Unwinding the Nuclear Family Ideal of Blockbuster YA Dystopia

Abstract

YA dystopian literature has often been criticised for its reinforcement of the traditional institution of the patriarchal nuclear family. This article argues that such criticism is the result of a reduction of this genre to certain blockbuster titles, such as Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games series (2008-2010), which do indeed overrepresent the traditional family as the main desirable family ideal. Building on Rebekah Fitzsimmons and Casey Alane Wilson’s commitment to expanding the study of YA literature in Beyond the Blockbusters (2020), the article will first explore how a hyperfocus on YA dystopian blockbusters has reinforced the patriarchal nuclear family, consisting of a mother, father, and child or children, as the ideal social form and the main source of physical and emotional support for teenagers. Then, using the case study of an underrepresented YA dystopia, Neal Shusterman’s Unwind (2007), this article will reveal the possibilities that teenagers inside and outside the novel have in navigating the world beyond the traditional, heteronormative, and loving nuclear family. In doing so, this article will affirm the critical and pedagogical role of Shusterman’s YA dystopia and serve as a test case for researching other YA (dystopian) texts that do not reinforce the patriarchal ideal.

Keywords

• ya dystopia
• blockbusters
• nuclear family
• queer family
• single-parent family