Browse Exhibits (2 total)
Expressing Political Tension in Literature: Science Fiction in the Context of the Cold War
The pieces in our exhibit serve as a historical record and reflection of the tensions and events of the Cold War era (for our purposes, defined as the 1950s to the 1990s). These pieces also demonstrate how science fiction evolved and changed throughout the twentieth century due to the Cold War's influence. The structure of the exhibit itself demonstrates how the events of the Cold War impacted and changed science-fiction through each decade of the Cold War.
We hope you enjoy our exhibit and see how the Cold War influenced the production of science fiction literature.
The Dangers of Technological Advancements
Throughout the history of Science Fiction, the exploration of speculative technology has been very prominent. There is usually a discussion of how this technology may negatively affect humanity, and if its benefits outweigh the consequences. Many of these stories deal with the development of robotics, such as androids, artificial intelligence, and bionics/cybernetics. The consequences of the development of new energy sources and weaponry is also addressed fairly often.
Even in the 1950s, in the days of pulps and paperbacks, people were thinking about the potential thrills and dangers of the future. However, the majority of our sources are from the New Wave of Science Fiction, where “soft” and more speculative titles came to prominence. An especially common topic was AI, possibly inspired by the rise of basic computers and processors (Scott).
Technology is predicted to take over, but how realistic are these concerns? While the specific ways shown throughout science fiction are not entirely realistic, they do show how humans can become reliant on technology. Technology is extremely useful in our day to day lives, however, it is also a powerful source that can be misused.