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This essay analyses power dynamics in our technologically advanced world through the lens of Aesthetic Action, defined by exploring “what the world could be,” and contrasting it with Historical Action, driven by a determinate vision of “what the world should be”. Using Florian Klinger’s framework of Aesthetic Action and this implicit contrast with Historical Action. Through examination of Naoki Urasawa’s anime series Monster and Pluto, the essay argues that seemingly innovative disruptions by tech billionaires typically enact Historical Action. This reinforces existing inequalities and imposes narrow, deterministic visions of a desired future “what the world should be”. In contrast, the essay champions Aesthetic Action, exemplified by characters in Urasawa’s works, as genuine disruption. This approach embraces indeterminacy, fosters ethical responsibility, and opens possibilities for “what the world could be,” which includes a more fair, shared future. Through the portrayal of Kinderheim 511 and the depiction of systemic monstrosity in Monster and Pluto, the essay calls for a critical reimagining of our world beyond the profit-driven imperatives of technological power, advocating for collective Aesthetic Action as resistance and transformative change.
Simon Lindblom (Thu,) studied this question.