Eldorado. Neue Perspektiven auf eine koloniale Utopie in der aktuellen spanischen, lateinamerikanischen und französischen Literatur- und Filmlandschaft

Abstract Eldorado, the legendary ‘golden land’ in the middle of the South American rainforest, has fuelled the fantasies of the European population since the discovery of the New World. It developed into a geographical myth in the chronicles of the early conquerors. As a place of longing, Eldorado has ever since served not only economic dreams of a land of inexhaustible material wealth, but also social ideals of happy coexistence. In terms of spatial theory, this utopian non-place is characterised by a chronotopic specificity, whose fictional potential has been taken up by many artistic works since 2000. Using three exemplary novels and films, different postcolonial approaches will be discussed that present contrasting Spanish and Latin American perspectives on Eldorado. By reflecting on the respective choice of genre, it is also shown to what extent the initially fixed spatiotemporal localisation of Eldorado in the tropical geography and the early modern age of discovery, still evident in the historical film, undergoes an increasing decontextualization: while the utopia in the present-day adventure novel remains anchored in the jungles of South America, in the current French migration novel it becomes an indefinite dream destination within Europe and a hopeful metaphor for a better life of African migrants.