Boring dystopias in fictional geographies: affective atmospheres of enclosure

Abstract

The prevalence of crises, such as pandemics, wars, climate catastrophes, has become increasingly entwined with the normalization of dystopic realities in everyday life. We employ the term boring dystopia to frame these cruel realities that have been ingrained into everyday life and accepted as the norm. This seemingly paradoxical word pairing indicates that dystopias do not solely describe abstract, alien visions of a future world.1 Instead, a closer examination of boredom allows us to high- light the normalization of dystopic conditions and the accompanying processes of submission and acceptance. The term thus also captures the everyday, material and affective dimensions of dystopian experiences.