earticle

영어

This paper examines Ken Liu’s short story “Thoughts and Prayers” from the perspectives of suffering, hatred, and spectacle. The story addresses contemporary issues from a futuristic viewpoint, focusing on mass shootings and their resulting trauma. Liu critiques how science and technology consume and commodify the spectacle of suffering by illustrating how media voyeuristically reproduces disasters and pain, leading people to experience anguish only through simulacra. This process results in the emotional consumption of pain and sorrow, where commodified images of mourning replace genuine solidarity and empathy. Furthermore, the story tracks how other people’s suffering can be turned into hatred and highlights the dangers of trolling, which Liu refers to as “the id of our collective online unconscious.” Liu’s narrative deeply explores the reproduction and memory of pain through the contrasting mourning methods of parents who lost their daughter in a mass shooting. The mother, Abigail, attempts to preserve her daughter’s memory through photos and digital images, while the father, Greg, distrusts such representations and values authentic memory. Their conflict underscores the issues arising from digitally reproducing painful memories. Additionally, through the perspectives of other family members—such as Aunt Sarah, an internet discourse researcher, and the younger sister, Emily, who seeks a more human way to remember her sister—Liu raises questions about the process of digitally reproducing pain and sorrow. He prompts a reevaluation of empathy and mourning in modern society, questioning whether technological advancements that vividly recreate pain can truly evoke genuine solidarity and empathy.