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This article discusses the representation of Diego Armando Maradona in popular culture from the perspective of utopian studies. Analysing the Netflix documentary series Maradona in Mexico (2019) and the film Maradona by Kusturica (dir. Emir Kusturica, 2008), in addition to selected examples from Latin American cultural production such as songs and TV programmes, the article maps the utopian tropes that are often associated with the figure of Maradona, generally represented as a saviour of working and popular sectors of society, and as an emancipatory political figure aligned with left-wing regimes in Latin America.

The Argentine film La Sonámbula (dir. Fernando Spiner, 1998) is one of the most renowned examples of local science fiction cinema. The film portrays a post-apocalyptic, totalitarian Argentina in the year 2010 (the near future at the time of the film's release). Since this dystopian scenario never materialized, it might be assumed the concerns and anxieties about Argentine politics that the film conveys might have been exaggerated or unfounded. Drawing on the concept of chronopolitcs, as defined by Paul Virilio, and on the theoretical framework proposed by Paul Ricoeur related to the study of memory and forgetting, this paper discusses the political critique that underlies La Sonámbula. Through a close textual reading of the film, I argue how many of the implications contained in the film, regarding the political and biopolitical manipulation of memory and the representation of the city of Buenos Aires, as well as alluding to the military dictatorship of 19876-1983, can be still considered as valid in today's Argentina. This argument highlights the relevance of the critical dimension that can be associated with science fiction dystopias.