Media
N.K. Jemisin, “Sinners, Saints, Dragons, and Haints, int the City Beneath the Still Waters,” in How Long ’Til Black Future Month?, First edition. (New York, NY: Orbit, 2018), 373-398.
Star Trek: The Original Series. Let That Be Your Last Battlefield. Season: 3 Ep. 15 (Available on NYU Stream as well as Netflix and Amazon Video)
Janelle Monáe, Dirty Computer [Emotion Picture], 2018.
Geek of the Week
- Hannah
- N.K. Jemisin, “Too Many Yesterdays, Not Enough Tomorrows,” in How Long ’Til Black Future Month?, First edition. (New York, NY: Orbit, 2018).
- Ken Liu, “The Paper Menagerie,” in The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories (London ; Sydney ; New York: Saga Press, 2016).
Theory and Commentary
N.K. Jemisin, “How Long ’til Black Future Month?,” Epiphany 2.0, September 30, 2013.
Gregory E. Rutledge. 2000. Science Fiction and the Black Power/Arts Movements: The Transpositional Cosmology of Samuel R. Delany Jr. Extrapolation 41(2): 127-42.
Lisa Yaszek, “An Afrofuturist Reading of Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man,” Rethinking History 9, no. 2/3 (June 2005): 297–313.
Further Reading and Viewing
Samuel R. Delany August 1998. “Racism and Science Fiction.” The New York Review of Science Fiction. Issue 120.
1. How did the element of magic in The Paper Menagerie contribute to the character’s feeling of loss at the end of the story?
2. How can Sci-Fi writing be used to highlight and transform cultural traditions? How can this writing help an outsider understand a heritage that’s not their own?
3. How can conventions and other forms of discourse change to address racism in the Sci Fi field?
1. Did the first works of science-fiction in the history of humans stem from our evolved perceptions of race, differences, and the intangible experiences that come with it?
2. If yes, is that the reason why white, Euro-centric SF refuses to portray races other than theirs in an equal manner? Is science-fiction as a genre racist in itself?
3. The only way the mother can express herself in a way her husband and son can and/or are willing to understand her in the Paper Menagerie is by making those magical origami toys, and even then the father-son duo are unable or unwilling to do so. Does the idea, emotion, expression behind a work of SF often get lost in translation?
1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of discussing serious topics like race equality through SF works?
2. Compared with other genres, is SF easier to overcome cultural or language barriers?
3. Is it necessary to add the element where origami animals can come to life? Without this magical element, will The Paper Menagerie become just another cliché story?
1. How well (if at all) can science fiction put someone in the shoes of someone else? In another reality/pov/phenomenality?
2. Is science fiction “naturally suited” for inclusion? (whereas angry fans pass out at the sight of a black high elf)
3. How essentialist are alien races (not spieces, I’m talking humanoids), and what does it say about our conception of human races? Are Vulcans naturally prone to logic? Klingons to agression? Or is this just a cultural thing? But then, does one race = one culture (like in most media one planet = biome because it’s simpler and it looks pretty)?
(I love how in the latest editions of D&D, they decided to free completely the race bonuses, so that a player can play a smart and scrawny orc or a beefy elf, essentially claiming that race is not limiting the player’s dreams and imagination)
1) In Science Fiction will there always be something or someone that feels out of place?
2) How does the collaboration of sci-fi and a music video work in “Dirty Computer” by Janelle Monáe?
3) What is there to say about the connection created between Tookie and the Lizard, and the trust that Tookie slowly gains toward the Lizard throughout Jemisin’s story?
1. According to Samuel Delaney, alternative futures count as works of science fiction. In your personal definition of sci-fi, is that accurate?
2. How do we undo the damage of the narrative of the sci-fi consumer as primarily white men? Is there a way to retroactively give voice to the women and people of color that have been sci-fi fans from its inception?
3. “Dirty Computer” ends on a bleak note of assimilation and deletion of past freedoms. What does this say about Janelle Monae’s conception of positive change in our current society, both for people of color and for white people?
Short Reviews of Short SFF: https://sffreviews.com/
How does the quote resonate with race politics today: Lokai: “You monotone humans are all alike. First you condemn, then you attack.”
In what ways is Janelle Monae’s utopian metropolis differ from the science fiction texts we’ve been encountering in class thus far?
In what ways is memory a function of the dystopian future?
1. Ken Liu can be seen as a bridge between Chinese and American sci-fi, so does sci-fi really have nationality and ethnicity? Does it depend only on the identity of the writers themselves?
2. Dirty Computer reminds me of Westworld, why we always expect similar works to end with a ” return ” to humanity, human beings, the real world?
3. Of course, issues of race, gender, and other identity issues are always present in all cultural issues, but why do they need to be singled out for discussion?
1. What can Let that Be Your Last Battlefield & Dirty Computer teach us about the ways different media messaging can be an effective tool at educating the public about racism?
2. How can we shift conversations of race, in sci-fi, to not be stereotypical in nature?
3. One of my favorite quotes from this startrek episode is as follows:
“It doesn’t make any sense.”
“To expect sense from two mentalities of such extreme viewpoints, is not logical.”
“But their planet’s dead. Does it matter now which one of them was right?”
“Not to Lokai and Bele. All that matters to them is their hate.”
“Do you suppose that’s all they ever had, sir?”
“No… but that’s all they have left.”
I feel like this quote applies to so many different groups in today’s world that struggle with polarization. What kind of media can we create to combat this and to what degree should it intersect with sci-fi?