Saturday, November 29, 2014

Week 14: Science Fiction Parody and Satire

   For this week, I attempted to listen to the original radio series, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. For someone who has not really dedicated time to listening to podcasts or other radio shows, I had a hard time sitting still and listening to it. In fact, the only audio narrative I can remember having the patience for are the Diane tapes made for Twin Peaks. I'm sure more time and dedication to this kind of story media will help me better adjust to it eventually.
    Overall, what I do remember from the radio show, I found be very entertaining, from it's British humor to it's use of sound effects and voice acting. Though, I wish all the answers to life could be as simple as "42".

Week 13: Literary Speculation

Week 12: Diverse Position Science Fiction

   For this week, we read Bloodchild by Octavia Butler. This work challenged the majoritarian culture by tackling gender roles.
    In this short story, the main protagonist is a male who is chosen to carry the more dominant female’s children. He witnesses a male give birth, via a familiar approach to C-section. The use of eggs symbolize long life, eggs are more correlated with females because of our sexual reproduction system. Also, the human species has become dependent on this new species that is introduced in the story, and vice versa.

   In class, we also watched Attack on the Block, which implemented a familiar alien attack storyline but in a new setting, that is not typical in your usual sci-fi narrative: an urban slum. Along with featuring a more diverse cast rater than your typical white cast.

Week 11: Cyberpunk & Steam Punk

     I’m one of the shameful few on this planet who have never watched Blade Runner, but now I can exclude myself from that group since I have finally had the time to watch the entire film (which was awesome, by the way). It takes place in an alternate reality, not too far from our very own future. It handles a futuristic take of an urban area, but not your typical spick and span futuristic utopia with shining buildings. Rather, it portrays an urban slum. Also, Asian culture is implemented throughout this alternate reality, which really isn’t too different from our reality, considering Asian culture has spread even more so throughout the past few decades.

        In the short story, The Hinterlands, there is an obvious influence of Japanese culture, with names such as Hiro and Nagashima appearing. The world that this story is set in, is still a familiar world to us, except it is set in an alternate futuristic reality, still dealing with space efforts and the military.  There is even a direct mention to Soviet Russia.

Week 10: The Fiction of Ideas

    This week for class, we took the time to read Aye and Gomorrah to explore the fiction of ideas.
    This short story played with what I found familiar and introduced just enough concepts to make you feel out of place and transported to a whole new bizarre setting while at the same time introducing you to a new different culture.
    The story begins with the protagonist and his fellow spacers talking about their travel course through America, places us Americans are familiar with: Galveston, Houston, etc.  But just enough is mentioned to make the reader realize that this is not our modern world, the idea of Frelks and Spacers.

    Spacers play with the idea of gender and sexuality, they are castrated at a young age and are destined to work away from Earth. The Frelks are fascinated by the Spacers, especially because of this. The Frelk that the protagonist Spacer comes across, constantly asks the Spacer about his (possible) asexuality., something not too far or different from our contemporary world. And considering the Frelks offer to pay the Spacers for their time, does this lead to some form of prostitution, even though the Spacers lack the sexual responses.

Week 9: Space Opera

For this week, I read two of Arthur C. Clarke’s short stories, The Nine Billion Names of God and The Star. Both stories played with the idea of religion in a science fiction setting.
     It was interesting to see, even in these futuristic settings, how the characters and societies approached religion. In The Stars, the people who leaned towards science swatted God and religion altogether away, and the protagonist’s questions why God would choose to annihilate certain stars and planets. In The Nine Billion Names of God, the monks invest in technology to reach God by attempting to unravel his true name.  In both stories, the characters question God and his power and stance in their lives.


     "Well, they believe that when they have listed all His names-and they reckon that there are about nine billion of them-God's purpose will be achieved. The human race will have finished what it was created to do, and there won't be any point in carrying on. Indeed, the very idea is something like blasphemy."

Week 8: Mythic Fiction and Contemporary Urban Fantasy

  For this week, I finished watching Caroline. Neil Gaiman integrates myth and fantasy into an urban/suburban setting in this story. Caroline moves into a new town and encounters elements beyond our usual reality. Very similar to the story of Alice in Wonderland, Caroline longs for a different life which leads to her to falling right into the other world. A world where her friends and family, who now have button eyes, are perfect, or so it seems. As Coraline further indulges in this new world, the more dangerous her adventure becomes. Towards the end, she brings upon doom, but like a majority of fantasy heroes, she's able to save her friends and family.

Monday, November 17, 2014

The Aquatic Uncle

   I found the use of land, water, and the line between the two as prominent symbols throughout the story. Obviously, they allude to our own difficulties of change in our contemporary world, especially for our older generations. When the uncle tells the protagonist that he would develop warts, referencing to change and rejection of the past traditional ways. The closer they grow to land, which the fish would consider the unknown, the more monstrous they grow. Whereas water meant life and youth.
 
   Each character in the story reminded me of people I personally know or situations I have gone through and continue to do so. Growing up with my grandparents, who grasp to their traditional conservative views, and yet surrounding myself with people of more broadened views from my own generation. I find myself in the same position of the protagonist, living in the middle, accepting change but still seldomly looking back to the past. To dismantle all prejudices and achieve acceptance.
 
   This story would adapt well into an animated film or even an illustrated graphic novel. The biggest changes it would need would be more description of the characters, since a majority were vague (save the uncle) and hard to get a clear image of what they would look like. If the characters were made human and the setting changed to a contemporary city or town, it could even be adapted to a live-action film.