发布时间：2020-12-16 热度：
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Analysis of Body and Power in Octavia Butler’s Dawn
In 1976, M. Foucault proposes the concept of biopolitics to describe the connections between bodies and powers. According to Foucault, biopolitics “deals with the population, with the population as a political problem, as a problem that is at once scientific and political, as a biological problem and as power’s problem” (245). Here the interpretation of Foucault reveals that the biopolitics actually concerns the interactions between life and power as two interdependent elements. Foucault’s illustration of biopolitics focuses on the concept of power over life. In the mind of Foucault, the power over life already has been in use since in the 17th century, initially in the form of the disciplinary power and then in the biopolitics. Unlike the disciplinary power that comes into use when the individuals start to internalize the social norms at the individual level, the biopolitics regards the population as the subject and resources at the population level. Especially with the development of capitalism, biopolitics concerns controlling and modifying life. In addition to distinguishing the biopolitics from the disciplinary power, Foucault also discusses the connections between biopolitics and sexuality as well as race. He especially attaches importance to sexuality as one that allows power-knowledge to influence both the individuals and the social population and thus create both the disciplinary effect and the regulatory effects (Foucault 252).This paper will examine Bulter’s Dawn from the perspective of biopolitics. Overall, in Dawn, in accordance with Foucault’s biopolitics, Bulter not only objectifies humans as a race waiting to be saved but also introduces another alien race called Oankali and discusses the possibility of whether humans’ issues could be solved through the cooperation with Oankali and sets Lilith as a female character as the leader of the whole novel, which allows Bulter to discuss different alternatives to humans’ future.
To analyze the presence of biopolitics in Dawn, it is necessary to give an overview of the basic plot of Dawn. As the first book of Octavia Bulter’s Lilith’s Blood series that was initially published in 1987, Dawn narrates the experience of Lilith Iyapo who is awakened 250 years after a destructive nuclear war that almost led to the extinction of humans. Despite her disliking of the Oankali, an alien race that has three sex types and has the physical appearnce of being covered by tentacles, she reaches an agreement with them that the Oankali will changed the ruined earth into a liveable one, awaken other humans, and help them survive under the new environment. In return, the humans will interbreed with the Oankali so as to create a hybrid of humans and the Oankali. The awakened humans rebel against the agreement and kill Lilith’s mate but are sent back to the earth as they fail, inclusive of Lilith who gets pregnant under the manipulation of the the Oankali. After an overview of the plot of Dawn, it is easy to observe that one apparent feature of Dawn is the connections between body and powers at the center of the whole novel
One core content of biopolitics as is reflected in Dawn is controlling and modifying of humans’ body as subjects, which actually lays the foundation for the separation between mind and body that used to be perceived as one. In The Will To Knowledge, Foucault describes the biopower as a power that plays a positive role in shaping humans’ future by making efforts to “administer,” “optimize,” and multiply” humans’ body (23). Here based on the statement of Foucault, under biopolitics, humans’ bodies have become the subject of social control and regulation just like money, natural resources, and the infrastructure. This point can be easily observed in the identity of the Oankali as genetic collectors and controllers. Instead of experiencing the traditional pregnancy and childbirth process, as these aliens manipulate the genetic materials to perpetuate their kinds, the bodies then become the most important resources to ensure their survival. Here it is quite apparent that the control of bodies is at the population level that concerns the survival of the Oankali. In fact, in this novel, there are numerous details regarding the control of human bodies as objects. For instance, since the beginning, the humans’ bodies have been under the control and regulation of the Oankali (Tracey). The objectification of the female’s body is best reflected in the conversation between Paul Titus and Lilith. At the same time of admitting that he has at least 70 children, Paul says, “he [doesn’t] know who they mixed the stuff with” (Butler 99). Based on the statement of Paul, it is quite apparent that for the Oankali, giving birth is merely a biological process. But this process is not limited to the individual level. Instead, it serves as the first attempt between humans and Oankali as two different races. It has lost the social meanings in humans’ society that perceives childbirth as an extension of the romantic love and a significant family affair.
Here it is worthy of notice that in Dawn, it is not the humans that determine their fate on their own. Instead, it is the Oankali as a race mastery in genetic engineering. Once the future of human beings that highly value and autonomy falls into the hands of an alien race, then biopolitics escalates to the “state racism.” In his book The History of Sexuality: The Will to Knowledge, Foucault proposes the concept of the “state racism” to give a re-interpretation of the wars between two nations. According to Foucault, with the extension of the biopower at the social level, then the meaning of wars also change from the conflicts of two sovereign nations to the conflicts between two races that include the entire population (31). Foucault is actually indicating that with the progress of the biopolitics, the conflicts between two nations also become the conflicts between two races. In Butler’s Dawn, it is also easy to notice the presence of the state racism, especially in the interactions between the rebellions of the humans against the Oankali. At Curt’s camp, violence between humans and the Oankali erupts finally. As Lilith tries to persuade Nikanj from using violence, Curt says, “It’s off limits to you and your animals” (225). Here the words of Curt fully reveals the physical boundaries between the humans and the Oankali in the mind of humans. The word “animal” also reveals the discrimination of the humans towards the latter, since animal indicates uncivilization and brutality. Based on the statement of Curt, it is quite apparent that although humans recognize the contributions the Oankali make in reviving the humans, they still maintain a high sense of superiority. The remarks of Curt also indicates that their conflicts is not merely at the individual level. It is also at the racial level.
Then an issue arises: if the Oankali is an alien race that will arouse the issue of humans’ autonomy, then who could decide the future of human beings? Or to be more specific, it is still plausible for the men to decide the future of humans? In Dawn, Bulter offers a different answer. He changes the position of the women from the victims to the ones who could make a choice. While analyzing the presence of the female bodies in the science fictions, Davis points out, “the female body represented all that needed to be tamed and controlled by the (dis)embodied, objective, male scientist” (73). However, it is not the case with Dawn. This point can be easily observed through the leading role of Lilith Iyapo, an African American woman, and Nikanj, an Ooloi of the Oankali as the protagonists. On the one hand, Lilith is the first one who is in the position of deciding the fate of humans. It is also Lilith who reaches an agreement with the Oankali and provides an alternative for humans, which is the hybrid of humans and the Oankali. In an era when most of the science fiction writers are male and most of the protagonists are the male who could decide the future of the humans, Butler’s Dawn could serve as a deviation from the male-dominated genre and establish the voice of the female in the science fiction genre. On the other hand, Lilith is the only one human who gradually agrees to have the human-Oankali hybrid. Then she realizes the transformation from a victim to one who is willing to make sacrifices to save humans. The reversion of power between the male and the female could be better reflected in the character of Joseph. It seems that Joseph is the one who has been under the protection of Lilith. This point can be best observed in the conversation between Lilith and him. When Joseph asks where they are and who is in power, Lilith says, “I awoke you. We’re all prisoners here, but it’s my job to awaken people” (Butler 21). Here as Lilith uses an active voice starting with “I,” Lilith makes it clear that she is the one who saves him and ensures the survival of the last humans, which reveals the leading role of the female in this novel. This science is in great contrast with the common science fictions in which the female characters are the ones waiting to be saved and the ones who are victimized.
In consideration of the issues with the modern society, the application of biopolitics also gives Bulter opportunities to reconsider the humans’ future in the dimension of biopolitics. While analyzing the presence of bodies in Butler’s novels, Maria Alin Ferreira from the University of Oporto finds out that in Bulter’s early works, bioengineering can provide solutions for the sustainable survival of mankind. The way the world works needs to be changed, because it is full of poverty, inequality and so on. According to Ferreira, the works of Bulter focuses more attention on exploring the positive meanings of bioscience. This is partially related to the doomed fate of humans on their own. Just as the following statement says, “You have a mismatched pair of genetic characteristics. Either alone would have been useful, would have aided the survival of your species. But the two together are lethal” (Butler 5). Here in this statement, the mismatched pair of genetic characteristics refer to the hierarchical social order humans have been pursuing and the intelligence humans could use to explore the world. It makes clear that although humans’ intelligence is a desirable trait, without getting out of the egocentrism, it is hard for humans to solve their fate. As the narrator considers these two characteristics of humans “genetic,” they actually perceive that the humans’ doom of being destroyed could not be changed, until genetic changes are made.
The presence of the flaws with humans’ genes also indicates that the genetic diversity or the trans-race marriage between humans and the Oankali could be a good alternative. Instead of stubbornly sticking to their racial purity and superiority, humans should reconsider other possibilities. Regarding this point, while analyzing the early works of Bulter, Maria Aline Ferreira points out, in the early works of Butler, faced with the survival crisis, humans have to adapt to the new environments, not merely in the aspect of the new power relationships but also the possibility of new, mixed-species being (401). Ferreira is indicating that with the high-tech bioscience, humans should make compromises in their sense of superiority.
Based on the above illustration, it is quite apparent that Butler’s Dawn could well reflect the theme of biopolitics. To be specific, in this novel, the humans’ bodies are objectified as an essential resource for the Oankali to survive. It is also the strongest motivation that prompts the Oankali to save the humans. Although biopolitics perceive the population as objects, what is more complicated in Dawn is that the Oankali strives to control humans’ future. Over the issue of producing the human-Oankali hybrids, with many humans maintaining their sense of superiority, their tensions with the Oankali become escalated into the war between the humans and the Oankali, quite in accordance with the concept of state racism proposed by Foucault. By making use of the bioscience, Butler also negotiates the possibility of humans to get rid of the irreconcilable contradiction between their sense of superiority and their intelligence that leads the nuclear war at the beginning of the novel. Beyond the biopolitics, Butler also touches on the topic regarding the reversion of women’s power that is leading in this novel.
