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Indigenous Futurist Film: Speculation and Resistance in Jeff Barnaby’s Rhymes for Young Ghouls and File Under Miscellaneous

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Canadian Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror

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Abstract

This chapter analyzes the work of Mi’gMaw filmmaker Jeff Barnaby. Barnaby uses speculative tropes to articulate the relationship of First Nations individuals and communities to the colonial nation-state, insisting on the global dimension of Indigenous literary and cultural movements that override colonial territorial boundaries. Rhymes for Young Ghouls (2013) depicts its heroine’s creation of an alternate historical time line in order to overthrow the Indian Agent regime. File Under Miscellaneous (2010) explores forced assimilation and resistance through sf. Both films are concerned with transforming popular images and familiar tropes from Gothic, fantasy, horror, and science fiction, which widens the scope of storytelling and subverts the idea of a homogeneous Indigenous culture.

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Baudemann, K. (2019). Indigenous Futurist Film: Speculation and Resistance in Jeff Barnaby’s Rhymes for Young Ghouls and File Under Miscellaneous. In: Ransom, A., Grace, D. (eds) Canadian Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. Studies in Global Science Fiction. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15685-5_9

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