Science Fiction in America
Science fiction has never aimed to predict the future, but to rather provide thought experiments about what could be, usually pushing logic to its extremes. The genre has evolved over time, molding to the current state of whatever time it is in, and responding to big social, political, scientific, and cultural events and movements (Jenkins).That being said, science fiction has evolved a great deal in America in the second half of the 20th Century, as a result of the innovative styles and brilliant minds that have shaped the genre over the 50 years. Each new author brought his or her own interpretation to the genre, and consequently changed it thereafter. America is the land of not only the free but also of opportunity …show more content…
First of all, The Space Merchants was written by two people: Frederik Pohl and Cyril M. Kornbluth. Frederik Pohl, born in New York NY in 1919, always had a passion for science fiction and not much else. He dropped out of high school at 17, and pursued a career as a writer, almost all self-taught (Clute and Nickolls). Cyril Kornbluth was also born in New York, in 1923. He was described by many as brilliant: Cyril graduated high school at 13 and went to community college for two years, until he was thrown out for leading a student strike. From there Cyril became a member of the science fiction group known as the Futurians, where he was taught and influenced by writers such as Isaac Asimov and Donald Wollheim. It was with the Futurians that Cyril met his lifelong friend Frederik Pohl. After serving in WW11, Kornbluth came back to the states, and wrote The Space Merchants …show more content…
First off, The Space Merchants more or less introduced mainstream science fiction readers to the villain known as advertising and corporations. This ideal, akin to that of George Orwell’s 1984, created whole movements, and had a real effect on the world. For example, Vermont has no billboards along its roads and highways, so as to preserve the natural beauty of the state and to check the power of advertising in the everyday person's life. Secondly, The Space Merchants was an extremely dystopian book, in contrast to the popular utopian style of that time. This at times cynical view of the world drew readers in, and in some ways had a more powerful effect, simply because the story felt more realistic. In the end, The Space Merchants guided science fiction in America in a direction that had less emphasis on technology and utopian futures, and more emphasis on social change and potential future conflicts.
Science fiction has never aimed to predict the future, but to rather provide thought experiments about what could be, usually pushing logic to its extremes. The genre has evolved over time, molding to the current state of whatever time it is in, and responding to big social, political, scientific, and cultural events and movements (Jenkins).That being said, science fiction has evolved a great deal in America in the second half of the 20th Century, as a result of the innovative styles and brilliant minds that have shaped the genre over the 50 years. Each new author brought his or her own interpretation to the genre, and consequently changed it thereafter. America is the land of not only the free but also of opportunity …show more content…
First of all, The Space Merchants was written by two people: Frederik Pohl and Cyril M. Kornbluth. Frederik Pohl, born in New York NY in 1919, always had a passion for science fiction and not much else. He dropped out of high school at 17, and pursued a career as a writer, almost all self-taught (Clute and Nickolls). Cyril Kornbluth was also born in New York, in 1923. He was described by many as brilliant: Cyril graduated high school at 13 and went to community college for two years, until he was thrown out for leading a student strike. From there Cyril became a member of the science fiction group known as the Futurians, where he was taught and influenced by writers such as Isaac Asimov and Donald Wollheim. It was with the Futurians that Cyril met his lifelong friend Frederik Pohl. After serving in WW11, Kornbluth came back to the states, and wrote The Space Merchants …show more content…
First off, The Space Merchants more or less introduced mainstream science fiction readers to the villain known as advertising and corporations. This ideal, akin to that of George Orwell’s 1984, created whole movements, and had a real effect on the world. For example, Vermont has no billboards along its roads and highways, so as to preserve the natural beauty of the state and to check the power of advertising in the everyday person's life. Secondly, The Space Merchants was an extremely dystopian book, in contrast to the popular utopian style of that time. This at times cynical view of the world drew readers in, and in some ways had a more powerful effect, simply because the story felt more realistic. In the end, The Space Merchants guided science fiction in America in a direction that had less emphasis on technology and utopian futures, and more emphasis on social change and potential future conflicts.