Introduction In THX 1138, George Lucas tackles the question of what would happen if science, religion, and the state all merged together with the corporation. In an hour long amalgam of state mandated drug plans, a repressive surveillance state, psychological torture, and sexual repression George Lucas asks the question - is freedom worth it even [...]
Original Text Description - Old Sociocultural Horizon Rather than opt for the course of picking a single science fiction text, I want to pick a theme that pervades many science fiction texts. I am interested in examining the agency-safety, humanity-embodiment relationship. A number of characters in science fiction text that we've engaged with in [...]
In this essay, I will argue that Asimov believes that agency is incompatible with safety, that Cutie’s vision of evolution is similar to Hegel’s, and -- borrowing from Lewis -- no matter how much technological power may concentrate human will can never transcend history - even though AI. In the “Reason” chapter Asimov reveals [...]
In the radio adaptation, the humans’ weapons can harm the tripods, but in the film 2005 version the shields are completely impervious to our attacks. In both cases the aliens die without our attacking. All we had to do was survive long enough for them to die out. So what is the role of agency [...]
“Say, what's the matter? . . . Where are you going?” - “Not to your world. . . Goodbye, stranger. . .” Science fiction is a genre in which intelligent, non-human entities cause us to question our own privileged place in the universe. It forces us to reckon with the intelligent other in order to ask [...]
