Abstract

This paper analyses the young adult novel Oiobomé, by Nei Lopes (1942-). We argue that the novel was imagined as both a utopian and a pedagogical narrative, in order to confront racism. The limitations created by the logic of nationalism, however, nullify the utopian tone of the novel, allowing for a dystopian reading of the narrative. This paper highlights Édouard Glissant’s concepts of new form of epic and the logic of relation in an attempt to think through the most productive means of creating utopian narratives in the present. These ideas are illustrated by opposing the fictional universes of Oiobomé and the film Black Panther, arguing that the latter fits within Glissant’s concepts, while the former does not

Keywords:
epic; nation; racism; utopia