Video essayist Lindsay Ellis traced the evolution of science fiction, from Mary Shelley‘s seminal Gothic novel Frankenstein (or The Modern Prometheus) through the genre’s Golden Age to the present day. She also addressed seminal authors and speculative themes that have shaped our understanding of the future.
Stories, tales, and myths from all around the world posing speculative questions around technologies have existed long before Ray Bradbury and Frank Herbert, from the time-traveling Japanese fairy tale “Urashima Tar?” to some of the speculative elements of 1001 Arabian Nights. But there are a few eras that begin to shape what we’ve come to know as science fiction today.
Ellis further explored how this genre served as a vehicle for reflecting societal anxieties and technological hopes, many of which never came true.
Such hopes and anxieties inspire the wide and wonderful world of science fiction, a genre that is just as worried about the future as it is eager for the hurry-up already.
via Miss Cellania
Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.
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