Extra Sci Fi

We talked a little bit about Ray Bradbury on our Fahrenheit 451 episode, but he contributed so much more to the world of literature and science fiction. While he may not be "technically" considered a part of the New Wave sci fi, but he certainly influenced it. His works touch on the fantastical, the psychedelic, and even the theological. So why did Ray Bradbury refuse to consider himself a science fiction writer, even when his stories were filled with space travel and other technological wonders? Let's explore!

Philip K. Dick is well known in the sci-fi genre for his work "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?", the story that inspired Blade Runner. He struggled often from mental illness and depression and had a uniquely weird childhood experience that led him to question the very fabric of his reality. A common theme of Philip K. Dick's work is the presence of doppelgangers or copies who can't tell who the original is. And this unraveling of reality or treatment of reality as fluid is a huge influence on the New Wave.

We've talked about Harlan Ellison's I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream before on Extra Sci Fi, but Dangerous Visions is the title that truly kicks off the New Wave. An anthology helmed and edited by Ellison, Dangerous Visions featured short stories written by many sci-fi household names like Roger Zelazny & Samuel R. Delany. But most importantly, it introduced human sexuality to sci-fi in a way we hadn't seen before. It also questioned the taboo, like addressing religion or death. Not all of the stories are winners, but all of them give you something to think about.

There is no text that better sums up the heart of the New Wave than Samuel R. Delany's Dhalgren. The text twists and turns, written with an eye towards modern and post-modern writing. Where the story even begins is up to interpretation. But one thing is certain. There's nothing else quite like it in all of science fiction. It pushed the boundaries of what science fiction could do and proved that sci fi could be just as unique (and sometimes confusing) as high art.

The Chronicles of Amber occupy a weird space in the New Wave. Is it fantasy? Is it sci fi? Is it both? We think so. While Zelazny is often left out of sci fi considerations, he has a lot in common with the other writers we've spoken about. He also deals with a topic that we see come up again and again in sci fi: What is the real? Even though The Chronicles of Amber are difficult to categorize, they still stand out, especially as our real & virtual lives continue to mix and mingle.

J.G. Ballard's work has influenced so many parts of media that it felt right to kick this episode off with a quote from Joy Division. Instead of breaking down any one of his texts, we thought that it would be better to break down his writing into three distinctive themes or periods. No matter what piece of work you pick up, you'll find J.G. Ballard's writing evocative and boundary-pushing: an exemplar of the New Wave.

Despite science fictions foundation in Mary Shelly's Frankenstein, women authors of sci fi were few and far between. That is, until the women's movement saw a wave of new writers who took home Hugo and Nebula awards, leaving their mark on science fiction forever. One of these writers was Ursula K. Le Guin. The daughter of anthropologists, Le Guin's family frequently had famous academics and scientists over, and they deeply influenced her writing like her first science fiction novel, The Left Hand of Darkness. The Left Hand of Darkness is a story about isolation and exclusion from a very interesting perspective and asks the question, what would a society without gender look like?

There's no better way to end our season on the New Wave then talking about the work that brought it crashing down: Star Wars. Wait wait wait! We promise we aren't talking about the pros and cons of any particular trilogy. There are a hundred other videos you can watch for that. Instead, we want to talk about something a little unusual. We want to talk about how Star Wars paved the way for the cyberpunk generation.