Part II German Science Fiction in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries
- 5 Some Preliminary Thoughts on German Science Fiction
- 6 First Contact: Martians, Sentient Plants, and Swarm Intelligences
- 7 The Shock of the New: Mega Cities, Machines, and Rockets
- 8 Utopian Experiments: Island Idylls, Glass Beads, and Eugenic Nightmares
- 9 To the Stars! Cosmic Supermen and Bauhaus in Space
- 10 Visions of the End: Catastrophism and Moral Entropy
- 11 Virtual Realities: Caught in the Matrix
- 12 Alternative Histories: Into the Heart of Darkness
- 13 Big Brother Is Watching Us: Who Is Watching Big Brother?
- 14 Artificial Intelligences: The Rise of the Thinking Machines
- 15 Eternal Life: At What Cost?
- 16 Social Satires: Of Empty Slogans and Empty Hearts
- 17 Critical Posthumanism: Twilight of the Species or a New Dawn?
- 18 High Concept: Time, the Universe, and Everything
- Conclusion
- Appendix 1 Chronological List of German SF Novels—A Selection
- Appendix 2 Chronological List of German SF Films—A Selection
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
THE THEME OF ubiquitous surveillance is a staple of dystopian SF and it holds a special significance in Germany where the history of eavesdropping and covert observation employed by the Gestapo and the Stasi has led to the right to privacy enshrined in the Grundgesetz (Basic Law, Germany's constitution, specifically Articles 2, 5, 10, and 13). These categorical guarantees have been qualified in recent years, though, in response to the rising threat level from domestic and international terrorism. In spite of the Europäische Datenschutz-Grundverordnung (General Data Protection Regulation, 2016), which caused every website to reassuringly declare that “We value your privacy,” Germans continue to be skeptical about its effectiveness and are wary about the promises of “smart living.”
One of the most visible critics of what she considers a creeping curtailment of civil rights is the novelist Juli Zeh. Zeh, who holds a doctorate in international law, is widely known as an outspoken public intellectual, writing on a broad range of topics; she is also a regular guest on talk shows. Her novel Corpus Delicti. Ein Prozess (2009), initially written for and performed on stage in 2007, imagines Germany in the year 2057 when a health dictatorship has been established with Die METHODE (The METHOD, also the title of the English translation, 2014) as official state philosophy replacing the previous democratic system. The state compels its citizens to live as healthily as possible to prevent illnesses, while unhealthy lifestyles (smoking, sex with incompatible partners, eating junk food, not exercising) are punished as crimes against the collective.
Since the METHOD is declared infallible, and human nature is understood as weak, the state introduces a complex system of surveillance in order to ensure compliance—ranging from regular medical checkups and sensors and monitors in every home (including sensors in the toilets to test urine for sugar and meters to measure whether the residents have done the required amount of physical exercise) to incentives for collectives in apartment blocks in order to snoop on each other and report any infringements to the authorities.
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- Beyond TomorrowGerman Science Fiction and Utopian Thought in the 20th and 21st Centuries, pp. 170 - 177Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2020