Simon Spiegel – författare

Since publication of Thomas More‘s Utopia more than five hundred years ago, there has been a steady stream of literary works that depict a better world; positive utopias in film, however, have been scarce. There is a consensus that utopias in the Morean tradition are not suited to fiction film, and research has accordingly focused on dystopias. Starting from the insight that utopias are always a critical reaction to the deficits of the present, Utopia and Reality takes a different approach by looking into the under-researched area of propaganda and documentary films for depictions of better worlds. This volume brings together researchers from two fields that have so far seen little exchange – documentary studies and utopian scholarship – and covers a wide range of films from Soviet avant-garde to propaganda videos for the terror organisation ISIS, from political-activist to ecofeminist and interactive documentaries.

Since publication of Thomas More‘s Utopia more than five hundred years ago, there has been a steady stream of literary works that depict a better world; positive utopias in film, however, have been scarce. There is a consensus that utopias in the Morean tradition are not suited to fiction film, and research has accordingly focused on dystopias. Starting from the insight that utopias are always a critical reaction to the deficits of the present, Utopia and Reality takes a different approach by looking into the under-researched area of propaganda and documentary films for depictions of better worlds. This volume brings together researchers from two fields that have so far seen little exchange – documentary studies and utopian scholarship – and covers a wide range of films from Soviet avant-garde to propaganda videos for the terror organisation ISIS, from political-activist to ecofeminist and interactive documentaries.

Since publication of Thomas More‘s Utopia more than five hundred years ago, there has been a steady stream of literary works that depict a better world; positive utopias in film, however, have been scarce. There is a consensus that utopias in the Morean tradition are not suited to fiction film, and research has accordingly focused on dystopias. Starting from the insight that utopias are always a critical reaction to the deficits of the present, Utopia and Reality takes a different approach by looking into the under-researched area of propaganda and documentary films for depictions of better worlds. This volume brings together researchers from two fields that have so far seen little exchange – documentary studies and utopian scholarship – and covers a wide range of films from Soviet avant-garde to propaganda videos for the terror organisation ISIS, from political-activist to ecofeminist and interactive documentaries.

'Comprehensive and thorough, Utopias in Nonfiction Film takes a new direction in its surprise application to documentary that has the potential to shake up the field.'- Jane Gaines, Columbia University, USA'Spiegel has introduced a new sub-genre to utopian studies, the documentary film. The book covers an impressive range of films, making the book one of the few truly international and comparative works in utopian studies.'- Lyman Tower Sargent, University of Missouri-St. Louis, USA"Simon Spiegel’s magisterial overview of utopian documentaries and nonfiction films is a treasure trove of information and unearths many forgotten and half-forgotten films, providing perceptive discussions of sidelined movies that deserve his (and our) critical scrutiny.“ - Eckart Voigts, University of Braunschweig – Institute of Technology, GermanyThis book is the first major study on utopias in nonfiction film. Since the publication of Thomas More’s Utopia more than 500 years ago, countless books have been written which describe a better world. But in film, positive utopias seem to be nonexistent. So far, research has focused almost exclusively on dystopias, since positive outlooks seem to run contrary to the media’s requirement. Utopias in Nonfiction Film takes a new approach; starting from the insight that literary utopias are first and foremost meant as a reaction to the ills of the present and not as entertaining stories, it looks at documentary and propaganda films, an area which so far has been completely ignored by research. Combining insights from documentary research and utopian studies, a vast and very diverse corpus of films is analysed. Among them are Zionist propaganda films, cinematic city utopias, socialist films of the future as well as web videos produced by the Islamist terrorist group ISIS.

''Comprehensive and thorough, Utopias in Nonfiction Film takes a new direction in its surprise application to documentary that has the potential to shake up the field.''- Jane Gaines, Columbia University, USA''Spiegel has introduced a new sub-genre to utopian studies, the documentary film. The book covers an impressive range of films, making the book one of the few truly international and comparative works in utopian studies.''- Lyman Tower Sargent, University of Missouri-St. Louis, USA

"Simon Spiegel’s magisterial overview of utopian documentaries and nonfiction films is a treasure trove of information and unearths many forgotten and half-forgotten films, providing perceptive discussions of sidelined movies that deserve his (and our) critical scrutiny.“ 

- Eckart Voigts, University of Braunschweig – Institute of Technology, Germany

This book is the first major study on utopias in nonfiction film. Since the publication of Thomas More’s Utopia more than 500 years ago, countless books have been written which describe a better world. But in film, positive utopias seem to be nonexistent. So far, research has focused almost exclusively on dystopias, since positive outlooks seem to run contrary to the media’s requirement. Utopias in Nonfiction Film takes a new approach; starting from the insight that literary utopias are first and foremost meant as a reaction to the ills of the present and not as entertaining stories, it looks at documentary and propaganda films, an area which so far has been completely ignored by research. Combining insights from documentary research and utopian studies, a vast and very diverse corpus of films is analysed. Among them are Zionist propaganda films, cinematic city utopias, socialist films of the future as well as web videos produced by the Islamist terrorist group ISIS.

'Comprehensive and thorough, Utopias in Nonfiction Film takes a new direction in its surprise application to documentary that has the potential to shake up the field.'- Jane Gaines, Columbia University, USA'Spiegel has introduced a new sub-genre to utopian studies, the documentary film. The book covers an impressive range of films, making the book one of the few truly international and comparative works in utopian studies.'- Lyman Tower Sargent, University of Missouri-St. Louis, USA"Simon Spiegel’s magisterial overview of utopian documentaries and nonfiction films is a treasure trove of information and unearths many forgotten and half-forgotten films, providing perceptive discussions of sidelined movies that deserve his (and our) critical scrutiny.“ - Eckart Voigts, University of Braunschweig – Institute of Technology, GermanyThis book is the first major study on utopias in nonfiction film. Since the publication of Thomas More’s Utopia more than 500 years ago, countless books have been written which describe a better world. But in film, positive utopias seem to be nonexistent. So far, research has focused almost exclusively on dystopias, since positive outlooks seem to run contrary to the media’s requirement. Utopias in Nonfiction Film takes a new approach; starting from the insight that literary utopias are first and foremost meant as a reaction to the ills of the present and not as entertaining stories, it looks at documentary and propaganda films, an area which so far has been completely ignored by research. Combining insights from documentary research and utopian studies, a vast and very diverse corpus of films is analysed. Among them are Zionist propaganda films, cinematic city utopias, socialist films of the future as well as web videos produced by the Islamist terrorist group ISIS.

Science Fiction und wie sie die Welten verändertWelches literarische Genre lädt Schreibende wie die Science Fiction dazu ein, sich eine andere als unsere Realität auszumalen, Was-wäre-wenn-Fragen zu stellen, neue Gesellschaftsformen zu denken und Konflikte ohne Gewalt zu lösen? Diverse aktuelle gesellschaftliche und politische Anlässe haben dazu geführt, dass wir genau diesen Themen unsere diesjährigen Schwerpunkte widmen: Alternate History und Pazifismus in der SF, die von Autor*innen wie Judith Vogt, Guido Sprenger oder Maurice Schuhmann beleuchtet werden. Zudem finden Gedanken und Erinnerungen an den wohl prägendsten deutschsprachigen SF-Autor, Herbert W. Franke, der im Juni 2022 verstarb, Platz.Zudem wartet die 38. Ausgabe des von Wolfgang Jeschke ins Leben gerufenen Almanachs mit einem umfangreichen Überblick über die Entwicklungen des Genres in Rezensionen und Beiträgen zu Buch, Film, Game, Serie und Hörspiel auf. Abgerundet wird der Jahresrückblick mit einer Liste der Genre-Preise, einem Nekrolog sowie einer Bibliografie der Bücher, die 2022 erstmals auf Deutsch erschienen sind.Das SCIENCE FICTION JAHR erscheint seit 2019 im Hirnkost Verlag und wird von Melanie Wylutzki und Hardy Kettlitz herausgegeben und wurde mehrfach mit dem Kurd Laßwitz Preis ausgezeichnet, zuletzt 2023 in der Kategorie "Bester deutschsprachiger Sachtext zur SF mit Erstausgabe 2022".

Science Fiction und wie sie die Welten verändertWelches literarische Genre lädt Schreibende wie die Science Fiction dazu ein, sich eine andere als unsere Realität auszumalen, Was-wäre-wenn-Fragen zu stellen, neue Gesellschaftsformen zu denken und Konflikte ohne Gewalt zu lösen? Diverse aktuelle gesellschaftliche und politische Anlässe haben dazu geführt, dass wir genau diesen Themen unsere diesjährigen Schwerpunkte widmen: Alternate History und Pazifismus in der SF, die von Autor*innen wie Judith Vogt, Guido Sprenger oder Maurice Schuhmann beleuchtet werden. Zudem finden Gedanken und Erinnerungen an den wohl prägendsten deutschsprachigen SF-Autor, Herbert W. Franke, der im Juni 2022 verstarb, Platz.Zudem wartet die 38. Ausgabe des von Wolfgang Jeschke ins Leben gerufenen Almanachs mit einem umfangreichen Überblick über die Entwicklungen des Genres in Rezensionen und Beiträgen zu Buch, Film, Game, Serie und Hörspiel auf. Abgerundet wird der Jahresrückblick mit einer Liste der Genre-Preise, einem Nekrolog sowie einer Bibliografie der Bücher, die 2022 erstmals auf Deutsch erschienen sind.Das SCIENCE FICTION JAHR erscheint seit 2019 im Hirnkost Verlag und wird von Melanie Wylutzki und Hardy Kettlitz herausgegeben und wurde mehrfach mit dem Kurd Laßwitz Preis ausgezeichnet, zuletzt 2023 in der Kategorie "Bester deutschsprachiger Sachtext zur SF mit Erstausgabe 2022".