Imajine Scenario Response

RURALIMAGINATIONS is project on contemporary cultural imaginations of the rural based at the Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis. It considers how widely read and watched novels, films and television series influence what aspects of globalized rural life become (in)visible, which, in turn, affects how the rural can be mobilized politically. RURALIMAGINATIONS compares five national contexts across four continents: the UK, the US, the Netherlands, China and South Africa. It also examines how certain imaginations of the rural (such as idyllic ones) have achieved global reach.

In this response to the scenarios, Esther reflects on how the rural is evoked in each, particularly how dominant perceptions of rurality might elicit a range of reactions to spatial justice challenges or opportunities.