In a rereading of Yevgeny Zamyatin's We, I first examine how D-503's aestheticizing voice -although undeniably constructed for a satirical effect- fosters a degree of fascination toward the dystopian world in excess of Zamyatin's intentions. Drawing from examples in literature and television, this article argues that "beautified dystopias" generate a surplus (or excess) of aesthetic enjoyment, harboring a mystifying potential in tension with the critical-satirical potential of dystopias. Despite the implied critical stance of dystopian narratives, there is a strand of beautiful, aesthetically pleasant dystopias -inherently ambivalent texts that are both fascinating and horrifying.
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