ABSTRACT
Gulf Futurism “refers to the futuristic style of hypermodernity” associated with the contemporary Arabian Gulf. In The Girl Who Fell to Earth: A Memoir (2012), Sophia Al-Maria utilizes what Shadya Radhi terms a critical form of Gulf Futurism by portraying the staggering effect of oil and capital growth through infusing science-fictional properties within images of architecture to showcase the rapid changes experienced by the region. She disrupts common conceptions of the Arabian Gulf as a hypermodern extravaganza, by revealing a disconnection between the region’s traditional past and hyper-modern present, and gestures towards an uncertain and troubling future.
