The Future Spells Doom?
I know this has been discussed before, but I find it curious how prevalent the pessimistic has become in science fiction. I don’t think this is a bad thing, mind you, but it is something to acknowledge. But why? As curious as this whole thing is, the reasons why seem more intriguing. What draws science […]
Science Fiction and Aliens: Human Relationships to the Other “Other”
I’ve been reading a book called Alien Chic by Neil Badmington and the first chapter got me thinking about how science fiction imagines us relating to aliens. This very concept is part of what I will be writing about for my postmodern animal seminar, although in a more limited and theoretically complicated manner, since my […]
The End of Good Writing: The Damage of Twilight, Harry Potter, and Their Friends
(Disclaimer: I do not hate Twilight–not really–nor do I despise the things I am going to talk about here. I am simply pointing out a potential problem that nobody has solutions for.) There has been a resurgence of crap in the last few years. I don’t mean published crap, but crap in relation to writing […]
Cultural Literacy and Genre Fiction
I’ve been researching this concept called “cultural literacy” in preparation for my final paper in my pedagogy course. In doing so, I’ve come to an interesting “revelation,” if you will. Science fiction and fantasy are part of our culture as much as something like math or English; they are unconscious elements present in all of […]
The Strange (n.) – Being intrigued by something that doesn’t make sense!
I’ve had a most curious epiphany. Apparently if the description of the book is so far out there, so absurdly bizarre and unimaginably unintelligible in the light of logic, then I’m instantly fascinated by it and must have it in my collection. I don’t mean books with twisted or disturbing plots, but books with plots […]
A Reiteration: Books and Music; Lovers, But Not Twins
I am consistently shocked by the persistence of the belief that books (and particularly the book industry) are somehow exactly the same as music (and the music industry). While there are certainly analogous relationships between the two, the idea that consumers view them as the same is absurd. Let’s break this down, because it needs […]