DISCUTINDO GÊNERO E ALTERIDADE COM ADOLESCENTES EM ESPAÇOS SOCIALMENTE VULNERÁVEIS ATRAVÉS DA FICÇÃO CIENTÍFICA

Abstract

This paper aims to reflect on science fiction potential, both in literature and cinema, for debating socio-cultural issues, such as gender relations and otherness. Given the popularity of the science fiction genre, and starting from the conception that individuals are not passive in the face of the symbols disseminated by the media, the potential of problematization through cultural products is recognized as a means of offering resources for contestation and opposition to a dominant discourse. To this end, two works were selected - the book “The Left Hand of Darkness”, by Ursula K. Le Guin, and the film “Arrival”, by Denis Villeneuve - for carrying out recreational activities based on the action-research methodology with adolescents from a non-formal education space. The results of these activities demonstrate how a playful approach based on cultural products stimulates the adolescents' involvement in relation to the proposed themes. Thus, by identifying the “Other alien” metaphor and recognizing otherness in marginalized groups, or by reflecting on gender issues present in an alternative world, these young people were able to reflect on social issues present in science fiction works, as well as about themselves as young people in a position of otherness due to the context of social vulnerability in which they are inserted.