Andromeda. It is the title of this portfolio, and a name with many meanings. Princess Andromeda, the mythological character that is saved from the wrath of Poseidon by Perseus who later became his wife. M31, or more well known as the Andromeda Galaxy, is the closest galaxy to the Milky Way and another possible reference. It could also be related to the adventures of Captain Erg Noor in the novel Andromeda by Ivan Yefremov that I read for this class: Cold War Science Fictions. For right now, it doesn’t matter what the title is actually referencing because it has done its job of bringing up images and meanings that you have yourself of the word Andromeda. Accompanying the title is an image of a presumably human figure clad in futuristic armor. The deep blacks and the faded reds of the armor do not remind us of camouflage that our current soldiers use. The full face helmet, plated armor, and the full body suit all indicate an advanced state of technology. With the starry background, we can assume that these humans are spacefaring. The weapon in their hands narrows the possibilities somewhat as there is an enemy that is being fought; be it other humans or aliens. It could be about a humanity that finished colonizing the Milky Way and has expanded into the Andromeda Galaxy. Perhaps humanity is fighting off aliens from Andromeda. Finally, the last identifying clues are the alphanumeric engravings of “Ryder,” “N7,” and “TX4877.” It shows us an organized and industrialized humanity prepared for warfare. All of these ideas, conclusions, and possibilities came from just one word and one image together.
This analysis of the first thing you see on this portfolio is a reflection of what I have learned over the past semester. Cold War Science Fictions was not a class about reading old novels and writing analytical papers about them. It was an investigation into the relationships between the texts and reality, the historical context surrounding them, and progression of the genre over the years. The texts I have read have reshaped how I view science fiction, and I will put it to use in this portfolio by applying it to a modern work of science fiction: Mass Effect: Andromeda. One of my favorite video games of all time, and despite it being a less than formal medium for fiction, it is a brilliant example of what science fiction should be. It explores ideas that can not be answered in our current reality, such as artificial intelligence learning and growing alongside us in a symbiotic relationship, and humanity searching for a new home millions of light years away.
The flexibility that science fiction has allows for the vast worlds and realities that capture our attention. At the core of a science fiction work is the ability to make the reader to understand and be invested into a world that is beyond our preconceived notions of the world. Science fiction uses the idea of ‘cognitive estrangement,’ which is when the reader is pushed past their personal assumptions into ideas that break the rules of possible. This core principle is what allows authors to create any place, society, planet, or galaxy in order to fit their narrative. However, these estranged worlds of fiction do not cut off any connections between them and our reality, which brings us to the purpose of my portfolio and the class Cold War Science Fictions. The class explored the development and progression of science fiction through the lens of its relationship with the Cold War. Science fiction grew alongside the Cold War with the space race and the ideological conflicts between capitalism and communism being ample topics to be covered. Authors used science fiction as a way to explore the ideas that had propped up recently, such as humanity exploring the stars and political division between the West and the East. The historical events in the Cold War had a powerful effect on the works of science fiction at the time. On the flip side, the world around sci-fi literature took notice of its power to criticise. Nations during the Cold War understood the power that literature held over its population. With the Eastern Bloc’s science fiction being focused upon political commentary compared to the entertainment focused western style, it was strictly controlled and censored to ensure it followed communist guidelines.