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WHAT IS SCIENCE FICTION?

From Wordle

WHAT SCIENCE FICTION IS NOT...?

From Wordle

TYPES OF SCIENCE FICTION

• Hard SF• Soft/Social SF• Military SF• Invasion Lit.• Time Travel

• Alternate History• Apocalyptic/Post-Apocalyptic• Space Opera• Cyberpunk• Dystopian

While some science fiction fits only one category, most science fiction is a blend of different types.

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW…

• Before you start analyzing science fiction you need to know some things…

• What is science fiction (we just answered that one)

• Who was the author (we’ll get to them one at a time)

• What was going on in the world of science when the story was written (we’ll do this one right now…)

• British

• Trained as a high school science teacher

• Considered to be the Father of Science Fiction

• Stories reprinted in pulp fiction magazines

THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE FICTION: THE BEGINNING: 1890’SH.G. Wells (1866-1946)

• Invasion Lit.

• Independence Day• Halloween, 1938 presented

by Orson Welles

• Weaponry of the time period?

THE WAR OF THE WORLDS BY H.G. WELLS

Published in 1898

• The Martians, who kinda look like large octopi, constructed large three-legged fighting machines, used a “heat-ray” to incinerate the group of humans sent to make contact, and then went about destroying England.

• The Martians use a large gun to shoot their cylinder-shaped spaceships from Mars to Earth.

• Earth scientists see the gun’s explosions, but don’t know what they are.

• The cylinder-ships crash land in England.

THE STORY SO FAR…

Martians come to Earth! The Martians Attack!

CH. 12: “WHAT I SAW OF THE DESTRUCTION OF WEYBRIDGE AND SHEPPERTON”

• The narrator (who is never named) and an artilleryman have been hiding in an abandoned house.

• As the chapter begins, the two men set out together, the artilleryman to find his unit, and the narrator to find his wife.

• Unfortunately, they run into some trouble…

• How is life of the 1890’s different than ours?

• How does Wells describe the human’s military preparations?

• How do the townspeople react?

• How does Wells describe the Martians and the battle?

WHAT TO LOOK FOR AS YOU READ

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: WAR OF THE WORLDS• Questions about the plot?

• How is this story different from anything else we’ve read this year?

• Describe civilian life in the 1890’s. Compare to today.

• Describe British military of the 1890’s. Compare.

• Describe the battle between the Martians and the British army. How would people of the 1890’s have reacted differently to people today.

• Compare the story to your notes on the history of science. How was Wells ahead of his time? What did or did not come true?

• How could we classify this story – what types of science fiction is this?

PULP FICTION MAGAZINES

PULP FICTION MAGAZINES

• Started in the late 1800’s and had been replaced by the 1950’s

• The Golden Days of the pulp fiction magazine was the 20’s and 30’s

• Hundreds of specialized magazines each targeted at a niche audience: westerns, horror, Oriental, boxing, science fiction, fantasy, detective, etc.

• Most were around 150 pages and most cost around 25 cents.

• Many famous authors were published in pulp magazines: Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clark, Arthur Conan Doyle, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Mark Twain, H.G. Wells

WHY ARE THE CALLED “PULP” FICTION?

• The pages of a pulp magazine are made from very cheap and very pulpy paper.

• Because of the cheap paper, most did not have pictures

• The stories were usually superficial and always action packed

• In order to get people to buy them, publishers gave the magazines flashy, fleshy covers that would…um…appeal to their target audience (boys).

• Want to see some…?

PULP FICTION COVERS

MORE PULP FICTION COVERS

LAST ONES…

• Published in 1953 in the magazine Science Fiction Adventures

• Pulp fiction stories are short, easy reads. They are for entertainment.

• Think of them as half-hour TV shows.

AN EXAMPLE OF PULP FICTION: “THE HANGING STRANGER” BY PHILIP K. DICK

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:“THE HANGING STANGER”

IDK.

WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?

• Stories focused on accurate scientific details, especially physics and astrophysics

• Often light on story

• Often flat, static characters

• Authors are often scientists as well as writers

HARD SCIENCE FICTION

YOUR ASSIGNMENT

1. Read your selection

2. With a partner (if you want) identify the key parts of your object: size, shape, movement, speed

3. Create a poster that accurately shows all of the key parts (you will present your poster)

• Label the dimensions

• Use arrows and numbers to show movement and speed

• You don’t need to color it

• Grade will be based on accuracy and effort

LET’S SEE HOW YOU DID

Larry Niven’s Ringworld Arthur C. Clark’s Rendezvous with Rama

Cooler, video here, but not as accurate.

• Using a futuristic setting to explore current and pertinent social, political, and economic issues

• Has its roots in the Civil Rights movements of the 60’s and 70’s.

• Stronger focus on character and story development

SOFT/SOCIAL SCIENCE FICTION

This is one of my favorite books, btw.

“Space. The final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-

year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek

out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone

before”

STAR TREK

STAR TREK BROKE A LOT OF GROUND…

• Star Trek featured a multicultural cast in a time when most leading roles were white men. (Watch and listen for the nationalities on the bridge.)

• Martin Luther King Jr. personally asked Nichelle Nichols (Uhura) to stay on the show as a role model who broke racial and gender barriers.

• Star Trek aired the first interracial kiss between the characters Captain Kirk and Uhura.

SOME QUICK BASICS

Captain Kirk Spock – He’s a Vulcan

MORE BASICS

Dr. McCoy Scotty, ship’s engineer

MORE BASICS

Uhura, Communication’s Officer Sulu – he flies the ship…sorta

LAST OF THE BASICS

Chekov – also flies the ship…sorta The Enterprise