The Saturation of the Hyperspace in the City of Dubai in J. O’Neill’s The Do

Abstract

This article examines the dynamic saturation of the hyperspace in the development of cities worldwide. Hyperspace is defined as a seemingly utopian project that fuses spatial, material, and temporal complexities in cities. By analyzing The Dog (2013), the study explores how the saturation of city hyperspaces operates as a global capitalist project. O’Neill’s portrayal of Dubai reveals the city’s political, economic, spatial, and architectural transformations designed to integrate it into the global capitalist system. The novel illustrates how Dubai’s hyperspace is severed from its state sovereignty, a process reflected through the musings of O’Neill’s protagonist, X. Grounded in postmodernist theory and supported by textual analysis of Don DeLillo’s Cosmopolis (2003), this article uncovers the subtle mechanisms underlying Dubai’s evolution into a hyperspace. It concludes by highlighting the adverse effects of hyperspace saturation on cities and their inhabitants. 

Highlights: 1- The saturation of city hyperspace operates as a global capitalist project. 2- A textual analysis of O’Neill’s The Dog reveals the political, economic, spatial, and architectural mechanisms through which cities transform into hyperspaces.
3- As portrayed in The Dog, Dubai’s transformation into a hyperspace is driven by global capitalism’s manipulation of the city’s political, economic, spatial, and architectural structures.
4- The transformation of Dubai into a hyperspace severs the city from its national sovereignty.
5- Hyperspace saturation produces homogeneous negative effects on both the urban environment and its inhabitants.