The "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" Revisited : Motifs of Science Fiction and Social Criticism.
Başlık:
The "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" Revisited : Motifs of Science Fiction and Social Criticism.
Yazar:
Erkenbrecher, Christian.
ISBN:
9783842811775
Yazar Ek Girişi:
Basım Bilgisi:
1st ed.
Fiziksel Tanımlama:
1 online resource (91 pages)
İçerik:
The "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" Revisited Motifs of Science Fiction and Social Criticism -- Table of Contents -- 1. Introduction: Different Medial Realizations of the Hitchhiker's Guide -- 2. On Science Fiction -- 2.1 The Struggle of Defining Science Fiction -- 2.2 The Most Important Historical Facts, Icons and Events of SF -- 2.2.1 Is There a 'First' Work of Science Fiction? -- 2.2.2 The Age of Enlightenment -- 2.2.3 Industrial Revolution -- 2.2.4 Jules Verne -- 2.2.5 H. G. Wells -- 2.2.6 Hugo Gernsback and the Genre-Defining Magazine Era -- 2.2.7 From the 'Golden Age' to the 1980s -- 2.2.8 New Wave -- 2.2.9 Notes on the Latest Developments until the 1980s -- 2.3 Templates of Science Fictionand their presence in Hitchhiker's -- 2.3.1 Planetary Romances -- 2.3.2 Future Cities -- 2.3.3 Disasters -- 2.3.4 Alternative Histories -- 2.3.5 Prehistorical Romances -- 2.3.6 Time Travels -- 2.3.7 Alien Intrusions -- 2.3.8 Mental Powers -- 2.3.9 Space Opera -- 2.3.10 Comic Infernos -- 2.3.11 Mock SF -- 3. Motifs, Ideas, Conventions of Science Fiction and their usage in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy -- 3.1 Alien Life -- 3.1.1 Humanoid Extraterrestrials -- 3.1.2 Animal-like Extraterrestrials -- 3.1.3 Hybrid Aliens -- 3.1.4 Bodiless Creatures -- 3.2 Alien Life in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy -- 3.2.1 Humanoid Extraterrestrials -- 3.2.2 Animal-like Extraterrestrials -- 3.2.3 Hybrid Aliens -- 3.2.4 Bodiless Creatures -- 3.2.5 Conclusion concerning alien life in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy -- 3.3 Technology -- 3.3.1 General Use of Technology -- 3.3.2 The Guide -- 3.3.3 Teleportation and Matter Transmission -- 3.3.4 Suspended Animation -- 3.4 Space Travel -- 3.5 Weapons and Interstellar War -- 3.5.1 Weapons -- 3.5.2 Interstellar War -- 3.6 Artificial Intelligence -- 3.6.1 Artificial Intelligence with Ticker Tape.
3.6.2 Marvin - Artificial Intelligence With a Little Problem -- 3.7 The Towel -- 3.8 Plurality of Worlds/ Parallel Worlds -- 3.9 Answers to "Big Questions" in Hitchhiker's? -- 4. Elements of Social Criticism -- 4.1 Science Fiction as Social Criticism? -- 4.1.1 Terminology -- 4.2 Criticism of Governmental and Bureaucratic Structures -- 4.3 Criticism of Human Behavior and Character Traits: An Attack on Human Hubris -- 4.4 Does Social Criticism in a Comic SF Novel Work? -- 5. Summary and Concluding Remarks on The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy -- 6. Appendix -- 6.1 Plot Outline of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy -- 6.2 The Three Laws of Robotics -- 7. List of Works Cited.
Özet:
This book is a survey of typical Science Fiction elements in Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Christian Erkenbrecher first goes through a short history of Science Fiction and identifies certain motifs of the genre in order to correctly place the novel within a useful context. Classical elements of the Science Fiction canon are identified in the novel and scrutinized. It becomes clear that Douglas Adams was fully aware of the SF "burden" and we can see how its elements are used in order to create both humour and criticism. The question of whether social criticism can be applied purposefully in SF will be asked. Other big questions which are posed (and answered?) in Hitchhikers are also taken into consideration: Is there a god? Will the breakdown of communication barriers between races put an end to all wars? Can the advancement of technology prevent us from destroying ourselves? Follow the author on his way through Douglas Adams's "wholly remarkable book" and see how this exceptional hitchhiking playwright and atheist writer enriched the world with his unique prose. Biographische Informationen Christian Erkenbrecher was born in Coburg, Germany in 1981. He completed his studies of English literature at the University of Bayreuth in 2008 acquiring the title of Magister Artium (M.A.). Throughout his studies the author developed a strong fascination with utopian/dystopian literature and Science Fiction. The combination of those interests with a penchant for British humor inevitably led him to Douglas Adams's most important novel, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Proving a deep fascination with the topics of Hitchhiker's, the author wrote this book in Bayreuth, Coburg and while hitchhiking through New Zealand in 2007-2008.
Notlar:
Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2017. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.
Tür:
Elektronik Erişim:
Click to View