Category Archives: Group 6

Okay, so the difficulty I’m having while reading Neuromancer specifically has to do with the alternative use of words of which I already know the meaning and the generally accepted context.  More on that in a minute.  First, I have to say that I am truly enjoying reading this book.  Much like Ender’s Game and […] Continue reading →

I definitely think it’s worth it to focus on the word choice here, as you do. “Stranger” is such a powerful word (and it lies at the heart of most science fiction). The roots of the word are telling; it comes from the Latin word extraneus, meaning external or from the outside. Jim is certainly from the outside of Julia’s world, and when the boundaries of that world shift dramatically (temporally), it looks as though Jim will be allowed to enter it. Continue reading →

After reading the most recent group of short stories, I have to admit that I’m impressed.  W.E.B. DuBois’ uncanny ability to predict behavior patterns and draw them out in the form of a narrative about calamity amazed me.  I know him best from The Souls of Black Folk.  In his blog, Michael said: “What I […] Continue reading →

I’d like to weigh in, briefly, on your comment/question about the genre of science fiction tv shows. I don’t pretend to know much at all, however, when I think about some of the real groundbreaking sci-fi tv shows (namely Star Trek) I can’t help but think that it’s a vastly important facet of science fiction as a whole. Someone mentioned in class the other day about the foreshadowing of technology-to-come. The show prophesied the invention of the mobile telephone was it? That makes me think also of 2001: a space odyssey. I know it’s not a tv show; however it did some technology prediction as well. We see the first hint of video conferencing in this film. So sci-fi tv shows and movies have a history of presenting their audience with technologies they have never even dreamed of but one day will utilize on a daily basis.
I’d also like to throw out a question. Where do we place the tv show Lost? Can we call that science fiction? There is certainly some weird supernatural/spiritual stuff going on there; but there’s definitely a theme of science/scientists (Dharma Initiative) sort of messing around in areas they shouldn’t really be messing around in. Oh, and there’s time travel. If we can call this sci-fi (and I think we can), then I’d like to argue again that science fiction television shows are an integral, irreplaceable part of science fiction on the whole. I believe Lost will live in the memory as one of the most engaging, challenging, touching, thrilling, chilling, thought-provoking shows perhaps ever to be produced. Continue reading →