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Real Life Technology Inspired by Sci-Fi

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by Meera Nair

Media representations are meant to reflect life and, sometimes, life itself lends meaning from the various narratives that propel these stories. Even the Science Fiction and Fantasy genres have underlying themes, drawn from real life. So it is only natural if we made our way to some of the technology that we have seen in Science Fiction works. Even though some of these aren’t currently accessible to everyone for various reasons, here are some machines or gadgets right out of a science fiction story: Continue reading →

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Genre Focus – Slipstream

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by Caleb Sica

While browsing the depths of the genres science fiction and fantasy I came across a particular inhabitant that was quite intriguing—Slipstream. An unorthodox category, Slipstream’s embodiment of its identity derives from the virtue of its vagueness. Made recently popular to those previously unaware by a Wall Street Journal Article, (which I cannot read due to my lack of a subscription) Slipstream was first coined by the science fiction author Bruce Sterling in his 1989 publication in the Science Fiction Eye. Heavily critical of the detrimental direction his practiced genre was taking, he shamed the vastness of it, saying that “SF has become a self-perpetuating commercial power-structure, which happens to be in possession of a traditional national territory: a portion of bookstore rackspace.” Continue reading →

The Benefits of the EU (not that one)

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by Sam Honour

Have you ever had the feeling, when you’ve reached the end of a book or film, when you say “man, I want to know what happens next” except you can’t and never will? Book’s over, roll credits, shop’s closed. Wouldn’t it be amazing if there was a way that you could continue on the adventure with the characters you’ve grown to love? Enter the EU (not that one!) Continue reading →

Writing for the Web vs. Writing Literature

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Pete: This article was written by Tedel, a Peruvian writer who is the author of a cultural project called Heptagrama.

Heptagrama

I’m very glad to be able to share what I learnt with you.

My story as a writer began when I was fourteen years old. I was perhaps too young to produce something worth publishing then, but still, I was glad to hear an editor say I had “much potential” when I was nineteen and I tried to get published for the first time.

That was the first and only time I tried to get published by an editorial company. They didn’t want to publish my manuscript because, and I quote, “everybody likes poetry but nobody buys it, and this is a business, after all.” Continue reading →

An Orwellian Reality?

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by Sam Honour

Orwell, George - 1984

In 1949, George Orwell gave the world a nightmarish vision of a dystopian future in his novel, 1984. The story of Winston Smith, an Outer Party member working for the Ministry of Truth, served as a stark warning about government endorsed manipulation and control by the privileged elite. While the year itself passed without a sign of English Socialism taking control of ‘Airstrip One’, the name given to Great Britain in the novel, in the three decades since 1984 events have panned out that draw disturbing parallels between Orwell’s perpetual warring and history revising world and our own. By rights we should be appalled that these parallels can even be made but for some reason we’re just not; and it’s perhaps that which is all the more disturbing. Continue reading →

Genre Focus: SolarPunk

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by Caleb Sica

What is SolarPunk? Well, the SolarPunks’ Tumblr said it best.

SolarPunk-1
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“Solarpunk is a movement in speculative fiction, art, fashion and activism that seeks to answer and embody the question “what does a sustainable civilization look like, and how can we get there?” The aesthetics of solarpunk merge the practical with the beautiful, the well-designed with the green and wild, the bright and colorful with the earthy and solid. Solarpunk can be utopian, just optimistic, or concerned with the struggles en route to a better world — but never dystopian. As our world roils with calamity, we need solutions, not warnings. Solutions to live comfortably without fossil fuels, to equitably manage scarcity and share abundance, to be kinder to each other and to the planet we share. At once a vision of the future, a thoughtful provocation, and an achievable lifestyle.”

Continue reading →

Satire, Sci-Fi, and the Smiths: Why Rick and Morty is Revamping A Too-Serious Genre

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Rick and Mortyby Courtney Vice

“Okay, well, sometimes science is more art than science, Morty. A lot of people don’t realize that.“

Inspiring words, if they weren’t said after a super genius just turned the entire world into a Cronenberg-esque nightmare. Or, well, daydream for Cronenberg.

Rick and Morty isn’t a new show. Having only recently launched its third season, its been rapidly gaining popularity amongst sci-fi and fantasy fans while also having a fanbase that just likes toilet humor. It’s funny, it’s gross, and it’s insightful. For an Adult Swim cartoon, that’s a lot. Continue reading →