Apocalypses ouvrières. Théâtre, SF et critique sociale dans les années 1920

The article considers an international corpus of plays from the 1920s-1930s that have the characteristic of combining the theme of work with anticipation. The failure of machines and the «  robotization  » of workers : this combination raises questions about the future of a world that is increasingl...

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Main Author: Isabelle Krzywkowski
Format: Article
Language:fra
Published: Université de Limoges 2021-12-01
Series:ReS Futurae
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/resf/9809
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author Isabelle Krzywkowski
author_facet Isabelle Krzywkowski
author_sort Isabelle Krzywkowski
collection DOAJ
description The article considers an international corpus of plays from the 1920s-1930s that have the characteristic of combining the theme of work with anticipation. The failure of machines and the «  robotization  » of workers : this combination raises questions about the future of a world that is increasingly subject to mechanical development. After pointing out that the effect of anticipation is based essentially on the stage settings and the uniformity of the characters, the article discusses the critical significance of this repertoire : the threats posed to humanity by the development of technology (industrial disasters, loss of the meaning of work) give this theatre a dystopian character, barely modulated by the progressive perspective of the disappearance of work, which is however not defended by the workers. It is therefore a double apocalypse that these plays depict : that of the labour world, due to the generalisation of machines that replace man, but also to the passivity of workers ; and that of a form of society, in which exploitation and war reign, which leads, through its indifference to human values, to the catastrophic extermination of humanity.
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spelling doaj-art-ebf0e8d9bbf5434fa2d495a13e5854012025-01-06T10:42:40ZfraUniversité de LimogesReS Futurae2264-69492021-12-011810.4000/resf.9809Apocalypses ouvrières. Théâtre, SF et critique sociale dans les années 1920Isabelle KrzywkowskiThe article considers an international corpus of plays from the 1920s-1930s that have the characteristic of combining the theme of work with anticipation. The failure of machines and the «  robotization  » of workers : this combination raises questions about the future of a world that is increasingly subject to mechanical development. After pointing out that the effect of anticipation is based essentially on the stage settings and the uniformity of the characters, the article discusses the critical significance of this repertoire : the threats posed to humanity by the development of technology (industrial disasters, loss of the meaning of work) give this theatre a dystopian character, barely modulated by the progressive perspective of the disappearance of work, which is however not defended by the workers. It is therefore a double apocalypse that these plays depict : that of the labour world, due to the generalisation of machines that replace man, but also to the passivity of workers ; and that of a form of society, in which exploitation and war reign, which leads, through its indifference to human values, to the catastrophic extermination of humanity.https://journals.openedition.org/resf/9809theatrelaboursocial criticismČapek (Karel)Kaiser (Georg)Rice (Elmer)
spellingShingle Isabelle Krzywkowski
Apocalypses ouvrières. Théâtre, SF et critique sociale dans les années 1920
ReS Futurae
theatre
labour
social criticism
Čapek (Karel)
Kaiser (Georg)
Rice (Elmer)
title Apocalypses ouvrières. Théâtre, SF et critique sociale dans les années 1920
title_full Apocalypses ouvrières. Théâtre, SF et critique sociale dans les années 1920
title_fullStr Apocalypses ouvrières. Théâtre, SF et critique sociale dans les années 1920
title_full_unstemmed Apocalypses ouvrières. Théâtre, SF et critique sociale dans les années 1920
title_short Apocalypses ouvrières. Théâtre, SF et critique sociale dans les années 1920
title_sort apocalypses ouvrieres theatre sf et critique sociale dans les annees 1920
topic theatre
labour
social criticism
Čapek (Karel)
Kaiser (Georg)
Rice (Elmer)
url https://journals.openedition.org/resf/9809
work_keys_str_mv AT isabellekrzywkowski apocalypsesouvrierestheatresfetcritiquesocialedanslesannees1920