Cold War Science Fiction Blog posts throughout the semester

Sequence 47:00-53:00 In this sequence Dr. Kelvin is seen walking around the station at Solaris. It is dead silent. All you can hear are the footsteps of Kelvin on the metal floor as he figures out what is going on when he first arrives. In the scene you can see how dirty the station has got which makes the reader suspect it may have to do with the scientists on board going crazy due to the hallucinations mentioned by the scientists studying Solaris. There’s garbage, paper, clothes, etc all over the floor. It’s supposed to horrify the viewer because it is showing the negative effectRead More →

Bradley Cisterino: The Zones and Contact  I chose Bradley’s blog post about the zones and alien contact because of how he compares the idea of contact and briefly talks about the limits of human cognition. I liked that he connected both ideas to another book we read dealing with contact and exploring the unknown titled “Solaris”. Bradley gives us examples of the similarities and differences in how the authors approach the idea of what contact truly is and the limits in human understanding of it. In Roadside Picnic, the Zones are small areas (I can only assume they are relatively small, as Harmont is describedRead More →

Sequence: 2:01:15 – 2:06:45 Michael in his blog post uses film analysis techniques to analyze a scene in the film Solaris. The scene presents a conversation between Harey and Sartorius. Michael captures how the mise-en-scene, sound, camera work, and editing of the scene capture why the conversation between the two is significant to the theme of identity and what makes us human. It really forces us to question our reality like good sf should. This sequence presents the viewer with a conversation primarily between Harey and Sartorius. In my opinion, this sequence shows how Harey has evolved into her own being throughout the development ofRead More →

Justin does a close reading analysis of a line by Rick Deckard. He breaks down the etymology of the word android to support the theme of identity and technology taking over the world. He does a good job using the passage to outline the idea of technology having its trade offs and making humans lose their autonomy.   Sentence: “Most androids I’ve known have more vitality and desire to live than my wife.” (Dick 88)   In this sentence, Decker compares the condition of the androids he hunts to the condition his wife is in at home. This comparison highlights one of the main ideasRead More →

“You’re a good bounty hunter, Rick Realized, Your attitude proves it. But am I? Suddenly, for the first time in his life, he had begun to wonder” (133). In these sentences, it seems, Rick Deckard for the first time in his life felt vulnerable on the job. It has led to him to question is skill set and competency. It has led him into a bit of an identity crisis and contemplate if he is the right fit for the job after feeling vulnerable and anxious. In these sentences Rick is talking to himself and is asking questions. He began having feelings for an androidRead More →

In Ivan Csiscsery-Ronay’s “Science Fiction and the Thaw” the Soviet Thaw refers to a period after Stalin’s death when censorship and repression were eased. The timeline of this Thaw was from 1953-1972. The thaw began when Nitika Kchruschev came into power. Khrushchev implemented policies that were opposed to Stalin’s tyrannical laws (339). Khrushchev did this because he knew how behind the USSR was to the West. Therefore, “He encouraged science education, decentralized industrial and educational institutions and opened the country to Western scientific ideas” (339). The Socialist party used to have control over mass media and literature. Writers, especially SF under Stalin’s regime weren’t allowedRead More →

  SF in Eastern Europe was also a bit subversive like American SF. Authors like Evengii Zamiatain wrote SF critiquing the revolution. Vlndimir Mayakovsky’s wrote SF satires criticizing bureaucracy. There were an array of authors during the early years of the revolution who wrote subversive literature undermining authority. However, SF in the eastern bloc was heavily censored early on therefore these writings were produced and distributed in secret. This is referred to as samizdat (Major 80). Also due to their censorship they have an unspoken taboo on talking about nuclear war and the USSR being attacked in SF (Fritzsche 90). Usually if a story involvedRead More →

90-91 In this specific passage in “The Glass Bees” the narrator Richard acknowledges the danger this new world of automation and technology has presented. The passage also shows us that he is aware of why he has been brought to meet with Zapparoni. Possibly with a job related to confidential work in Zapporoni’s factory. In the passage Richard states “All his lilliputian robots and luxury automatons could contribute not only to improvement but also shortening of life” (91). This passage tells us that Richard has some unease about the world he lives in. He believes Zapparoni’s inventions can be dangerous and not beneficial to mankind.Read More →

The main argument of Delaney in “About 5,750 words” is that science fiction is able to create a vast universe of endless possibility. Science Fiction gives writers verbal freedom to paint a picture in the readers mind of the impossible. It forces readers to imagine a world of the things that could happen or haven’t happened yet. According to Delaney “The subjunctivity is changed once more these objects, these convocations of objects into situations and events, are blanketly defined by: have not happened” (11). This means that SF moves far away from reality and makes the reader imagine scenarios that are not too far fromRead More →