literature sf genre overview Flashcards
might wanna skip cards that just list a bunch of names/tv shows but they're there if u want them
prior to pulp magazines, what was the state of the SF genre?
it was not separated from mainstream fiction, but there were many texts containing SF elements
progressive era (of literature)
literature speculated on technologies that were altering the pace of modern life (steamboat, photography, telegraph, etc.)
Frankenstein (1818) by Mary Shelley
frequently classified as romantic or gothic, though Brian Aldiss and Brian Stableford (Critics) recognize it as the first SF novel. Shelley’s book was published by a small London publishing house.
The Last Man by Mary Shelley
many understand this as the first post-apocalyptic novel
The Chemical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz (1616)
John Crowley claims this is first SF novel because it’s about the possibilites of science & not just an allegory/thought-experiment. many disagree because the “Science” in this book is mostly renaissance alchemy, which is more fantastical
damon knight
a critic who claims anything he points to as sf IS sf
why wouldn’t Frankenstein be the first sf novel?
some critics say it is too “Destabilizing” of a text to be confined to one genre
Symzonia: A voyage of discovery by John Cleeve Symmes
Paul Collins claims this is the first SF novel. but, that blatantly ignores non-american lit like Frankenstein which proceeded Symzonia. Symzonia also relies on pseudoscience, specifically the hollow earth theory
The Unparalleled Adventures of One Hans Pfaall by Edgar Alan Poe
19th century short-story that imagined a hot air balloon trip to the moon
The Birthmark by Nathaniel Hawthorne
19th century short-story, features a pseudoscientists who tries to remove a wine-colored birth mark from his wife’s face and achieve human perfection
Bartleby the Scrivener By Herman Melville
19th century short-story, considers how modern labor practices degrade humanity (famously ends with lament:
“ah, humanity!”
why aren’t bartleby, the birth mark, and the Hans Pfaall story considered SF? :(
published before the age of pulps and lack actual scientific methodology
when did SF emerge as a “general force”?
the 1930s; age of pulps
what are pulp magazines?
cheaply produced and distributed magazines that garnered a lot of public attention for SF
when (roughly) was the golden age of SF?
1938 to late 1940s
who were the “Old Guards of the Golden age”?
Issac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, John Campbell, and Alfred Bester
popular pulp magazines
Amazing Stories, Astounding, Wonder Stories
what were the early pulp stories like?
space conquering male heroes; not much attention to lit devices
radio-programs that popularized SF
Buck Rogers & Flash Gordon
which two pulps are still alive?
Asimov Magazine & Analog (originally branded as Astounding Stories of super science)
what displaced pulps from the 1940s to 60s?
mass-produced paper backs
what were popular SF tv programs in the 60s?
Star Trek, The Jetsons, My Mother the Car, Mr. Ed, My Favorite Martian, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and The Time Tunnel
what else was going on during the golden age of SF…
the cold war, which led to events such as the Kitchen Debate and the Post-Sputnik Space Race
when did the “New Wave” movement in SF begin?
1960s to 70s
