From: vagans@inanna.eanna.net   
      
   In article ,   
   Kevin Calder   wrote:   
      
      
      
   >I see room for Wells & Verne & Huxley & Orwell within Science Fiction,   
   >in that they are part of the "fiction of science" and they are part of   
   >and informed by scientific discourse.   
   >   
   >What is the definition of genre science fiction?   
      
   By 'genre sf' I mean the style and content of writing that   
   originated with Hugo Gernsback (see WG: The Gernsback   
   Continuum). In the mid-1920s he had a radio and electronics   
   magazine -- two technologies that had just appeared on   
   the cutting edge -- and began adding some fiction to it,   
   which became the most popular feature and soon enough   
   it became a "scientifiction" magazine, and a genre was   
   born.   
      
   The style and content was actually "pulp" writing and owed   
   a lot to English influences such as Conan Doyle, and Black   
   Mask (vide Hammett) style 'noir'. I consider pulp and sf   
   genres and their fanbase to be counter-cultural expressions.   
   A later development (late 1930s) within the genre was the   
   comic book genre. By the mid-50s such stuff was considered   
   a bad influence on youth (and maybe communist inspired) and   
   the state came down hard on the pulp/sf/comicbook genres for   
   encouraging "juvenile delinquency". Anime is in this tradition,   
   too. Youth was encouraged to read "good books" instead.   
      
   Orwell, Huxley, Verne, and Wells were not sf writers, although   
   their work (at least some of it) is of interest to sf. They   
   weren't being paid a penny a word to churn out "pulp".   
      
      
      
   >>My opinion (discussed on altcp seemingly endlessly and forever)   
   >>is that N is not dystopic.   
   >   
   >I agree, and this was in fact the conclusion of my high school paper.  I   
   >think that Gibson is too into his future for it to be truly dystopic, I   
   >think he relishes the details too much to preaching to the reader about   
   >how "bad" this future is.  The reader might bring a value judgement to   
   >the text, but I think that Gibson and N leave it very much open.  In   
   >fact I think Gibson is almost leaning more toward it being a sort of   
   >perverse utopia in terms of how much he seems to enjoy the descriptions   
   >of decay i.e. "cracked plastic", "tarnished chrome" e.t.c. e.t.c.   You   
   >know?  Everything is degraded and degrading and broken and chipped and   
   >fake and plastic chipped and cracked and tarnished and stained and faded   
   >and fading and he fucking loves it! :)   
      
   I think he loves the words and phrases, if not their referents.   
      
      
      
      
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