Biopolitics in "The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil", by George Saunders

Ioannis Antzus Ramos

doi:10.18172/jes.5619

Authors

Ioannis Antzus Ramos American University in Dubai https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1831-218X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18172/jes.5619

Keywords:

George Saunders, The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil, Contemporary American Fiction, Biopolitics

Abstract

In this article, I analyze George Saunders’s novella The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil (2005) from the perspective of biopolitics, following the theoretical frameworks established by Michel Foucault, Giorgio Agamben, and Frédéric Lordon. I focus on two aspects of biopolitics: one linked to the extermination of the enemy, and the other to the manipulation of the passions of the governed. Regarding the first aspect, I discuss the strategies that Phil, the sovereign dictator in the story, uses to kill or displace the Other. In the second aspect, I study the use of desire and affect as biopolitical technologies that contribute to maintaining and reinforcing power. Finally, I examine the critical position of various characters in relation to Phil’s biopolitical regime and the political dimension of the novella itself.

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References

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