Science Fiction and the Prediction of the Future: Essays on Foresight and Fallacy (Critical Explorations in Science Fiction and Fantasy, 27)

Science fiction has always challenged readers with depictions of the future. Can the genre actually provide glimpses of the world of tomorrow? This collection of fifteen international and interdisciplinary essays examines the genre's predictions and breaks new ground by considering the prophetic functions of science fiction films as well as SF literature. Among the texts and topics examined are classic stories by Murray Leinster, C. L. Moore, and Cordwainer Smith; 2001: A Space Odyssey and its sequels, Japanese anime and Hong Kong cinema; and electronic fiction. Science Fiction Has Always Intrigued Readers With Depictions Of An Unforeseen Future. Can The Genre Actually Provide Audiences With A Glance Into The World Of Tomorrow? This Collection Of Fifteen International And Interdisciplinary Essays Examines The Genre's Predictions And Breaks New Ground By Considering The Prophetic Functions Of Science Fiction Films, As Well As Science Fiction Literature--provided By Publisher. Cover; Table Of Contents; Introduction: Of Futures Imagined, And Futures Inhabited; Part I: Cosmic Visions; 1. Pitfalls Of Prophecy; 2. Emotional Dimensions Of Transmimetic Fiction; 3. The Internet And The Anagogical Myths Of Science Fiction; 4. Technobodies And The Anxieties Of Performance; 5. Places Of Alterity In Science Fiction; Part Ii: The Practice Of Prophecy; 6. Future City Tokyo; 7. Rebooting A Logic Named Joe; 8. Victims Of A Globalized, Radicalized, Technologized World, Or, Why The Beatles Needed Help!; 9. A Journey Beyond The Stars 2001; 10. The Endless Odyssey; 11. Intercultural And Interface; 12. Post-genre Cinemas And Post-colonial Attitude : Hong Kong Meets Paris; 13. Writing,weaving, And Technology; 14. The Technological Contours Of Contemporary Science Fiction, Or, The Science Fiction That Science Fiction Doesn't See; 15. Thinking About The Smart Wireless World Edited By Gary Westfahl, Wong Kin Yuen, And Amy Kit-sze Chan. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. "Science fiction has always intrigued readers with depictions of an unforeseen future. Can the genre actually provide audiences with a glance into the world of tomorrow? This collection of fifteen international and interdisciplinary essays examines the genre's predictions and breaks new ground by considering the prophetic functions of science fiction films, as well as science fiction literature"--Résumé de l'éditeur