The concept of Newtopia is realy interesting. It makes sense that Golden Age pulp sci-fi leaned optimistic before the cynicism of later decades crept in. The theosophy connection was facinating too, I hadnt realized how much that influenced early sci-fi writers.
If you do a side-by-side comparison of both story and song you can see how intents have changed. And you can mark it by era. During the 1930s people insisted on cheery songs, for example, what we might call "syrupy." But they needed them. During WWII they needed humor and soaring ballads--big picture stuff. During the 1950s we start to see the underlying stressors seeding literature, movies, and songs. This proceeds into the 1960s. By the 1970s we had other stressors, for example the threat of nuclear war. Of course, the economy was also a mess and we had lots of political issues happening. After Cyberpunk seeped in during the early 1980s we start to see a split: dark and grim, and bright and colorful. The bloom of fantasy during the 1980s reflects this split. The underlying threads are fascinating. I'm glad my idea of Neotopia interests you. We face a point of diversion again right now. Can humanity pull it together or not? I feel we can, but not easily. Still I have faith in people. :)
Newtopia fits well into the optisim of pulp. I think we need more of that, because a society that looks forward to a better future will work for it. The theosophy connection too is interesting, something little reported on but makes a lot of sense based on the stories that were made at the time.
Patrick, I am finding ever more spiritual (theosophical, perhaps) connections in the decade of the 1910s. It's really become a synchronicity for me. I've recently remembered "The Cosmic Courship" by Nanthaniel Hawthorne's son, Julian, from 1917. It might be the best of the group. I have a copy and must finish reading it. It's chock full of interesting spiritualism which we still recognize today. More to come on that. I've been surprised how commonly we see astral travel in the stories of this period. It's really something. Did people talk about it in general conversation? I'm going to try and find evidence of that.
Yeah, the 1890s into the 1920s had a heavy spiritual - if not always theosophist - angle to them. Maybe spiritualist Mainstream Christianity? I'm doing my own reserach, too. Whether this ends up just being posts by us, doing another interview together, or some conference presentation/paper together, I'm up for anything.
Those are all great ideas! Let's keep the conversation going. I'd love to collaborate with you further.
I have no idea yet where it's all coming from, but I'll keep digging. I can almost feel some answers just out of current reach, but they're there...for sure.
The concept of Newtopia is realy interesting. It makes sense that Golden Age pulp sci-fi leaned optimistic before the cynicism of later decades crept in. The theosophy connection was facinating too, I hadnt realized how much that influenced early sci-fi writers.
If you do a side-by-side comparison of both story and song you can see how intents have changed. And you can mark it by era. During the 1930s people insisted on cheery songs, for example, what we might call "syrupy." But they needed them. During WWII they needed humor and soaring ballads--big picture stuff. During the 1950s we start to see the underlying stressors seeding literature, movies, and songs. This proceeds into the 1960s. By the 1970s we had other stressors, for example the threat of nuclear war. Of course, the economy was also a mess and we had lots of political issues happening. After Cyberpunk seeped in during the early 1980s we start to see a split: dark and grim, and bright and colorful. The bloom of fantasy during the 1980s reflects this split. The underlying threads are fascinating. I'm glad my idea of Neotopia interests you. We face a point of diversion again right now. Can humanity pull it together or not? I feel we can, but not easily. Still I have faith in people. :)
Newtopia fits well into the optisim of pulp. I think we need more of that, because a society that looks forward to a better future will work for it. The theosophy connection too is interesting, something little reported on but makes a lot of sense based on the stories that were made at the time.
Patrick, I am finding ever more spiritual (theosophical, perhaps) connections in the decade of the 1910s. It's really become a synchronicity for me. I've recently remembered "The Cosmic Courship" by Nanthaniel Hawthorne's son, Julian, from 1917. It might be the best of the group. I have a copy and must finish reading it. It's chock full of interesting spiritualism which we still recognize today. More to come on that. I've been surprised how commonly we see astral travel in the stories of this period. It's really something. Did people talk about it in general conversation? I'm going to try and find evidence of that.
Yeah, the 1890s into the 1920s had a heavy spiritual - if not always theosophist - angle to them. Maybe spiritualist Mainstream Christianity? I'm doing my own reserach, too. Whether this ends up just being posts by us, doing another interview together, or some conference presentation/paper together, I'm up for anything.
Those are all great ideas! Let's keep the conversation going. I'd love to collaborate with you further.
I have no idea yet where it's all coming from, but I'll keep digging. I can almost feel some answers just out of current reach, but they're there...for sure.
What a fascinating listen! Love the deep dive into the history of science fiction.