Science Fiction in the

Attitude of Sci Fi  Post WWI mood is pessimistic.  Ruined civilizations instead of glorified future warfare  Dystopias, surreal nightmares Image from

Pulp Fiction  Pulp magazines are popular  Their course, tan paper (made from paper pulp) was cheaper than the smooth, white paper of the more expensive “glossies” Image from

Pulp Fiction  Most sci fi published this way Low survival rate  Novels were serialized for these magazines  1920s=Scientific romance Romance originally meant adventure Image from

Hugo Gernsback  1926: Amazing Stories—reprinted pop stories of Poe, Verne, Wells  Gernsback = term science fiction.  Sci fi should: Promote scientific possibilities + romance predict future scientific developments and prompt progress=good thing Image from magazines-on-dvd

Movies  Pulps get the bulk of the credit for promoting sci fi during this era.  Movies were becoming popular but weren’t yet doing much sci fi.  Exceptions: The Lost World (by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle— later borrowed and adapted by Michael Crichton in his Jurassic Park series) AND... Image from

Movies  Metropolis, 1927  A German produced high-budget silent film.  Plot Summary  Metropolis trailer Metropolis trailer  What seems to be the attitude of this science fiction? Image from

Influential Sci Fi Writers  Karel Capek (uses the term “robot” for the first time)  H.G. Wells  Hugo Gernsback  Edgar Rice Burroughs (John Carver of Mars)  Arthur Conan Doyle   Jack Williamson Image & Williamson info. from SFWA Grand Master. Coined words like genetic engineering, terraforming, spaceport, and neutronium.