Speculative-Real Ethnoracial Spaces and the Formation of a Nepantlera Warrior

Abstract

ABSTRACT:This article examines Robert Rodriguez’s construction of a transborder, hemispheric Américas space sci-fi storyworld in his film Alita: Battle Angel (2019). After considering a tradition of mainstream sci-fi narratives that erase or reconstruct ethnoracial peoples as exotic ornament, the article provides a critical overview of how Latinx sci-fi creators such as Alex Ri-vera, Carla Cavina, and Rodriguez use a “Brown-optic” to strike back at this tradition. It continues with an analysis of Rodriguez’s building of transborder storyworld spaces and Alita’s becoming a cyber-Latina warrior.