Category: Portfolio

The subjectivity and other-worldliness  of science fiction has always been used to reflect upon our own world. This blog posts examines how early SF was closely tied to the Cold War.

The histories of science fiction in the Eastern Bloc and the Soviet Union are deeply intertwined because of their interactions of censorship and message. Literature was the start of the communist revolution with writings like Marx’s Communist Manifesto and Lenin’s underground Iskra newspaper. They promoted the communist ideology and soviet science fiction was no different. Zhdanov explains that soviet literature (including science fiction) has “organized the toilers and oppressed for the struggle to abolish once and for all every kind of exploitation and the yoke of wage slavery” (Zhandov 2). Literature’s purpose during the Pre-Cold War and Stalin eras was to spread the message of socialism. This was in contrast to western science fiction, which had “always placed a greater premium on entertainment rather than improvement” (Major 77). For example, Dr. Strangelove’s climax moment is a cowboy hat wearing Air Force crewman riding a nuclear bomb down to Earth which would ignite the world in nuclear fire. In the capitalist west, the problems of nuclear power and the Cold War were freely explored and criticized in science fiction. The U.S.S.R. wasn’t so lenient on critical works of communism.
As much as science fiction was used to push socialist messages on the public, the Soviets were worried about its ability to do the opposite. Science fiction was quickly noted for its inherent nature as “a medium for critiquing the direction of the infant revolution” (Major 75). It would be easy for authors to turn the popular utopian theme in eastern science fiction against the socialists. Soviet Russia’s relationship with science fiction was that of a tight yoke that carefully watched where it walked. Only until after Stalin’s death and the process of the ‘thaw’ began would more critical works of science fiction be allowed past the soviet censors.

However, these works couldn’t be blatant in its ways of criticism. It had to be subtle swipes at the side to make it past. Some methods were exploring the possibility of the convergence of communism and capitalism or to hide it behind humor and irony. (Major 90-91). Soviet science fiction focused on “coded critiques” and political writing (Major 92). It was a powerful yet limited tool for authors to examine communism’s successes and failures.

This blog post continues the investigation of how the real world affected science fiction.  This post delves into how the power of literature has over its population was viewed and used by those in power to fulfill their needs. SF was a simultaneously dangerous and useful tool in propaganda.

The ‘Thaw’ is the period after Joseph Stalin’s death when he was replaced by Nikita Khruschev. Quickly after his inauguration, Khruschev rapidly rolled back or reduced Stalin’s policies of repression, isolationism from the West, and censorship. The Soviet Union was “dangerously backward compared to the technological and economical development of the West” and its population was “exhausted and demoralized” after years of war (Csicsery-Ronay 339). In order to catch up, Khrushchev “encouraged science education, decentralized industrial and educational institutions, and opened the country to Western scientific ideas” (Csicsery-Ronay 339). However, Khrushchev only allowed for this in order to strengthen the regime. Csicsery-Ronay explains that this ‘thaw’ was more of a “volatile alternation of thaws and freezes” that only benefited the regime (340). This brief period allowed for the West to have a glimpse into the world of the Soviet Union and the power literature held over its society. Soviet leaders knew the reach literature had on its citizens so there were major restrictions on writers, such as Stalin’s Writer’s union which had barriers of censorship at every level (Csicsery-Ronay 340). Khrushchev explains that “the role of the writer became more subtle, ambiguous and difficult, yet more important than ever to the ruling class” (qtd. in Csicsery-Ronay 340). Literature and science fiction was far more than the simple entertainment that it was in the West. It was one of the few methods allowed for the public to discuss or criticize the ideas of communism in a public manner. Science fiction was an extension of this because of its ability to “say something about how their lives were to be lived, how the future of their society was to be organized” (qtd. in Csicsery-Ronay 341). This idea of exploring the possibilities of their livelihoods improving expanded into the minds of the youth in the Soviet Union. In return for opening up censorship on writers, science fiction engaged the minds of the youth and interested them in the world of science. The fantastical worlds they would read of could be obtained by their investment into scientific research. Science fiction was limited to the realistic probable future by censors in order to focus their writing that would attract the youth into the fields of science. Khrushchev used literature as a way to convince the population to help in reaching the scientific advancements that the West were so far ahead with.

Bringing us back from the focus on the cold war, this blog post talks about The Dispossessed. It is a mix on historical isolationism and recent utopian theory while wrapping it together with the contrasting sides of communist and capitalist ideology. The novel was a great way to connect the real world context that was recently focused on with science fiction texts.

The idea of walls is a constant in the planet of Urras and its society. The singular walled of spaceport encapsulates the isolationist policy of the planet and the close-minded ideologies of its people. Dr. Shevek notes that Dr. Kimoe’s opinions “had to walk around this and avoid that, and then they ended up smack against a wall” (16). Shevek thinks that Kimoe has “walls around his thoughts, and he seemed utterly unaware of them, though he was perpetually hiding behind them” (16). Shevek’s description comes during their conversation about gender equality, religion, and xenophobia in Urras. Kimoe, and Anarres as a whole, is focused on the idea of superiority in society. Men are superior, Urrasti are superior, and their personal religion is better. Kimoe’s opinions are limited by his need to adhere to the Urrasti ideals while trying to explore possibilities beyond them. This is shown when Kimoe speaks about how he has “known highly intelligent women, women who could think just like a man” right after saying “You can’t pretend, surely, in your work, that women are your equals” (17). Shevek describes him to be “pounding his hands against the locked door and shouting” to leave the walls of his mind (17). It seems the sexist comments are a regurgitation of common Urrasti ideas of women, while the intelligent women he speaks about are his real thoughts. The walls that the Urrasti place on their citizens are firmly entrenched in their minds as well as their spaceport.
Another instance of walls in The Dispossessed is Shevek’s discovery of the idea of prison in his childhood. The Life of Odo is his entry to the idea of people being locked away against their will and being forced to do things through the power of others (34). The walls of the prison and the locked door in the learning center were a lesson for the five boys. It was their first taste of imprisonment and having power over someone else. Shevek was uncomfortable and shaken by the feeling of power over Kadagv. The segment demonstrates how much free will is emphasized in Anarres. The very concept of taking someone else’s free will away from them is unheard of and abhorrent. Walls, as a whole, had no place in their society.

The first blog post I wrote and a very important one at that. Delany’s ideas about science fiction has guided me throughout the majority of the course and shaped my interpretations of the future readings of the class.

1: Delany

The most interesting point of Delany’s “About 5,750 Words” is the idea that a written work is an image that is constantly being reworked by every progressive word. From the first word in the novel, your mind is trying to piece together an image or world that the words fit into. Delany uses the example of “The red sun is high, the blue low” (7). He explains that the sentence begins in a somewhat realistic fashion with a red sun, but the second half introducing a second blue sun is what brings us right out of reality. The image of two neighboring suns in our sky breaks our rules and assumptions of how this worlds.  In science fiction, the writer is allowed a broader image to create because science fiction is a world of “has not happened,” in which the reader is forced to accept every possible reality that the author presents them.  This impossibility of two suns is allowed in science fiction because of this. Delany explains that there are three levels of subjunctivity: naturalistic, fantasy, and science fiction. Naturalistic fiction “must be made in accordance with what we know of the personally observable” (11). These works are supposed to be possible in our world. Fantasy is more lenient in its scope, however there are usually reasonable explanations for any deviations from our experiences. Science fiction is the least restrictive of all the levels. It moves beyond our experiences and “make[s] our corrective process in accord with what we know of the physically explainable universe” (12). This freedom allows authors to “produce the most violent leaps of imagery” (12). Science fiction is a type of writing that forces the reader to examine the images created by the author with a perspective beyond what we have experienced personally. Delany explains that in a science fiction work, we must consider if a ‘winged dog’ has forelegs or not, if the dog has working wings, if the rest of the body has modifications to support these wings, and more (12). Mysticism is a core part of great works of science fiction.
The advantage of Delany’s definition of science fiction is the raw freedom that it provides the author. The open mind that the reader is forced to have lets the author create outrageous worlds and realities that few other types of fiction can compare to. The very extremes of humanity can be explored, such as utopian and dystopian societies. These worlds can deal with how humanity deals with very different settings and technologies, or it could explore radically different human societies and behaviors. Through the use of this idea of imagery, authors can effectively create the feeling of cognitive estrangement that is core to most of the other readings.

This blog post develops on the ideas of the first. I focus on the adjectives that the text uses to develop the images that Captain Richard himself sees. Instead of the words creating images in our mind only, they instead allow us insight into the images the characters have which in turn help us understand the characters and setting.

Passage pg 86-88
This passage is mostly about Captain Richard’s first impressions of Zapparoni. Just meeting the man face to face shows Richard the dichotomy of the public image of Zapparoni and the shrewd businessman that created his empire. Richard seems awed and stunned by Zapparoni’s ability to switch between personas. He can’t comprehend that the Zapparoni could be the “benign grandfather” that “amuse[d] all the children, great and small” and the leader of a massive company that designs automatons for every aspect of life. What makes this possible is the science fiction portion of the passage. Jünger sets it up with the quote “I cannot be in four places at once.” That is just a given limitation of human life. Richard believes that it is impossible for Zapparoni to be these two distinct persons, and he must have automatons to assist in creating his image. Richard believes that Zapparoni has found a way to “enter apparatuses and leave parts of ourself within them.” The use of words like ‘we’ and ‘ourself’ instead of ‘I’ and ‘yourself’ indicated that Richard thinks the multiple Zapparoni’s walking around are their own person. Perhaps Zapparoni has split his personalities for “a profitable extension.”
These automatons are also a sign of the progression of technology. Richard begins his military career with swords on horseback. Two or three wars later, wars are fought with tanks. A few years after that is the possibility of automatons replicating or being parts of Zapparoni’s personality. The fact that Richard even thinks that is possible reflects the mind-boggling speed technology has advanced during his lifetime.
The tone of the passage is complimentary and respectful of Zapparoni’s
accomplishments. He is constantly being described with words such as “skillful,” “great,” “connoisseur,” and “good.” Even when Richard questions Zapparoni’s identity, he can only see Zapparoni as a kind grandfather figure. This could be caused by the extensive PR work done to give Zapparoni such a positive image.
Jünger uses the phrase “Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune were in powerful conjunction.” When I looked this up, this means that the planets were aligned closely when viewed. I think this metaphor could mean Richard thinks that all the right traits and events were in place for Zapparoni to grow his company, or it could mean Zapparoni assembled his team of inventors in harmony to produce his automatons.

This blog post focused on the connection between historical struggles with racism and humanization and the term ‘andys.’ It is a troubling idea that humanity would fall into the same faults that plagued us in the past.

”’It must be one of those new, extra-clever andys the Rosen Association is turning out,’ Miss Marten said.” (27)

This sentence gives us insight into the societal perception of androids, and the technological progress of androids. Marten uses the word ‘andy’ for android, which brings to mind the World War Two terms of ‘Jerries’ and ‘Japs’ for Nazi and Japanese troops respectively. These terms were used by the Allied powers in their newspapers and general populace in a derogatory manner towards their enemies. They were used in the overall effort to vilify the Axis powers. ‘Japs’ is especially considered a ethnic slur. The name ‘andy’ has the same connotations. The casual use of it is indicative how humans view androids as enemies or something to be feared. This fear is shown through the Mercer beliefs that humans have. How every human has to own a real live animal to prove they have empathy and prove they aren’t an android. Rick, during Chapter 12 in the midst of questioning the morality of killing androids, never uses the term ‘andy’ once. He instead refers to them as ‘android’ and their names. It is a reflection of Rick’s growing confusion and conflict over the sentience of androids and their humanity.
The adjectives ‘new’ and ‘extra-clever’ for the androids tell us about how androids have been improving over the years. How they are becoming more human like with every iteration. This is worrying for humanity as bounty hunters are already struggling to pin down androids. Rick’s Voigt-Kampff test nearly fails to detect Rachael, and the police station Rensch works at is entirely replaced by androids. Earth is being infiltrated by androids and who knows if they will be distinguishable by humans in the future. That raises the question if they are indistinguishable, are they human? Could these androids eventually be programmed to feel empathy? These two adjectives give huge implications for the future of humanity and its relationship with androids.