SF to me is a jelly like creature which stands for life itself. And every time it moves we see something different. Here is a list of all the shapes it takes.
1. Utopia: Humans are bored with the good life. Utopias don't exist as a result, even when they might.
2. Animals: Aliens are a nice way of appropriating man animal interaction but lending it a certain multi-dimensional hue using language or an attempt to get at it.
3. Loss: An often elegiac look back at a 'simpler' time, with untainted, lush landscapes and noble savages.
4. Whimsy: Technology allows for whimsical inventions which reflect human vanity back at humans. Talking phones and washing machines, in the vein of Carroll, but given the heft of credibility.
5. God: Change is the sole constant, and man (woman?) cannot sit still. The need to control can go both ways, and say more about who we are when we meet who we can be. We play God and we have petty human regrets in the process. Ironic.
6. Consciousness: To think or not to think. Can happiness be measured? Is a genetically manipulated human being who is ignorant of most things but as happy, inferior?
7. Literature of Obsession: For a change, a literature about men and women obsessed with other things than themselves. The fact that it ends up saying a lot about themselves anyway doesn't necessarily take away from this.
1. Utopia: Humans are bored with the good life. Utopias don't exist as a result, even when they might.
2. Animals: Aliens are a nice way of appropriating man animal interaction but lending it a certain multi-dimensional hue using language or an attempt to get at it.
3. Loss: An often elegiac look back at a 'simpler' time, with untainted, lush landscapes and noble savages.
4. Whimsy: Technology allows for whimsical inventions which reflect human vanity back at humans. Talking phones and washing machines, in the vein of Carroll, but given the heft of credibility.
5. God: Change is the sole constant, and man (woman?) cannot sit still. The need to control can go both ways, and say more about who we are when we meet who we can be. We play God and we have petty human regrets in the process. Ironic.
6. Consciousness: To think or not to think. Can happiness be measured? Is a genetically manipulated human being who is ignorant of most things but as happy, inferior?
7. Literature of Obsession: For a change, a literature about men and women obsessed with other things than themselves. The fact that it ends up saying a lot about themselves anyway doesn't necessarily take away from this.
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