Theme: Mars needs artists
Time:
30:32 Episode Connections
Authors, stories. Frederic Brown, “Arena.”
Flash Gordon series. Edgar Rice Burroughs, John Carter/
Barsoom series. Cyril Kornbluth, “The Marching Morons.”
Films.
Independence Day. Battlefield Earth. Signs. War of the Worlds.
TV episodes, series.
Star Trek.
Ideas. Humans are struck with an intense sense of envy for Martian culture and accomplishments. Militant v. peaceful values - which is greater? Contest among cultures. Does it matter that some are greater than others? Jealousy as a motivator. Humans are presented as aggressors here. Earning a place in the universe through competition is valuable to humans. Barbarism in sci fi. Boxing is the celebration of brutality. Which is better: to be warlike always, or to be peaceful but capable of war? Passivity is often mistaken for weakness. Sci fi often celebrates humans overcoming seemingly impossible challenges. Ingenuity wins out. And sometimes just luck. Sci fi uses cultural differences to teach us something about ourselves.
Whoa - Hmmm - WTF. Dan starts with hmmm, turns to whoa, and ends in WTF. Bill says hmmm to whoa.
Previous episode: Jerome Bixby, “Old Testament”
Next episode: Dean Koontz, “Altar Boy”
Music Credit: "Ouroboros" Kevin MacLeod (
Incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
Link:
Creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/