Science FictionENG 201 Introduction to Literature Prof. Everson

Is Science Fiction Literature?Definition/ Purpose

Science Fiction – is a genre of fiction that only recently has been given scholarly attention.

Kurt Vonnegut once called the designation "Science-Fiction writer" a sort of "file-folder label or pigeonhole" and complained that most literary critics mistook the file label for "for a urinal." Apparently "the way a person gets stuck into this file," Vonnegut went on to say, "is to notice technology."

He was referring to the fact that at one time SciFi was considered a vulgar form of pop entertainment--a robots-and-flying-saucers pulp genre just a notch above (or below) the comic book. What Cosmopolitan magazine is to high-gloss journalism, SciFi was to serious literature.

Science Fiction …

tends toward the hypothetical and has a decidedly more prophetic or apocalyptic goal. The Science Fiction writer is more interested with future scenarios and vivid alternatives, with provocative extrapolations and exciting possibilities, than with the naturalistic or realistic transcription of current circumstances. In short, true science fiction is visionary writing about science, technology and social change.

Modern Classic Works

Aldous Huxley – Brave New World, 1932

James Hilton – Lost Horizons, 1933B. F. Skinner – Walden Two, 1948George Orwell, 1984, 1949Ray Bradbury – Fahrenheit 451, 1950Aldous Huxley – Island, 1962Philip K. Dick – Do Androids--, 1965

Types of Science Fiction

Fantasy adventure. the action defies belief or exceeds ordinary experience--e.g., tales of improbable events, strange creatures, supernatural occurrences, and imaginary settings. Precursors of this particular type of SF include ancient and classical myths and legends

Utopian (or Dystopian) Fiction. imaginative fiction (usually set in a faraway place or in the distant past or future) that depicts a world whose political organization, technical resources, or social and moral codes are strikingly different than our own.

Exotic Travel Narratives, "Fantastic Journeys," and Esoteric Texts. Supposedly true (!) accounts of travel or adventure or of scientific or occult investigations.

Types of Science Fiction – continued

Moral Parables and Philosphical Tales. stories that satirize or challenge conventional beliefs, institutions, or social practices by positing radically different societies or alternative worlds. Examples: Voltaire, Candide (1759). Also, stories that address the question of social change or the implications of social theories.

"Disaster Fiction" and Apocalyptic SF. Fictional unveilings of earth's destiny. Runs the gamut from visions of universal harmony and prosperity to fully imagined end-of-the-world scenarios--both naturally caused (e.g. a comet, a deadly disease) and man-made (e.g., nuclear war, a biogenetic accident, etc.). For decades a favorite sub-genre of Hollywood and TV.

Utopia Eutopia

“No Place” Model of the good

society

Unrealistic daydream

Thomas More, 1516Utopia - island in the Atlantic

“The Good Place”Ambiguity of

terms

Dream place

Utopian ThemesIdeal place /no-place

Art / Freedom of expression Consumerism – brings happiness Time – energy >>is controlled Social responsibility (not conflict) Punishment – justice is served Women / Sex >> often (hetero)sexual

freedom in earlier narratives Education and upbringing- is consistent

with social values

Utopian NarrativesHistorical development

• Early English writers include Thomas More, Utopia (1516) and Francis Bacon The New Atlantis (1624, English version 1627) –both written in Latin – the language of scholarship back then of course – a part of the Renaissance philosophical and literary movement in Europe

• Resurgence of interest in narratives of utopia in late 18th century – much of it in relation to the movement for rights of man / equal rights – especially among the French revolution: Mercier’s L’ans 2440 of 1772 in French (English title: Memoirs of the Year 2500 (1772),

• African American , women , and progressive writers took up utopian speculation for the future -- especially late 188s-1920s – during period of social engineering and a search for solutions to modern social problems.

Dystopian Narratives

Depict: Society unworthy of humans Totalitarian state / empires (1984, Star Wars series) Developmental derailment or degeneration

(Fahrenheit 451) Post-apocalyptic (after end of life on earth) No choice No freedom No alternatives

Dystopian Narratives (continued)Social restrictionsHyper-egalitarian – no excellenceOnly the StateReligion as controlFamily non-existentCity overtakes Nature Politics / Control

ReadingScience Fiction: LeGuin

Identify the elements of Science Fiction that you see in the story.

What type of Science Fiction is this story?

Is it dystopian utopian or neither?