Science Fiction: Recent Episodes
Damien Walter
Join writer and storyteller Damien Walter on an exploration of the world as seen through a science fiction lens.
Become a member of the Science Fiction community to continue the discussionWebsite - https://damiengwalter.comYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membershipPatreon - https://www.patreon.com/DamienWalterSubscribe to the Science Fiction podcast feed for long-form commentaries on these video essayshttps://damiengwalter.com/podcast/Join the Science Fiction community on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/
Become a member of the Science Fiction community to continue the discussionWebsite - https://damiengwalter.comYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membershipPatreon - https://www.patreon.com/DamienWalterSubscribe to the Science Fiction podcast feed for long-form commentaries on these video essayshttps://damiengwalter.com/podcast/Join the Science Fiction community on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/
Become a member of the Science Fiction community to continue the discussionWebsite - https://damiengwalter.comYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membershipPatreon - https://www.patreon.com/DamienWalterSubscribe to the Science Fiction podcast feed for long-form commentaries on these video essayshttps://damiengwalter.com/podcast/Join the Science Fiction community on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/
Become a member of the Science Fiction community to continue the discussionWebsite - https://damiengwalter.comYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membershipPatreon - https://www.patreon.com/DamienWalterSubscribe to the Science Fiction podcast feed for long-form commentaries on these video essayshttps://damiengwalter.com/podcast/Join the Science Fiction community on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/
Why do we love science fiction movies?Sometimes it’s because they take us to strange new worlds.Other times they just have the best effects, the biggest explosions, or the most guns.But when science fiction movies become legendary it’s often because they tell us something deep, true and meaningful.Then there are the science fiction movies that step up to bat for legendary statustake a big swingand missand sometimes, as much as we love the hits, we love those misses#Become a member of the Science Fiction community to continue the discussionWebsite - https://damiengwalter.comYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membershipPatreon - https://www.patreon.com/DamienWalterSubscribe to the Science Fiction podcast feed for long-form commentaries on these video essayshttps://damiengwalter.com/podcast/Join the Science Fiction community on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/
Watch the FULL video version on the new Science Fiction (video) Spotify channel : https://open.spotify.com/show/7lMNsoZctViqbqv8atqpK2?si=9a474bb8a9d74147Why was the 1970s a classic era for science fiction cinema? I’m guessing many 1970s scifi movies are forgotten, by anyone who wasn’t there to see them. Dark Star. Silent Running. Rollerball!The 70s produced so much great scifi cinema it’s hard to list it all.And even when it wasn’t great, it was still interesting. It’s like every scifi movie in that decade was a unique experiment, always different, always new. And then one movie came along that ended the golden decade for strange, cool scifi movies. After Star Wars every science fiction movie was trying to be a scifi blockbuster. And Hollywood’s search for the next big corporate entertainment franchise meant that everything would eventually get a reboot. Sometimes that worked. And sometimes it didn’t. And it didn’t work enough times that, I for one, live in dread of Hollywood rebooting another 70s science fiction classic. But.There is one movie from that golden decade which, the more I think about it, actually does need a reboot.#Watch the FULL video version on the new Science Fiction (video) Spotify channel : https://open.spotify.com/show/7lMNsoZctViqbqv8atqpK2?si=9a474bb8a9d74147Become a member of the Science Fiction community to continue the discussionWebsite - https://damiengwalter.comYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membershipPatreon - https://www.patreon.com/DamienWalterSubscribe to the Science Fiction podcast feed for long-form commentaries on these video essayshttps://damiengwalter.com/podcast/Join the Science Fiction community on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/
SF author Ken MacLeod on his lifelong friend Iain Banks.Become a member of the Science Fiction community to continue the discussionWebsite - https://damiengwalter.comYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membershipPatreon - https://www.patreon.com/DamienWalterSubscribe to the Science Fiction podcast feed for long-form commentaries on these video essayshttps://damiengwalter.com/podcast/Join the Science Fiction community on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/
Does it matter that the Three Body Problem by Liu Cixin is a work of propaganda? I think it does. But it's going to take 2 hours to explain.Become a member of the Science Fiction community to continue the discussionWebsite - https://damiengwalter.comYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membershipPatreon - https://www.patreon.com/DamienWalterSubscribe to the Science Fiction podcast feed for long-form commentaries on these video essayshttps://damiengwalter.com/podcast/Join the Science Fiction community on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/EquipmentCamera https://amzn.to/41DpI1ILens https://amzn.to/3tyH1nZMicrophone https://amzn.to/3RZ3sfDLaptop https://amzn.to/48eZDsfRecommendationsGreatest scifi novel https://amzn.to/3GZgL9rFirst scifi novel https://amzn.to/41DazgKWorst scifi novel https://amzn.to/3S045FOMost overrated scifi writer https://amzn.to/3NIchI9
Dune is the Star Wars killer - https://youtu.be/JPOsoph3TCYBecome a member of the Science Fiction community to continue the discussionWebsite - https://damiengwalter.comYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membershipPatreon - https://www.patreon.com/DamienWalterSubscribe to the Science Fiction podcast feed for long-form commentaries on these video essayshttps://damiengwalter.com/podcast/Join the Science Fiction community on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/EquipmentCamera https://amzn.to/41DpI1ILens https://amzn.to/3tyH1nZMicrophone https://amzn.to/3RZ3sfDLaptop https://amzn.to/48eZDsfRecommendationsGreatest scifi novel https://amzn.to/3GZgL9rFirst scifi novel https://amzn.to/41DazgKWorst scifi novel https://amzn.to/3S045FOMost overrated scifi writer https://amzn.to/3NIchI9
00:00:57 Introduction 00:03:39 Professor Elana Gomel 00:09:55 Charles Dickens as scifi writer 00:14:17 Stanislaw Lem and The Other 00:18:59 Anti-Humanism 00:22:46 Lem vs the SFWA 00:26:27 Beyond Humanism 00:28:12 LEM and Posthumanism 00:33:37 Fear of the Posthuman 00:38:00 Lem's criticism of non-existant novels 00:40:41 Lem on AI 00:47:08 Philosophy of Posthumanism 00:51:02 Monster Fantasies 00:54:47 Dangerous utopias 00:58:34 A new mythos of time 01:03:37 Why does Elon Musk like simulation theory? 01:08:08 The dangers of Messianic myths 01:11:09 Darko Suvin and socialism 01:14:24 Communism was oppressive and boringBecome a member of the Science Fiction community to continue the discussionWebsite - https://damiengwalter.comYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membershipPatreon - https://www.patreon.com/DamienWalterSubscribe to the Science Fiction podcast feed for long-form commentaries on these video essayshttps://damiengwalter.com/podcast/Join the Science Fiction community on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/EquipmentCamera https://amzn.to/41DpI1ILens https://amzn.to/3tyH1nZMicrophone https://amzn.to/3RZ3sfDLaptop https://amzn.to/48eZDsfRecommendationsGreatest scifi novel https://amzn.to/3GZgL9rFirst scifi novel https://amzn.to/41DazgKWorst scifi novel https://amzn.to/3S045FOMost overrated scifi writer https://amzn.to/3NIchI9
00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:50 Is Iain McGilchrist a scifi fan? 00:07:05 Iain McGilchrist's work and philosophy 00:17:34 Reason vs Rationalisation 00:22:30 Kubrick's 2001 and the hemispheres 00:27:14 Why do we take everything literally now? 00:34:41 The myths that form us 00:43:22 How do we reconnect to the mythos? 00:49:36 Campbell, Jung and the synthetic mythos 00:55:27 Creativity and the hemispheres 01:03:27 Is the right hemisphere the source? 01:07:00 The mythos and the machine 01:15:27 AI and administration 01:24:42 Is myth the true reality? 01:39:24 What does a better balanced future look like? Become a member of the Science Fiction community to continue the discussionWebsite - https://damiengwalter.comYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membershipPatreon - https://www.patreon.com/DamienWalterSubscribe to the Science Fiction podcast feed for long-form commentaries on these video essayshttps://damiengwalter.com/podcast/Join the Science Fiction community on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/EquipmentCamera https://amzn.to/41DpI1ILens https://amzn.to/3tyH1nZMicrophone https://amzn.to/3RZ3sfDLaptop https://amzn.to/48eZDsfRecommendationsGreatest scifi novel https://amzn.to/3GZgL9rFirst scifi novel https://amzn.to/41DazgKWorst scifi novel https://amzn.to/3S045FOMost overrated scifi writer https://amzn.to/3NIchI9
Become a member of the Science Fiction community to continue the discussionWebsite - https://damiengwalter.comYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membershipPatreon - https://www.patreon.com/DamienWalterSubscribe to the Science Fiction podcast feed for long-form commentaries on these video essayshttps://damiengwalter.com/podcast/Join the Science Fiction community on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/
Olga Yakimenko is a filmmaker who sometimes answers questions in the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/Become a member of the Science Fiction community to continue the discussionWebsite - https://damiengwalter.comYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membershipPatreon - https://www.patreon.com/DamienWalterSubscribe to the Science Fiction podcast feed for long-form commentaries on these video essayshttps://damiengwalter.com/podcast/Join the Science Fiction community on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/
BUY MERCHhttps://my-store-ef7a8e.creator-spring.comBecome a member of the Science Fiction community to continue the discussionWebsite - https://damiengwalter.comYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membershipPatreon - https://www.patreon.com/DamienWalterSubscribe to the Science Fiction podcast feed for long-form commentaries on these video essayshttps://damiengwalter.com/podcast/Join the Science Fiction community on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/
Watch J G Ballard's Towering Infernohttps://youtu.be/XYjjaalZHlYMusic 'Sensula' by Ralph Cree https://soundcloud.com/ralphcree/sensulaThe Techno-Optimist Manifestohttps://a16z.com/the-techno-optimist-manifesto/Become a member of the Science Fiction community to continue the discussionWebsite - https://damiengwalter.comYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membershipPatreon - https://www.patreon.com/DamienWalterSubscribe to the Science Fiction podcast feed for long-form commentaries on these video essayshttps://damiengwalter.com/podcast/Join the Science Fiction community on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/Read Ballard's best bookhttps://amzn.to/40mp8oD
PS - man with midlands accent is Alan MooreThere is an ancient English ritual, performed in the grey and rainy times (which is the entire year save 2 weeks in July), when the tribes people gather around a glowing screen and politely pretend that whoever is playing Doctor Who is a great actor.They never are. But it's not their job to be. The Who actor's singular task is to depict a very particular kind of eccentric Englishness (or, now and again, Scottishness), in an ever so slightly new variety.As such Tom Hiddleston has been on the "who would make a good Who" list for some years now. The problem is the Beeb can't afford him.Tom is at the bottom of the list of the top British actors, just below Eddie Redmayne and Damien Lewis, and far behind the likes of Tom Hardy and The Cavill. Nobody on the Top list would ever play Who.Unless...Disney decided to do a Who reboot. Which is what I think Loki is. There have been dark rumours that Disney tried to buy Who itself, but were rebuffed by Aunty Beeb.So I think Disney decided to try and steal the market segment instead. They have the clout to get Hiddleston for the role, and once season one was a hit they decided to go all in and take on Who. So don't be surprised if Tom ends season two by zooming off in a faux Tardis for more adventures.Become a member of the Science Fiction community to continue the discussionWebsite - https://damiengwalter.comYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membershipPatreon - https://www.patreon.com/DamienWalterSubscribe to the Science Fiction podcast feed for long-form commentaries on these video essayshttps://damiengwalter.com/podcast/Join the Science Fiction community on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/
Become a member of the Science Fiction community to continue the discussionWebsite - https://damiengwalter.com/members/YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membershipPatreon - https://www.patreon.com/DamienWalterSubscribe to the Science Fiction podcast feed for long-form commentaries on these video essayshttps://damiengwalter.com/podcast/Join the Science Fiction community on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/
Listen to the full podcast episode by becoming a member and adding the members RSS feed to your appBecome a member of the Science Fiction community to continue the discussionWebsite - https://damiengwalter.comPatreon - https://www.patreon.com/DamienWalterSubstack - https://damien.substack.com/
Become a member of the Science Fiction community to continue the discussionWebsite - https://damiengwalter.comYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membershipPatreon - https://www.patreon.com/DamienWalterSubscribe to the Science Fiction podcast feed for long-form commentaries on these video essayshttps://damiengwalter.com/podcast/Join the Science Fiction community on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/
Read Flight of the Siren by Brendan Myers https://amzn.to/453bTKZ
Become a member of the Science Fiction community to continue the discussion
Website - https://damiengwalter.com YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membership Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/DamienWalter
Subscribe to the Science Fiction podcast feed for long-form commentaries on these video essays
https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/
Join the Science Fiction community on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/
Support the Ocean of Story on Kickstarter - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/damiengwalter/the-ocean-of-story-season-1
Support the Ocean of Story on Kickstarter https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/damiengwalter/the-ocean-of-story-season-1
Support the Ocean of Story on kickstarter - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/damiengwalter/the-ocean-of-story-season-1
Support the Ocean of Story - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/damiengwalter/the-ocean-of-story-season-1
Learn more about workshops and 1-2-1's
https://damiengwalter.com/2023/07/24/sailing-the-ocean-of-story/
Support the Ocean of Story on kickstarter
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/damiengwalter/the-ocean-of-story-season-1
Support the Ocean of Story on Kickstarter - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/damiengwalter/the-ocean-of-story-season-1
00:00 An improvement? 03:16 4 shameful decisions 06:52 91% exposition 09:47 5 excuses DISMISSED 11:44 Asimov's high concepts - The Mule, Foundation & Psychohistory
Become a member of the Science Fiction community to continue the discussion
Website - https://damiengwalter.com YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membership Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/DamienWalter
Subscribe to the Science Fiction podcast feed for long-form commentaries on these video essays
https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/
Join the Science Fiction community on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/
Support The Ocean of Story on Kickstarter - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/damiengwalter/the-ocean-of-story-season-1
Support season 1 of The Ocean of Story on Kickstarter - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/damiengwalter/the-ocean-of-story-season-1
Become a member of the Science Fiction community to continue the discussion
Website - https://damiengwalter.com YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membership Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/DamienWalter
Subscribe to the Science Fiction podcast feed for long-form commentaries on these video essays
https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/
Join the Science Fiction community on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/
Become a member of the Science Fiction community to continue the discussion
Website - https://damiengwalter.com YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membership Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/DamienWalter
Subscribe to the Science Fiction podcast feed for long-form commentaries on these video essays
https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/
Join the Science Fiction community on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/
The Science Fiction community on Facebook have been arguing for a week straight about the status of Star Wars as science fiction…or not. So here is my ultimate and final answer (almost) to the question.
Become a member of the Science Fiction community to continue the discussion
Website - https://damiengwalter.com YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membership Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/DamienWalter
Subscribe to the Science Fiction podcast feed for long-form commentaries on these video essays
https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/
Join the Science Fiction community on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/
It's Plato's Cave strapped to your face. At least you could look away from the cave wall. But now Apple will track your eyes and keep showing ads however hard you try to look away. But the irony is even Plato would be excited for the Apple Vision Pro. The duality of Apple in today's video...
apple #vision #technology #philosophy
Become a member of the Science Fiction community to continue the discussion
Website - https://damiengwalter.com YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membership Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/DamienWalter
Subscribe to the Science Fiction podcast feed for long-form commentaries on these video essays
https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/
Join the Science Fiction community on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/
I’m always surprised how often people are willing to repeat Malthusian statements made by the villains in superhero movies like “human beings are a cancer on the planet” with stopping and thinking……wait, didn’t the villain say that?Thanks to Ty Sowry and Allen Howell for comments and today’s most discussed thread in the Science Fiction community.Further thoughts on the Malthusian villain and how to avoid sounding like one on the Science Fiction channel…Join the Science Fiction community on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/Become a member of the Science Fiction community to continue the discussionWebsite - https://damiengwalter.comYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membershipPatreon - https://www.patreon.com/DamienWalterSubscribe to the Science Fiction podcast feed for long-form commentaries on these video essayshttps://damiengwalter.com/podcast/
Watch the Interstellar video essay https://youtu.be/6fZh-mBttMABecome a member of the Science Fiction community to continue the discussionWebsite - https://damiengwalter.comYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membershipPatreon - https://www.patreon.com/DamienWalterSubscribe to the Science Fiction podcast feed for long-form commentaries on these video essayshttps://damiengwalter.com/podcast/Join the Science Fiction community on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/
Creep cover by Kiera Roeschke https://soundcloud.com/keira-roeschke/creep-acoustic-coverBecome a member of the Science Fiction community to continue the discussionWebsite - https://damiengwalter.comYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membershipPatreon - https://www.patreon.com/DamienWalterSubscribe to the Science Fiction podcast feed for long-form commentaries on these video essayshttps://damiengwalter.com/podcast/Join the Science Fiction community on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/
Dune is a story about men in rubber suits fighting over who gets to eat the poop of giant sand worms.There's a lot of ways telling that story on a cinema screen can go HORRIBLY wrong.Even after the success of Dune part 1 - which I consider to be a masterpiece - Denis Villeneuve has an uphill fight to repeat the trick with DUNE 2.As a lesson in narrative craft and storytelling, it's valuable to think through what those challenges are and how the story will have to be adapted to prevent it being a total......DUNETASTROPHETRIGGER WARNING - contains criticism of Frank Herbert and the essentially gendered nature of archetypal storytelling.Become a member of the Science Fiction community to continue the discussionWebsite - https://damiengwalter.comYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membershipPatreon - https://www.patreon.com/DamienWalterSubstack - https://damien.substack.com/Subscribe to the Science Fiction podcast feed for long-form commentaries on these video essayshttps://damiengwalter.com/podcast/Join the Science Fiction community on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/
Become a member of the Science Fiction community to continue the discussionWebsite - https://damiengwalter.comYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membershipPatreon - https://www.patreon.com/DamienWalterSubstack - https://damien.substack.com/Subscribe to the Science Fiction podcast feed for long-form commentaries on these video essayshttps://damiengwalter.com/podcast/Join the Science Fiction community on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/
Become a member of the Science Fiction community to continue the discussionWebsite - https://damiengwalter.comYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membershipPatreon - https://www.patreon.com/DamienWalterSubscribe to the Science Fiction podcast feed for long-form commentaries on these video essayshttps://damiengwalter.com/podcast/Join the Science Fiction community on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/Get all-you-can-eat audiobooks with a free month of Audible+https://amzn.to/3Hb1R0P
Watch the video essay here https://youtu.be/RGiEs5gn4eUBecome a member of the Science Fiction community to continue the discussionWebsite - https://damiengwalter.comYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membershipPatreon - https://www.patreon.com/DamienWalterSubstack - https://damien.substack.com/Subscribe to the Science Fiction podcast feed for long-form commentaries on these video essayshttps://damiengwalter.com/podcast/Join the Science Fiction community on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/Get all-you-can-eat audiobooks with a free month of Audible+https://amzn.to/3Hb1R0P
Philip K Dick's The Man In The High Castle is a novel about one of the most complex ideas in our world. The way stories shape perception, and the war between narratives. This long-form audio commentary builds on ideas in the video essay Lady Gaga in The Man in the High Castle. Members of the Science Fiction community can listen to the full commentary on the member RSS podcast feed.Watch the video essay here https://youtu.be/8pSP0iXlruIBecome a member of the Science Fiction community to continue the discussionWebsite - https://damiengwalter.comYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membershipPatreon - https://www.patreon.com/DamienWalterSubstack - https://damien.substack.com/Subscribe to the Science Fiction podcast feed for long-form commentaries on these video essayshttps://damiengwalter.com/podcast/Join the Science Fiction community on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/Get all-you-can-eat audiobooks with a free month of Audible+https://amzn.to/3Hb1R0P
Become a member of the Science Fiction community to continue the discussionWebsite - https://damiengwalter.comYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membershipPatreon - https://www.patreon.com/DamienWalterSubscribe to the Science Fiction channel for the short video essayshttps://youtu.be/AQG3UVaR2cwJoin the Science Fiction community on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/Get all-you-can-eat audiobooks with a free month of Audible+https://amzn.to/3Hb1R0P
What would a metamodern Batman movie look like? Find out in this audio commentary to accompany the Incel Batman video essay on the Science Fiction channel.Become a member of the Science Fiction community to continue the discussionWebsite - https://damiengwalter.comYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membershipPatreon - https://www.patreon.com/DamienWalterSubscribe to the Science Fiction channel for the short video essayshttps://youtu.be/AQG3UVaR2cwJoin the Science Fiction community on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/Get all-you-can-eat audiobooks with a free month of Audible+https://amzn.to/3Hb1R0P
Watch the video essay on the Science Fiction channelhttps://youtu.be/CYDpD5skkvMSubscribe to the Science Fiction podcast feed for long form commentaries on these video essayshttps://damiengwalter.com/podcast/Join the Science Fiction community on Facebook to continue the discussionhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/Become a member of the Science Fiction channel on youtube for full access to all contenthttps://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membershipOr join for any monthly donation and all the same benefits via the websitehttps://damiengwalter.comPATREON COMING SOONLINK ?????Get all-you-can-eat audiobooks with a free month of Audible+https://amzn.to/3Hb1R0P
Watch the narrative analysis on the Science Fiction channel https://youtu.be/x6Qr4EJdsZISubscribe to the Science Fiction podcasthttps://damiengwalter.com/podcast/Join the Science Fiction community on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/Become a member of the Science Fiction channel on youtube for full access to all contenthttps://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membershipOr join for any monthly donation and all the same benefits via the websitehttps://damiengwalter.comGet all-you-can-eat audiobooks with a free month of Audible+https://amzn.to/3Hb1R0P
Follow the Science Fiction channel on youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTLDbr7fXm6Rh17OFIAEeDgSubscribe to the Science Fiction podcasthttps://damiengwalter.com/podcast/Become a member of the Science Fiction channel on youtube for full access to all contenthttps://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membershipOr join for any monthly donation and all the same benefits via the websitehttps://damiengwalter.com
2022 has been an AMAZING year for scifi & fantasy storytelling.But mid-way through the year looked like a disaster.Streaming television has delivered both the best and the worst of scifi and fantasy this year. The struggle to dominate streaming tv saw literally BILLIONS of $$$$ spent on scifi shows. But while much of that money was wasted on disasters like Fake Tolkien, it was smaller shows that crept in and stole our hearts and minds.My review of the year lists my top 22 SFF stories...of 2022...and also my 7 worst, and the themes driving our storytelling at this moment in time.And a MERRY CHRISTMAS to all of you on this journey, it's a great time to be a scifi fan, and I'm honored so many of you are listening to the Science Fiction podcast and participating in this community.Thank you.00:00 22 best (and 7 worst) of 202204:36 Big trouble for the little novel - 22 to 1716:09 Enter the Unreal- 16 to 9 30:47 The 7 worst41:57 Mythopathos - 8 to 1 Subscribe to the Science Fiction podcasthttps://damiengwalter.com/podcast/Become a member of the Science Fiction channel on youtube for full access to all contenthttps://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membershipOr join for any monthly donation and all the same benefits via the websitehttps://damiengwalter.com
This episode represents the essay "Andor is a Marxist Story" from the Science Fiction youtube channel in audio format, with a LONG introduction elaborating on the politics of Star Wars.Watch the video essay on YouTubehttps://youtu.be/D2rt9bDi3eQSubscribe to the Science Fiction podcasthttps://damiengwalter.com/podcast/Become a member of the Science Fiction channel on youtube for full access to all contenthttps://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membershipOr join for any monthly donation and all the same benefits via the websitehttps://damiengwalter.com
Become a member of the Science Fiction channel on youtube for full access to all content
https://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membership
Or join for any monthly donation and all the same benefits via the website
https://damiengwalter.com
Extended thoughts on Andor and the age clash of Star Wars fandoms, with audio from the short video essay on the same topic.
Become a member of the Science Fiction podcast to access all episodes - https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/
Join the Science Fiction community on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
A brief update on the Science Fiction podcast during our season break and a short analysis of The Peripheral episode 1
Become a member of the Science Fiction podcast to access all episodes - https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/
Join the new discussion group for The Peripheral - https://www.facebook.com/groups/3365484013697013
Follow the the Science Fiction podcast and become a member https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/
Advanced Scifi & Fantasy Writing https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/
The Rhetoric of Story https://damiengwalter.com/the-rhetoric-of-story/
Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Why critique science fiction? I do get asked this question, after some years writing criticism on science fiction for The Guardian, BBC, Wired etc, and with the Science Fiction podcast in the Apple charts in a few dozen countries. So in the penultimate episode of season 1 of the Science Fiction podcast I give a few answers, and some suggestions for my fellow critics.
Follow the the Science Fiction podcast and become a member https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/
Advanced Scifi & Fantasy Writing https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/
The Rhetoric of Story https://damiengwalter.com/the-rhetoric-of-story/
Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Follow the the Science Fiction podcast and become a member https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/
Advanced Scifi & Fantasy Writing https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/
The Rhetoric of Story https://damiengwalter.com/the-rhetoric-of-story/
Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Lord of the Rings is the best-selling English langauge novel ever. And its close competitors - The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, Game of Thrones and Harry Potter - share an important feature.
They are all works of mythopoiea...myths for the modern world.
JRR Tolkien had a very important insight. He saw that the modern world had lost its myths. Indeed, the modern world had run screaming from myths like god or heaven. Tolkien believed that was a mistake.
He wasn't alone. When the philosopher Nietzsche said God Is Dead his point was that, without the old myths, men would invent new ones. And they would be much, much worse. Freddy was proven right as Communism and Fascism burst into the world, killing millions in war and genocide.
Tolkien lived through the wars and mass murder of the 20th century. He believed the world needed its myths back, so he wrote Lord of the Rings. The success of his great myth inspired many other creators, and sparked the return of the mythos to the modern world.
Follow the the Science Fiction podcast and become a member https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/
Advanced Scifi & Fantasy Writing https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/
The Rhetoric of Story https://damiengwalter.com/the-rhetoric-of-story/
Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
We’re in a civilisational war between the pre-modern, the modern, and the post-modern. Or to give them their “culture war” names – the Reactionary, the Neoliberal…and the Woke. We need a better future for our civilisation. A future some people are starting to call the Metamodern.
In this episode of the Science Fiction podcast I think about what a Metamodern future might look like. It’s a not a cyberpunk dystopia or a solarpunk utopia.
Instead I think our Metamodern future might look like…a theme park.
Watch my original critique of Hanzi Freinacht - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJpR-TwJ-gc
Read Oliver Amrowson's full question - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJpR-TwJ-gc&lc=Ugx436_Gbl2ip_plwbd4AaABAg
Learn more at the Metamodern Spirituality community on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/metamodernspirituality
Follow the the Science Fiction podcast and become a member https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/
Access the full podcast archive and all my courses as a member for ANY monthly donation...
Advanced Scifi & Fantasy Writing https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/
The Rhetoric of Story https://damiengwalter.com/the-rhetoric-of-story/
Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Follow the the Science Fiction podcast and become a member https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/
Access the full podcast archive and all my courses as a member for ANY monthly donation...
Advanced Scifi & Fantasy Writing https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/
The Rhetoric of Story https://damiengwalter.com/the-rhetoric-of-story/
Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
There's a reason why Neil Gaiman is the most famous writer scifi, horror & fantasy ever made. That rockstar reputation didn't start with appearances on The Simpsons.
By the age of 32, when most writers are just getting started, Gaiman had already written a masterpiece of fantasy. The 75 issues of The Sandman are a tour through the mythos of humanity, and a masters thesis on the uses, and abuses, of fantasy.
But the origin of The Sandman in comic books kept it a cult classic for over 30 years. Gaiman became better known for novels like American Gods and stories for children. (The Sandman is NOT for children.)
Now a new Netflix adaptation, created by Neil Gaiman himself, is a chance for The Sandman to meet the mainstream. Will it succeed where previous adaptations of Gaiman have failed? I feel quietly confident the answer is yes.
Audio extracts from The Sandman audiobook produced by Dirk Maggs https://amzn.to/3ox9qox
Follow the the Science Fiction podcast and become a member https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/
Advanced Scifi & Fantasy Writing https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/
The Rhetoric of Story https://damiengwalter.com/the-rhetoric-of-story/
Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Psychohistory is among the most important ideas born in science fiction.
A science that allows us to predict the future of human civilisation.
It's tempting to ask...could Psychohistory be real? Algorithms can control masses of humankind. Complexity science and agent based modelling are already predicting mass human behaviour.
And as we face our civilisational "Seldon Crisis" can we learn a less from Isaac Asimov about the future of humankind?
00:00 We are in a Seldon crisis 01:48 Isaac Asimov's Foundation 03:51 Why do civilisations collapse? 06:17 What is the Foundation saga about? 12:12 Psychohistory 17:50 The Metacrisis 26:07 Psyche & Civilisation 39:28 Resolving the Metacrisis
Follow the the Science Fiction podcast and become a member https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/
Advanced Scifi & Fantasy Writing https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/
The Rhetoric of Story https://damiengwalter.com/the-rhetoric-of-story/
Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
The best book to understand Ken Wilber https://amzn.to/3NSwBnu
Read the Foundation saga https://amzn.to/3yp65MN
"How does one fashion a book of resistance, a book of truth in an empire of falsehood, or a book of rectitude in an empire of vicious lies? How does one do this right in front of the enemy?
Not through the old-fashioned ways of writing while you’re in the bathroom, but how does one do that in a truly future technological state? Is it possible for freedom and independence to arise in new ways under new conditions? That is, will new tyrannies abolish these protests? Or will there be new responses by the spirit that we can’t anticipate?"
Philip K. Dick in interview, 1974
Follow the the Science Fiction podcast and become a member https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/
Advanced Scifi & Fantasy Writing https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/
The Rhetoric of Story https://damiengwalter.com/the-rhetoric-of-story/
Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Transhumanism makes grand claims about the future of humankind, from genetic engineering and artificial wombs to immortality and uploading humanity to the cloud.
Lead by pseudo-scientific thinkers like Ray Kurzeil, Transhumanism has become a popular ideology among Silicon Valley tech leaders including Elon Musk and Peter Thiel.
In recent years it has also become the focus of conspiracy theorists from Anti-Vaxxers to Qanon, who claim the ultimate goal of the "global elite" is to turn humans into post-humans.
The truth is that Transhumanism is a fantasy born in the pages of science fiction. While authors like Bruce Sterling and William Gibson warned against the terrors of Transhumanism, today's Transhumanists see it as an inevitability, and have transformed the fantasy of Transhumanism into an anti-human religion.
00:00:00 The Torment Nexus 00:01:34 Welcome to the Science Fiction podcast 00:04:06 Beyond our ape brained meat-sacks - a profile of Elise Bohan 00:08:23 We are in a time between worlds & Transhuman conspiracy theories 00:13:14 Understanding Transhumanism as narrative, storytelling and modern mythos 00:19:15 ONE - Transhumanism is Utopian 00:24:06 TWO - Transhumanism assumes fundamental change 00:26:00 THREE - Transhumanism is a pseudo-science 00:29:34 FOUR - Transhumanism is a religious vision of transcendence 00:34:38 FIVE - Transhumanism is authoritarian 00:39:12 SIX - Transhumism wants to liberate us from our human bodies 00:44:38 SEVEN - Transhumanism is science fiction 00:48:04 EIGHT - Transhumanism believes technology is the force of progress 00:51:40 NINE - Transhumanism devalues the human 00:55:58 TEN - "We're building God you know." 01:06:53 ELEVEN - Transhumanism is a power structure 01:13:01 TWELVE - Transhumanism is dystopian 01:16:20 THIRTEEN - Transhumanism is anti-humanism
Beyond Our Ape Brained Meat Sacks - https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/jun/04/beyond-our-ape-brained-meat-sacks-can-transhumanism-save-our-species
Jonathan Rowson on Zak Stein and our time between worlds - https://twitter.com/Jonathan_Rowson/status/1532318004071084034
Follow the the Science Fiction podcast and become a member https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/
Advanced Scifi & Fantasy Writing https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/
The Rhetoric of Story https://damiengwalter.com/the-rhetoric-of-story/
Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
I want Netflix The Sandman to be great.
But.
Adaptations to screen of the work of Neil Gaiman have been tough to pull off.
The same is true of other British writers with similar ironic humour like Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett.
Why is it so hard to capture the voice of these writers on screen?
Follow the the Science Fiction podcast and become a member https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/
Advanced Scifi & Fantasy Writing https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/
The Rhetoric of Story https://damiengwalter.com/the-rhetoric-of-story/
Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
This episode of the Science Fiction podcast republishes an interview with the Rebel Wisdom channel conducted by David Fuller. It brings together many of the ideas explored in season one of this podcast, and is my best exploration so far of the Mythos of Scifi.
When did Superman get so "Dark"?
He's as American as apple pie, coca-cola and black-ops interventions in the politics of other sovereign nations.
Superman is the symbol of all that is best about the United States of America. An indefatigable powerhouse, an Apollonian sun deity, child of the gods but raised by mortal man, and the archetype of post-WW2 American self image.
But as America has re-learned its own history, so Superman has changed and mutated.
From shining demigod hero.
To dark underworld evil.
00:00 Superman gets a ride in a London cab
00:59 Have we had enough of Dark Superman?
03:50 Content Warning
05:30 Superman is a strange hero
07:55 Superman as Apollonian archetype
11:12 A brief history of Dark Superman
15:42 THE ARCHETYPAL BEING
26:39 Shadow & Ego of Carl Jung
31:54 A shadow-work exercise
39:33 Integrating the Shadow of the Superman
Follow the the Science Fiction podcast and become a member https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/
Advanced Scifi & Fantasy Writing https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/
The Rhetoric of Story https://damiengwalter.com/the-rhetoric-of-story/
Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Not every story needs to be an HBO prestige format tv show. Episodic television went out of fashion for a while there. But now with Strange New World's it's back...big time. Sometimes simple is good.
00:00 Captain's Log 00:46 It's just not Star Trek 03:56 The evolution of televisual storytelling 06:29 The Episodic Structure 10:45 Structure vs Content 12:38 The Prestige Format 14:05 Stop blaming Wokeness for bad storytelling 15:32 Psychological Realism 18:59 Simple is good
Follow the the Science Fiction podcast and become a member https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/
Advanced Scifi & Fantasy Writing https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/
The Rhetoric of Story https://damiengwalter.com/the-rhetoric-of-story/
Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Gandalf announces a new plan to sell the One Ring to Jeff Bezos, and we see a more scathing side of Frodo.
00:00 Selling the One Ring 01:24 The slow-mo car crash of Amazon's Rings of Power 04:25 New talent - Daniel Abraham, Robin Hobb, NK Jemisin 06:28 Statement of the Tolkien Society 09:48 Worldbuilding and the CEF 12:15 A word from the Wise 17:01 Our new tech giant entertainment overlords
Tolkien Society statement https://www.tolkiensociety.org/blog/2022/05/i-met-the-team-behind-the-rings-of-power-they-love-tolkien/
Follow the the Science Fiction podcast and become a member https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/
Advanced Scifi & Fantasy Writing https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/
The Rhetoric of Story https://damiengwalter.com/the-rhetoric-of-story/
Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Why does science fiction not get the respect it deserves...from literary fiction?
It’s the East coast vs West cost gangster rap rivalry but fiction writers (except without the drive-by shootings…that I know of?) An ancient feud between the Realists and the Fantasists.
But beneath the surface of the LitFic vs SciFi argument is a more serious issue, about the power of storytelling, and the duty of storytellers.
Are we just the people paid to cast shadows for your entertainment, or is it the storyteller’s job to lead you out of the cave?
Follow the the Science Fiction podcast and become a member https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/
Advanced Scifi & Fantasy Writing https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/
The Rhetoric of Story https://damiengwalter.com/the-rhetoric-of-story/
Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Read my top science fiction to rewire your consciousness https://amzn.to/3gQqfGR
The MCU are making a pivot. From the super-science hero, powered by scientific discovery. To the super-magic hero, powered by the mysteries of magic. WandaVision and Loki were the build-up. Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness is the pivot point. It's part of a culture wide obsession with magic, fantasy, escape...and power. A special episode of the Science Fiction podcast asks the question...
...what is the meaning of magic?
Follow the the Science Fiction podcast and become a member https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/
Advanced Scifi & Fantasy Writing https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/
The Rhetoric of Story https://damiengwalter.com/the-rhetoric-of-story/
Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Read my top science fiction to rewire your consciousness https://amzn.to/3gQqfGR
Batman. Luke Skywalker. Conan. Paul Atreides. And now The Northman. Just a few of the Unfathered men that dominate our storytelling. Why are we obsessed with the Unfathered man?
Follow the the Science Fiction podcast and become a member https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/
Advanced Scifi & Fantasy Writing https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/
The Rhetoric of Story https://damiengwalter.com/the-rhetoric-of-story/
Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Read my top science fiction to rewire your consciousness https://amzn.to/3gQqfGR
Questions from listeners of the Science Fiction podcast answered by Damien Walter.
00:00:00 Introduction 00:04:47 Will humans and machines eventually meld? 00:12:09 Where to go after reading everything by Iain M Banks 00:17:33 Three underrated, thought provoking science fiction novels? 00:25:36 Is Philip K Dick considered a good writer or more valued for his ideas? 00:27:16 What is William Gibson's best novel? 00:35:36 Has an NFT ever sold for more than it was bought for? 00:39:21 What is your next story about and when is it coming out? 00:47:40 Why are most science fiction fans on Facebook communists? 00:53:52 How will scifi shape science in the future? 00:58:48 What is the most exceptional medium of science fiction? 01:04:37 Can a story exist without human beings in it? 01:08:33 What are some of science fiction's constantly recurring flaws? 01:15:50 Has self-publishing contributed to the decline in the quality of science fiction? 01:22:08 What modern science fiction has the power of 1984 / Brave New World? 01:26:30 What do you think about YA scifi and gamelit? 01:30:58 What makes a story believable?
Follow the the Science Fiction podcast and become a member https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/
Advanced Scifi & Fantasy Writing https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/
The Rhetoric of Story https://damiengwalter.com/the-rhetoric-of-story/
Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Read my top science fiction to rewire your consciousness https://amzn.to/3gQqfGR
So. Star Wars just went woke did it?
But...wait...
Isn't Star Wars the story of a army of male CLONES fighting for an authoritarian, colonialist Empire?
versus
An intersectional alliance of diverse species with capital ships commanded by sentient LOBSTERS???
How much more woke can scifi get?
Er. Star Trek's original multiracial crew? Marvel's encoded counter cultural messages? HG Wells anti-colonialist novels? The existentialist skepticism of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley?
The truth is..scifi has always been woke.
00:00 Diamond Disney 04:20 Welcome to the Science Fiction podcast 05:53 The woke mind virus of Elon Musk 10:39 Scifi has always been woke 16:22 The CEF (Corporate Entertainment Franchise) 19:36 Centralized vs Decentralized Culture 22:50 Disney can't serve both sides of the culture wars 26:51 The only good side in the Culture War is...
Follow the the Science Fiction podcast and become a member https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/
Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Read my top science fiction to rewire your consciousness https://amzn.to/3gQqfGR
It's Arthur C Clarke's greatest novel and a classic of "hard" science fiction. The Fountains of Paradise is a brilliantly realized story of humankind's ascent to the stars, not on rockets, but by building the first space elevator. Clarke predicted the discovery of carbon super materials with the "diamond hyperfilament" that is strong enough to stretch 36,000km from Earth to geosynchronous orbit.
But it's not the science that makes Arthur C Clarke's novel so great.
It's the symbolism.
00:00 The Fountains of Paradise 03:50 Science Fiction Q & A 06:49 The forgotten masterpiece of Arthur C Clarke 09:49 The three stages of Clarke's career 14:07 Was Clarke a good writer? 17:04 The competent engineer 19:30 Hyperfilament 24:50 The Clark-o-verse of Low Orbit SF 27:04 Symbolism and the poetic beauty of hard SF 37:57 Could we...and should we...build a space elevator? 43:51 The Wealth Transfer Frontier we need
Follow the the Science Fiction podcast and become a member https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/
Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Read the classic of hard SF https://amzn.to/3jJNWCb
Read my top science fiction to rewire your consciousness https://amzn.to/3gQqfGR
There are many challenges between Denis Villeneuve and completing one of the few truly great science fiction movies ever made. Can Denis capture Paul Atreides transformation of consciousness on screen? Can his Feyd-Rautha compete with Sting stepping out of a steam shower? And most of all...can Dune part 2 overcome the problematic writing of Frank Herbert?
00:00 Play that funky music Denis 02:20 The only great science fiction movies 04:14 The problematic writing of Frank Herbert 06:46 Offences to the purity of Dune 08:02 Can Dune part 2 TRANSFORM our consciousness? 10:16 The Water of Life 11:49 The Fremen 13:21 Chani 14:47 Feyd-Rautha 18:07 The Sandworms of Arrakis
Follow the the Science Fiction podcast and become a member https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/
Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Read my top science fiction to rewire your consciousness https://amzn.to/3gQqfGR
Many creators have contributed to the Blade Runner mythos. Philip K Dick’s original novel and the directorial talents of Ridley Scott and Denis Villeneuve are widely recognised. But the screenwriter of the Blade Runner movies provided their mythic magic – Hampton Fancher.
Fancher encoded the Blade Runner mythos with psychological symbols drawn from the work of Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud. The first Blade Runner uses Freud’s concepts of the Doppelganger and the Other. Blade Runner 2049 is structured around the Persona, Shadow, Anima and Self – Jung’s Archetypes of the Unconscious.
This episode of the Science Fiction podcast re-publishes The Hidden Meaning of Blade Runner 2049, with an extended addendum on archetypal storytelling, answering some of the most frequently asked questions arising from the original essay.
00:00 An addendum to my most questioned essay 01:56 Thank to members of the Science Fiction podcast 04:42 Why archetypes? 06:43 Where does Gandalf live? 09:10 All of these stories are within you 12:29 Switching of the psychological architecture of our self 15:00 Mapping the Unconscious 23:16 Story is the gateway to the Unconscious 26:42 The Archetypes of the Unconscious 34:39 Blade Runner and BR 2049 39:30 The spiritual experience of stories
Watch the original video essay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5fbQ4hf068
Follow the Science Fiction podcast: https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/
Join the Science Fiction community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Listen to the storytelling of Clarissa Pinkola Estes: https://amzn.to/36Njm81
Today is the last chance to become a Founder Member of the Science Fiction podcast.
Membership gets you early access to new episodes, and to my courses in scifi storytelling, AND invites to participate in the Science Fiction seminars that start next month.
Join before the end of March and you'll be listed as a Founder Member for all eternity!
Join here: https://damiengwalter.com/members/
In retrospect, TRON was the moon mission for CGI. A project of questionable value in itself, with the real aim of advancing the technology. Honestly, I can't remember much about the story of TRON. But boy, those light cycles! Those are seared into my long-term memory from childhood. And they still look amazing 40 years on.
Follow the the Science Fiction podcast and become a member https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/
Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Read my top science fiction to rewire your consciousness https://amzn.to/3gQqfGR
“With Jules Verne and the publisher Hugo Gernsback, H.G. Wells invented the genre of science fiction.” Tweet by @nytimesbooks, November 2021
A badly worded tweet by the New York Times revealed a deep anger at the false history of science fiction. Written out of that history were hundreds of women writers of the 1800s who created what today we call science fiction.
The true history of science fiction is deeper and richer than many fans and readers know. It reaches back to the Enlightenment and the collapse of belief in the Christian mythos. It is the search for a new mythos for the modern world, that continues into the 21st century.
00:00 The forgotten authors of science fiction 02:30 Welcome to the Science Fiction podcast 07:07 The true history of science fiction...why does it matter? 09:21 Commercial Genre vs Creative Movement 17:12 The Problem : the collapse of the Christian mythos 23:36 All science fiction is myth, not all myth is science fiction 26:38 The seeds of science fiction 29:01 The Novel Experiment 36:20 Birth of Genre 38:41 The ideological capture of science fiction by John W Campbell 43:47 The New Mythic 50:01 The process of genrefication 54:44 Writing the 21st century myth
Follow the the Science Fiction podcast and become a member https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/
Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Read my top science fiction to rewire your consciousness https://amzn.to/3gQqfGR
Pre-1950 Utopias and Science Fiction by Women https://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/_collections/utopias/utopias.html
What is reality?
For tribal societies reality was birthed from a great mother. For agrarian peoples it grew from a seed. And for our modern, industrial world reality started with an explosion.
Now as our society transforms into a post-modern, post-industrial world our model of reality is changing again. To a reality made of data, information and computation.
And at the heart of this new model of reality is...you! The render engine of your own reality.
Watch the video version of this episode here https://youtu.be/4TFSu_db7fg
Follow the Science Fiction podcast https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/
The work of Marco Di Lucca https://www.artstation.com/marcodilucca
Follow the Science Fiction podcast https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/
00:00 Real or rendered? 02:13 The work of Marco Di Lucca 04:20 Mata 3D, Unreal Engine, Metahuman 09:07 Isn't this what art has always done? 12:27 Crossing a threshold into the Unreal 15:33 Welcome to Rendered Reality 17:31 The reification of reality 19:25 What is rendering? 24:00 The cultural mythos of reality 33:53 Our new digital mythos 40:04 The mythic cycle 49:01 You are the render engine of reality
Fascism lures people in with a fantasy of return to older, better times. A golden age before the modern world. Nazi Germany had the fantasy of the Third Reich and the Ubermensch. Today the Russia of Vladimir Putin has a fantasy of a Eurasian Empire and the Return of the Tsar.
Critics of Lord of the Rings sometimes compare JRR Tolkien's fantasy to the fantasies of fascism. Is Lord of the Rings a fascist fantasy? Or did Tolkien create a mythos beyond the understanding of his critics?
00:00 An alternate history of England 03:59 Welcome to the Science Fiction podcast 07:17 The rise of a fascist fantasy 10:09 Is LotR a fascist fantasy? 11:54 Premodern, Modern, Postmodern 13:45 The pre-modern fantasy 17:15 The synthetic fantasy of fascism 21:51 The fascist fantasy in 2022 27:22 The Return of the King 33:22 The bit people who are angry at the title should listen to first 34:23 The modern vision of scifi 38:51 The postmodern vision of transhumanism 43:22 A mass retreat to the premodern 47:24 LotR as integrated mythos 52:33 LotR as a call for WISDOM 56:16 LotR as path into the Unreal
Follow the the Science Fiction podcast https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/
Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Read my top science fiction to rewire your consciousness https://amzn.to/3gQqfGR
Humankind had it within our grasp to become a K1 civilization, the first stage of the Kardashev scale. But we allowed K1 to slip through our fingers. As the scientist Carl Sagan argued, much of 20th century history can be understood as the effort, and failure, to achieve K1. Today that failure has returned us to the threat of World War 3, as Russia invades Ukraine. How did we miss our chance at K1? And how can we still become a K1 civilization?
Follow the the Science Fiction podcast https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/
Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Read my top science fiction to rewire your consciousness https://amzn.to/3gQqfGR
Severance is sophisticated science fiction for grown up audiences in the style of J G Ballard, Philip K Dick or Haruki Murakami. But what does it mean?
Follow the the Science Fiction podcast https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/
Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Read my top science fiction to rewire your consciousness https://amzn.to/3gQqfGR
“It’s trying to thread that needle between the wonder and the splendour in this mythology without being beguiled into actual fascism.” ~Adam Roberts
Adam Roberts is a professor of nineteenth century literature, a prolific essayist and critic, and one of our best science fiction writers. Our interview traces a path between two powerful forces in science fiction – the mythic stories of transcendence and self fulfilment that animate much of today’s most popular sci-fi storytelling, and the mundane and ordinary lives that ground our reality.
We touch on the shifting perception of science fiction in academia, questions of worldbuilding and the endless argument to define science fiction, the new optimism of hopepunk and solarpunk, HG Wells long fascination with eugenics, the balance between stereotype and archetype in storytelling, and professor Roberts answer to the question of where science fiction began. It’s a great insight into the thinking of a great SF author.
00:00:00 A mistrust of myths 00:01:51 An interview with Adam Roberts 00:04:39 The professor's productivity tips 00:08:11 The nineteenth century and science fiction 00:11:03 Has the academic perception of science fiction shifted? 00:14:29 The worldbuilding question 00:19:16 Why do we keep arguing about the definition of science fiction? 00:23:39 We spend more money on Star Wars than space travel 00:32:12 Melding the literary and the sci-fi 00:42:49 The process of writing science fiction 00:48:03 Translating Joyce and algorithmic writing 00:59:50 Hopepunk and Solarpunk 01:11:22 The Community vs. the Individual 01:18:03 The Heroic and the Quotidian 01:28:02 A segue to Wellsian scholarship 01:35:01 Emmanuel Kant and the Fermi paradox 01:44:24 Tolkien and the English mythos 01:49:47 Stereotype vs Archetype 01:57:14 When does science fiction begin?
Become a member of the Science Fiction podcast: https://damiengwalter.com
Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Read the novels of Adam Roberts https://amzn.to/3LjUfZQ
The Critical Drinker blames the failure of new Star Wars movies on the "deconstruction" of traditional heroic storytelling. It's a typically reactionary position that is ignorant of amazing storytellers who base their stories on deconstruction like Alan Moore, Iain M Banks and Terry Pratchett. It's clear that the Critical Drinker is not a critical thinker. But the problems with reactionary reviewers go much deeper.
00:00 Culture is not your friend 04:45 The critic vs the reviewer 08:59 The Critical Drinker is not a critical thinker 10:15 Gamergate and video game addiction 13:08 Reactionary reviewers celebrate addictions 15:36 Star Wars is the Big Mac of culture 19:07 The Hero's Journey is a tribal war story 21:24 The British deconstruction of scifi and fantasy 31:47 Only the critical thinker can escape the power of culture
Follow the Science Fiction podcast https://damiengwalter.com
Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Raised by Wolves is a remarkable work of symbolic science fiction...for exactly 2 episodes. As soon as master storyteller Ridley Scott departs the show crashes harder a nosediving colony vessel into absurdity. Let's hope season 2 can do better. But in those early episodes Raised by Wolves sets up a symbolic narrative exploring the conflict of Faith vs. Atheism. And asks the important question...is atheism just another system of belief?
00:00 The angel of Atheism 00:56 Intro to the Science Fiction podcast 06:42 Terms of discussion - steelman the argument 07:58 The Dialectic vs. the Didactic 11:21 Symbolic storytelling in science fiction 16:07 Ridley Scott's Repli-verse 23:00 The symbolism of Raised by Wolves 31:28 So...why ARE atheists angry?
Follow the Science Fiction podcast - https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/
Support serious sci-fi as a member - https://damiengwalter.com/members/
Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Read H G Wells masterpiece of symbolic science fiction -https://amzn.to/3o6qt0I
This episode of the Science Fiction podcast is re-published from an original video essay first published in September 2018.
I spent years searching, after I first read the Culture novels of Iain M Banks, for other space opera novels that equalled them. And this is what I discovered. Nothing else in the space opera genre even comes close to the Culture. Nothing. Zip. Nada. As Theodore Sturgeon said, 90% of everything is crap. But as a young reader I wondered why, with all these books marketed as space opera, did none read like the Culture? The answer is – theme.
Science fiction tends to obsess over concepts, but almost entirely ignore themes. Scifi is full of big ideas about the nature of reality or the physics of space travel. But scifi that deals with the basic themes of human life is a rare, rare thing. Banks was a genius at weaving high concept scifi stories together with great thematic depth.
In this episode I look at the opening chapter of what is, arguably, Banks’ most thematically complex novel – Excession.
Read the full novel – Excession by Iain M Banks: https://amzn.to/2p9ZFOf
Watch the original video essay - https://youtu.be/vjsYz-Xv5lo
Become a member of the Science Fiction podcast - https://damiengwalter.com
Spice DAO raised $3M to buy Alejandro Jodorowsky's story bible for his legendary failed DUNE movie. Spice DAO has been widely mocked, but the DAO model presents a fascinating possibility...that fans will buy out the sci-fi franchises we love from the corporations who now own them. Welcome to the age of the fan owned franchise.
00:00 What if Star Wars could be owned by us? 03:12 Pre-membership is OPEN 04:56 What is Spice DAO? 07:32 What is a DAO? 08:36 A fan lead franchise buy-out 10:15 Techno-conservative outrage 15:27 Imagine a fan owned Warhammer franchise 18:05 How would a fan owned franchise work?
Follow the Science Fiction podcast and become a pre-member: https://damiengwalter.com
Join the Science Fiction community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Follow the full course in Writing the 21st Century Myth : https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/
Enroll on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced-science-fiction-fantasy/?referralCode=B7B13C5C3D413999ED95
Subscribe monthly via Skillshare: https://skl.sh/3pO6pPV
Solarpunk is the newest genre of science fiction, a joyous and optimistic vision of a future where humans and our technology live in balance with nature. Solarpunk is an artistic, cultural and political movement that encompasses the arts, architecture, fashion and technology.
But optimistic visions of the future are never all that they seem. From HG Wells' The Shape of Things to Come, to Ursula Le Guin's Always Coming Home, one science fiction author's vision of a bright utopia is another's grim dystopia. Can Solarpunk envision a utopia for all?
00:00 Two quotes from Brave New World 01:02 Welcome to the Science Fiction podcast 02:33 Am I trolling the scifi community? 03:49 The pre-history of ****punk 09:33 There is no such thing as Solarpunk 12:15 What is Solarpunk? 20:14 A Solarpunk Manifesto 23:17 Solarpunk is a genre without a story 25:12 Ursula Le Guin : patron saint of Solarpunk 33:13 The moral absolutism of Those Who Walk Away From Omelas 35:53 Science Fiction and the shadow of Utopianism 39:33 Can we ever achieve a utopia?
Follow the Science Fiction podcast: https://damiengwalter.com/podcast
Join the Science Fiction community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Follow the full course in Writing the 21st Century Myth : https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/
Enroll on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced-science-fiction-fantasy/?referralCode=B7B13C5C3D413999ED95
Subscribe monthly via Skillshare: https://skl.sh/3pO6pPV
Read Always Coming Home by Ursula Le Guin: https://amzn.to/3nxHQqS
Solarpunk's political manifesto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHI61GHNGJM
There is, somewhat ironically, a techno-conservatism among some sci-fi creators, especially those whose traditional means of making a living have been disrupted by new technology. Most recently the techno-conservatives have targeted NFTs. Which is a shame, because NFTs are the future of science fiction.
If you are a science fiction creator with questions about NFTs please post them to the thread for this episode on the Science Fiction community.
Questions here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/permalink/1322475831508001
00:00 How much would you pay for the One Ring? 04:44 Welcome to the Science Fiction podcast 08:59 Beware techno-conservatism 11:49 A true story about Pablo Picasso 14:51 The Internet is a machine for copying data 17:18 What is an NFT? 20:45 What is a blockchain? 21:49 What is the metaverse? 23:15 What is web 3? 24:38 FAO - Frequently Asked Objections 27:52 A new way to monetise creativity 29:25 How I broke Elder Scrolls 31:19 The unreal to become real must have limitations 33:22 Storytellers are the coders of the 21st century 37:32 Humans aren't the Federation, we're the Ferengi
Follow the Science Fiction podcast: https://damiengwalter.com/podcast
Join the Science Fiction community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Follow the full course in Writing the 21st Century Myth : https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/
Enroll on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced-science-fiction-fantasy/?referralCode=B7B13C5C3D413999ED95
Subscribe monthly via Skillshare: https://skl.sh/3pO6pPV
We are living in strange times. Politics. Society. Culture wars. Things have gone weird. We're looking for knowledge and wisdom to guide us in strange times.
I can think of no better guide to the year 2022 than Philip K Dick.
The author of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, the inspiration for Blade Runner, is best known as a science fiction writer. But after his infamous spiritual awakening and the events of 2-3-74, Philip K Dick became something more....a visionary prophet who saw our strange times coming.
00:00 Welcome to strange times 01:07 The prophetic Philip K Dick 03:45 A career of three parts 08:54 2-3-74 12:40 The films of Philip K Dick 15:24 The nine prophetic visions of Philip K Dick 15:47 NINE - The Exit Door Leads In 18:10 EIGHT - Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep 21:21 SEVEN - Chains of Air, Web of Aether 24:59 SIX - The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch 28:12 FIVE - V.A.L.I.S 31:52 FOUR - The Electric Ant 35:25 Interlude: what is reality? 36:45 THREE - Ubik 40:18 TWO - Exegesis 42:53 ONE - The Man In The High Castle 45:59 The Man Who Gazed Into The Mythos 51:49 Writing the 21st century myth
Follow the Science Fiction podcast: https://damiengwalter.com/podcast
Join the Science Fiction community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Follow the full course in Writing the 21st Century Myth : https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/
Enroll on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced-science-fiction-fantasy/?referralCode=B7B13C5C3D413999ED95
Subscribe monthly via Skillshare: https://skl.sh/3pO6pPV
We are 21 years into the 21st century. What better time to look at the century we are living in...the century of science fiction.
A special double episode of the Science Fiction podcast. Part 2 of 2.
00:00 Intro to part 2 01:47 Eleven : Simon Stalenhag / Doctor Who 06:48 Ten : Becky Chambers / Black Mirror 08:53 Nine : Syama Pederson / Battlestar Gallactica 16:08 Eight : Adam Roberts / Game of Thrones 19:31 A note from our sponsor Raytheon industries 23:12 Seven : Jon Favreau / Firefly 29:52 Six : Elon Musk / Matrix 35:31 Five : Solarpunk / Arrival 38:45 Four : Hans Zimmer / Lord of the Rings 43:23 Three : Janelle Monae / Discworld of Terry Pratchett 47:33 Two : Ted Chiang / Dune 52:31 One : Denis Villeneuve / The Expanse 56:33 Outro : The Mythic and the Scientific
Follow the Science Fiction podcast: https://damiengwalter.com/podcast
Join the Science Fiction community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Follow the full course in Writing the 21st Century Myth : https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/
Enroll on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced-science-fiction-fantasy/?referralCode=B7B13C5C3D413999ED95
Subscribe monthly via Skillshare: https://skl.sh/3pO6pPV
We are 21 years into the 21st century. What better time to look at the century we are living in...the century of science fiction.
A special double episode of the Science Fiction podcast. Part 1 of 2.
00:00 The science fiction century 03:07 Welcome to new listeners. 04:59 The best scifi and fantasy of the 21st century 06:46 Why science fiction and fantasy? 10:46 21 + 21 = 42 13:16 The first year of the Science Fiction podcast 15:04 Twenty-One : John Scalzi / Star Wars 23:46 A few outliers 26:55 Twenty : Beeple / Blade Runner 2049 32:29 Nineteen : Cixin Liu / Mass Effect 37:18 Eighteen : Jenova Chen / American Gods 42:00 Seventeen : Tamsyn Muir / The Handmaid's Tale 44:40 Sixteen : Christopher Nolan / The Witcher 48:04 Fifteen : N K Jemisin / District 9 49:53 An offer you can refuse 52:48 Fourteen : Charlie Jane Anders / Harry Potter 55:31 Thirteen : Qntm / The Orville 58:31 Twelve : Hwang Dong-hyuk / Interstellar
Follow the Science Fiction podcast: https://damiengwalter.com/podcast
Join the Science Fiction community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Follow the full course in Writing the 21st Century Myth : https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/
Enroll on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced-science-fiction-fantasy/?referralCode=B7B13C5C3D413999ED95
Subscribe monthly via Skillshare: https://skl.sh/3pO6pPV
There's a question about The Matrix I've been asking myself since the franchise established itself in the collective unconscious of humanity back in the early 00s.
What is Sigmund Freud doing in these movies?
00:00 What's Sigmund Freud doing here? 02:21 Welcome the the Science Fiction podcast 04:01 Freud vs Jung 09:05 Good vs Evil 13:00 Carl Jung's little Red Book 16:26 The Jungian tradition in 20th century storytelling 22:21 The Matrix and the archetypes of Carl Jung 35:17 The false god of the Gnostics 37:34 The journey to the Self 39:56 A Jungian myth for the 21st century
Watch the original Matrix full movie: https://amzn.to/3GUbPRh
Follow the Science Fiction podcast: https://damiengwalter.com/podcast
Join the Science Fiction community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Follow the full course in Writing the 21st Century Myth : https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/
Enroll on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced-science-fiction-fantasy/?referralCode=B7B13C5C3D413999ED95
Subscribe monthly via Skillshare: https://skl.sh/3pO6pPV
What has a superbly detailed technical description of an interstellar megastructure and no characters or story?
Denis Villeneuve's latest film project.
Follow the Science Fiction podcast: https://damiengwalter.com/podcast
Join the Science Fiction community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Read Rendezvous with Rama: https://amzn.to/3m9rwMr
Follow the full course in Writing the 21st Century Myth : https://damiengwalter.com
Enroll on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced-science-fiction-fantasy/?referralCode=B7B13C5C3D413999ED95
Subscribe monthly via Skillshare: https://skl.sh/3pO6pPV
He smells terrible. He never has any money. And he's a violent killer.
There are a lot of reasons not to like Geralt of Rivia. But we do like Geralt of Rivia.
Why is that?
Follow the Science Fiction podcast: https://damiengwalter.com/podcast
Join the Science Fiction community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Follow the full course in Writing the 21st Century Myth : https://damiengwalter.com
Enroll on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced-science-fiction-fantasy/?referralCode=B7B13C5C3D413999ED95
Subscribe monthly via Skillshare: https://skl.sh/3pO6pPV
Science fiction is fighting a doctrinal war. Between those who believe that humankind's future is still the stars, and those - like Kim Stanley Robinson - who believe interstellar travel is a fantasy of religious belief. The science is clear, travel to other stars may well be forever beyond us. So why do we keep telling this story?
A response to Kim Stanley Robinson's interview for the Science Fiction Talks club on Clubhouse. Find his full interview here: https://www.clubhouse.com/room/xe65rroG
Read The MInistry For The Future: https://amzn.to/3y5YmT3
Follow the Science Fiction podcast: https://damiengwalter.com/podcast
Join the Science Fiction community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Follow the full course in Writing the 21st Century Myth : https://damiengwalter.com
Enroll on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced-science-fiction-fantasy/?referralCode=B7B13C5C3D413999ED95
Subscribe monthly via Skillshare: https://skl.sh/3pO6pPV
I'm resisting the temptation to throw it all in and disappear down the Unreal Engine rabbit hole. Forget outer space, the future of humankind lies in the infinite exploration of inner space and the realms of the human imagination. But don't worry....the world-building AI will always need storytellers.
00:00 The Unreal Engine rabbit hole 04:44 Humans are never going to outer space 08:23 J G Ballard's take-down of outer space 10:12 The future of inner space 15:35 We are all science fiction creators 17:16 Even the gods of world-building still need storytellers
Follow the Science Fiction podcast: https://damiengwalter.com/podcast
Join the Science Fiction community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Follow the full course in Writing the 21st Century Myth : https://damiengwalter.com
Enroll on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced-science-fiction-fantasy/?referralCode=B7B13C5C3D413999ED95
Subscribe monthly via Skillshare: https://skl.sh/3pO6pPV
On the surface Lord of the Rings and 1984 look very different. But JRR Tolkien and George Orwell were men of the same generation, the same class, and the same culture, writing about the same matter - power.
00:00 Tolkien & Orwell 04:24 Surface Exterior vs Deep Interior 07:12 Symbols vs Symbols 12:14 Class & Communism 13:18 1984 is the future where Sauron won the Third Age 15:09 Meaning vs Nihilism 16:40 We would use power for good...but can we resist using our One Ring?
Follow the Science Fiction podcast: https://damiengwalter.com/podcast
Join the Science Fiction community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Follow the full course in Writing the 21st Century Myth : https://damiengwalter.com
Enroll on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced-science-fiction-fantasy/?referralCode=B7B13C5C3D413999ED95
Subscribe monthly via Skillshare: https://skl.sh/3pO6pPV
Denis Villeneuve's Dune opens with a sentence that is not in Frank Herbert's DUNE. "Dreams are messages from the deep". What do these words mean? And why does Denis Villeneuve choose to open his movie with them?
Follow the Science Fiction podcast: https://damiengwalter.com/podcast
Join the Science Fiction community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Follow the full course in Writing the 21st Century Myth : https://damiengwalter.com
Enroll on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced-science-fiction-fantasy/?referralCode=B7B13C5C3D413999ED95
Subscribe monthly via Skillshare: https://skl.sh/3pO6pPV
Science fiction is a strange beast. A exploration of the hard edged future of science and technology, fused with the transcendent hunger for imagination and self-transformation. Can science fiction be a bridge between the two "non-overlapping magisteria" of Science and Religion?
This episode of the Science Fiction podcast is a crossover with my series commenting on the "Intellectual MMA" of YouTube philosophy. The Four Horsemen of Atheism - Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris and Daniel Dennett VS The Four Horsemen of Meaning - Jordan Peterson, Jonathan Pageau, John Vervaeke and Bishop Barron. Who is who? And who won?
00:00 Science fiction bridges religion and science 01:04 What happens when Science meets Fiction? 02:21 The era of Intellectual MMA 03:43 Horsemen of Meaning vs Horsemen of Atheism 05:09 The rise of the YouTube intellectual 07:19 Which Horseman is which? 12:01 The Meaning Crisis 14:58 The problem of Self-Deception 20:52 So...who won? 22:12 We need a participatory philosophy 24:59 Religious dogma? BAD! Religious debate? GREAT!
The worst thing any adaptation of a science fiction classic can do is be less intelligent than the original. Apple's FOUNDATION is dumbed down so far that readers of Isaac Asimov's original novels can barely recognise it. But can rewrites, reshoots and some smart recasting help Apple recoup some of the $500M the show is reported to have cost?
00:00 Apple's Foundation is dumbed down 03:48 The Science Fiction podcast with Damien Walter 05:09 $500 million is a lot of money 08:15 The most expensive flop in tv history 09:21 Could Foundation be salvaged? 10:42 Get rid of David S Goyer 11:52 The central character of Foundation is...Foundation. 14:11 Foundation is SOCIAL science fiction 16:16 The Empire is a technocracy 18:19 Hari Seldon - a prophet of science 19:34 Cast Lee Pace as Salvor Hardin 22:52 Hire science fiction writers 25:25 Culture is the intelligence of human civilisation 27:02 We are in a Seldon crisis
Follow the Science Fiction podcast: https://damiengwalter.com/podcast
Join the Science Fiction community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Read Asimov's original novels: https://amzn.to/31RVA7W
Follow the full course in Writing the 21st Century Myth : https://damiengwalter.com
Enroll on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced-science-fiction-fantasy/?referralCode=B7B13C5C3D413999ED95
Subscribe monthly via Skillshare: https://skl.sh/3pO6pPV
The great project of science fiction has been the translation of science and its discoveries into our shared understanding as human beings. But what happens to science fiction if and when the science itself...changes? We're in the midst of a paradigm shift in the understanding of physics driven by computation. And at the cutting edge of this new kind of science is Stephen Wolfram. In a recent podcast interview with Lex Friedman, Wolfram wondered if science fiction was the way to understand what it would be like to be a 'cellular automata'. Is science fiction ready to answer the challenge?
Listen to the full Lex Fridman podcast with Stephen Wolfram: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-SGpEInX_c
Follow the full course in Writing the 21st Century Myth : https://damiengwalter.com
Enroll on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced-science-fiction-fantasy/?referralCode=B7B13C5C3D413999ED95
Subscribe monthly via Skillshare: https://skl.sh/3pO6pPV
Join the Science Fiction community on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Rick Deckard is a Replicant. And Rick Deckard is also not the hero of Blade Runner...but is the villain. But the obvious questions about Blade Runner are also the least interesting. Empathy is the core of the Blade Runner story. Why we feel it, who we feel it for, and who we choose to exclude from our empathy. Blade Runner is an empathy test...for the audience...to see if you and I are human. All too often, we fail the test.
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/qWpLcC7QaSA
Follow the full course in Writing the 21st Century Myth : https://damiengwalter.com
Enroll on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced-science-fiction-fantasy/?referralCode=B7B13C5C3D413999ED95
Subscribe monthly via Skillshare: https://skl.sh/3pO6pPV
Join the Science Fiction community on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
It's interesting to realise that audiences today for The Green Knight, director David Lowery's adaptation of the medieval poem, struggle to understand a story that would have been clear and obvious to audiences seven centuries ago. For all our knowledge and science - or perhaps because of them - the epic poem created by an unknown author as a kind of Arthurian fanfic now seems cryptically mysterious to us. But the deep meaning of The Green Knight is exactly why the movie has become a surprise hit. More than ever modern audiences are hungry for the gift of The Green Knight - death.
Follow the full course in Writing the 21st Century Myth : https://damiengwalter.com
Enroll on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced-science-fiction-fantasy/?referralCode=B7B13C5C3D413999ED95
Subscribe monthly via Skillshare: https://skl.sh/3pO6pPV
Join the Science Fiction community on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Stories that last through the ages aren't just great storytelling, they also serve the power structures of their time. Powerful people have always patronised great stories. The epic poem Beowulf, The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri, the plays of William Shakespeare, were all supported by powerful patrons. Now the most powerful corporation in the world has decided to patronise a $500 billion production of Isaac Asimov's Foundation saga, a story that represents the values of our technocratic elite better than any other.
Follow the full course in Advanced Scifi and Fantasy : https://damiengwalter.com
Enroll on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced-science-fiction-fantasy/?referralCode=B7B13C5C3D413999ED95
Subscribe monthly via Skillshare: https://skl.sh/3pO6pPV
Join the Science Fiction community on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
Savior stories are at the core of many of the most powerful science fiction and fantasy. Neo in the Matrix. John Connor in the Terminator. Superman in all his manifestations. And of course Paul Atreides in DUNE.
The seventh workshop in Writing The 21st Century Myth explores how scifi saviors all have their origin in the original Savior to save them all, the central character of Christian mythology - Jesus of Nazareth. And how scifi stories can be shaped around the stages of transformation, to take audiences on their own personal journeys of Salvation.
Follow the full course in Advanced Scifi and Fantasy : https://damiengwalter.com
Enroll on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced...
Subscribe monthly via Skillshare: https://skl.sh/3pO6pPV
Join the Science Fiction community on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197
If science fiction is a gateway to the psychedelic, then DUNE is a portal to...awakening. Frank Herbert's seminal novel and David Lynch's baroquely weird movie are both powerful works of art on the theme of human awakening. Denis Villeneuve's 2021 adaptation is a masterpiece of worldbuilding. But is it a kick in the third eye for would be seekers of truth? If the 13 year old me could see this Dune afresh, would the sleeper awaken?
Discuss this podcast on the Science Fiction community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/
Get the Science Fiction podcast free on your choice of app : https://damiengwalter.com/podcast
Join the course in Scifi and Fantasy writing on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced-science-fiction-fantasy/?referralCode=B7B13C5C3D413999ED95
Subscribe monthly via Skillshare: https://skl.sh/3pO6pPV
Phew. Matrix Resurrections is going to be great.
This is the shot in the trailer where I knew it. There's so much that works here. Not swapping out your 54 year old leading actress for a younger model, is just a start. This is a gang of older, wiser creatives than the bunch who got rushed into the early sequels. Everything in this trailer says self-reflective, smart, a clever play on the original...with upgraded CGI.
Discuss this idea on the Science Fiction community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/
Get the Science Fiction podcast free on your choice of app : https://damiengwalter.com/podcast
Join the course in Scifi & Fantasy writing on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced-science-fiction-fantasy/?referralCode=B7B13C5C3D413999ED95
Subscribe monthly via Skillshare: https://skl.sh/3pO6pPV
In August 2021 I was invited to speak at the 20th Indian Science Fiction Conference, on the theme of science fiction as modern mythology. Scifi as myth is the core thesis of my critical writing on the subject, and of my course in Advanced Scifi and Fantasy storytelling. It's a thesis that does of course get pushback from some people. So in this episode of the Science Fiction podcast I take a deep dive into why mythology is the best lens through which to understand scifi.
Discuss this idea on the Science Fiction community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/
Get the Science Fiction podcast free on your choice of app : https://damiengwalter.com/podcast
Join the course in Scifi & Fantasy writing on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced-science-fiction-fantasy/?referralCode=B7B13C5C3D413999ED95
Subscribe monthly via Skillshare: https://skl.sh/3pO6pPV
As the United States withdraws from Afghanistan, leaving behind it chaos and despair, the Science Fiction podcast looks at why the Prime Directive is such an important idea - both in Star Trek and in reality.
Join the Science Fiction community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/
Enroll on the course in Scifi & Fantasy writing on Udemy - https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced-science-fiction-fantasy/?referralCode=B7B13C5C3D413999ED95
Subscribe monthly via Skillshare - https://skl.sh/3pO6pPV
It's more than a little ironic that the motion picture widely called the greatest science fiction story ever told was made by an artist who hated science fiction. Stanley Kubrick thought science fiction was a failure at myth making, and set out to make a new myth for the modern world, and the only great science fiction movie.
Watch the full video essay on YouTube: https://youtu.be/NNE9vxLUGpE
Follow the full course in Advanced Scifi and Fantasy : https://damiengwalter.com
Enroll on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced-science-fiction-fantasy/?referralCode=B7B13C5C3D413999ED95
Subscribe monthly via Skillshare: https://skl.sh/3pO6pPV
Discuss more on the Science Fiction community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/posts/1218266291928956/
Join the course in Scifi and Fantasy writing on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced-science-fiction-fantasy/?referralCode=B7B13C5C3D413999ED95
Subscribe monthly via Skillshare: https://skl.sh/3pO6pPV
Learn more - https://damiengwalter.com
It's logical that the best science fiction being written today has its origins online and in collaborative forums. There Is No Antimemetics Division began life as part of the SCP Foundation wiki, a collaborative writing project with thousands of participants.
There Is No Antimemetics Division - https://amzn.to/3AcTDPx
Discuss the book on the Science Fiction community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/posts/1218266291928956/
Join the course in Scifi and Fantasy writing on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced-science-fiction-fantasy/?referralCode=B7B13C5C3D413999ED95
Subscribe monthly via Skillshare: https://skl.sh/3pO6pPV
Dune is a weird story in all senses of the word. It is on one hand a story about men in rubber suits who drink their own pee - an aesthetic that has deterred more than a few readers. It is on the other hand a story that has lasted in our culture for six decades, surviving multiple questionable adaptations, as we now await the latest from Denis Villeneuve. In this episode of the Science Fiction podcast we ask - why?
Watch the full video essay on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Syp8_P_thkw
Follow the full course in Advanced Scifi and Fantasy : https://damiengwalter.com
Enroll on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced-science-fiction-fantasy/?referralCode=B7B13C5C3D413999ED95
Subscribe monthly via Skillshare: https://skl.sh/3pO6pPV
John Vervaeke is one of the world’s most esteemed cognitive scientists, and a colleague of Jordan Peterson at the University of Toronto. He was born into a fundamentalist Christian family, and experienced an awakening to science after reading a science fiction novel – Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny.
I interviewed John Vervaeke in October 2020 to explore the cognitive science of science fiction. We dig into the modern mythos of Star Wars, why scifi fans like to dress as their icons, the “bleed” from RPGs into real world experience, and the relationship between science fiction and Vervaeke’s concept of the meaning crisis.
Watch the interview on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7SjhQbeS6s
Follow the full course in Advanced Scifi and Fantasy : https://damiengwalter.com
Enroll on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced-science-fiction-fantasy/?referralCode=B7B13C5C3D413999ED95
Subscribe monthly via Skillshare: https://skl.sh/3pO6pPV
Look at a list of the 20th century's most important artistic and cultural movements and you won't find science fiction listed. Why not? We need a better definition of science fiction to help reclaim it...from itself.
Follow the full course in Advanced Scifi and Fantasy : https://damiengwalter.com
Enroll on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced-science-fiction-fantasy/?referralCode=B7B13C5C3D413999ED95
Subscribe monthly via Skillshare: https://skl.sh/3pO6pPV
Watch the full video essay on YouTube: https://youtu.be/dOrdNtH6gMI
Follow the full course in Advanced Scifi and Fantasy : https://damiengwalter.com
Enroll on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced-science-fiction-fantasy/?referralCode=B7B13C5C3D413999ED95
Subscribe monthly via Skillshare: https://skl.sh/3pO6pPV
Watch the full video essay on YouTube: https://youtu.be/464fJwepx1U
Follow the full course in Advanced Scifi and Fantasy : https://damiengwalter.com
Enroll on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced-science-fiction-fantasy/?referralCode=B7B13C5C3D413999ED95
Subscribe monthly via Skillshare: https://skl.sh/3pO6pPV
Watch the full video essay on YouTube: https://youtu.be/uzf4kyDYF5I
Follow the full course in Advanced Scifi and Fantasy : https://damiengwalter.com
Enroll on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced-science-fiction-fantasy/?referralCode=B7B13C5C3D413999ED95
Subscribe monthly via Skillshare: https://skl.sh/3pO6pPV
What do Dyson Spheres and the philosophical discussion have to do with one another? In this talk Damien has fun with a response to Sam Harris' denial of free will, as widely debated on Clubhouse in the week of this recording.
Talk to Damien on Clubhouse : https://www.joinclubhouse.com/@damiengwalter
Follow the full course in Scifi and Fantasy : https://damiengwalter.com
Blade Runner 2049 is the only sequel to a science fiction masterpiece to be greater than the original. Once you understand the hidden meaning of BR2049 you will never see the movie the same again.
Follow the full course in Scifi and Fantasy : https://damiengwalter.com
You may find additional meaning in the video version of this essay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5fbQ4hf068
Join the course in Advanced Scifi and Fantasy: https://damiengwalter.com
Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/science-fiction-with-damien-walter/id1530666687
Or Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9kYW1pZW5nd2FsdGVyLmNvbS9jYXRlZ29yeS9wb2RjYXN0L2ZlZWQv?hl=en-ID
My major teaching project for this year has been Advanced Scifi & Fantasy : Writing the 21st Century Myth. This new course is my journey to try and understand what myths are doing in our lives today. I’m happy that almost five thousand students have so far enrolled on the course to join that journey.
A highlight of the course – and of my year – was interviewing John Vervaeke, Professor of Cognitive Psychology at the University of Toronto (where he teaches alongside Jordan Peterson) on the meaning of myth. And of Star Wars.
A member of John’s community created a brief edited video from out 90 minute conversation. In just a few minutes, it captures the whole meaning of our discussion.
You can follow the full course for 90% off by enrolling today using course code DAYOFMYTH – https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced-science-fiction-fantasy/?couponCode=DAYOFMYTH
Follow free talks from the course by subscribing to the podcast.
Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/science-fiction-with-damien-walter/id1530666687
Or Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9kYW1pZW5nd2FsdGVyLmNvbS9jYXRlZ29yeS9wb2RjYXN0L2ZlZWQv?hl=en-ID