Technology and Material Culture in Science Fiction

Author(s):  
Thomas Mehoke
2014 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matt Hills

Mimetic fandom is a surprisingly understudied mode of (culturally masculinized) fan activity in which fans research and craft replica props. Mimetic fandom can be considered as (in)authentic and (im)material, combining noncommercial status with grassroots marketing or brand reinforcement as well as fusing an emphasis on material artifacts with Web 2.0 collective intelligence. Simply analyzing mimetic fandom as part of fannish material culture fails to adequately assess the nonmaterial aspects of this collaborative creativity. Two fan cultures are taken as case studies: Dalek building groups and Daft Punk helmet constructors. These diverse cases indicate that mimetic fandom has a presence and significance that moves across media fandoms and is not restricted to the science fiction, fantasy, and horror followings with which it is most often associated. Mimetic fandom may be theorized as an oscillatory activity that confuses binaries and constructions of (academic/fan) authenticity. This fan practice desires and pursues a kind of ontological bridging or unity—from text to reality—that is either absent or less dominant in many other fan activities such as cosplay, screen-used prop collecting, and geographical pilgrimage. Fan studies may benefit from reassessing the place of mimesis, especially in order to theorize fan practices that are less clearly transformative in character.


1970 ◽  
pp. 239-255
Author(s):  
Marcin Kowalczyk

Kowalczyk Marcin, Człowiek kultury druku w świecie przyszłości – kino science fiction wobec teorii środków przekazu Marshalla McLuhana [Man of Print Culture in the Future World – Science Fiction Cinema and Marshall McLuhan’s Media Theory]. „Przestrzenie Teorii” 32. Poznań 2019, Adam Mickiewicz University Press, pp. 239–255. ISSN 1644-6763. DOI 10.14746/pt.2019.32.12. This article shows the way of presenting the characters who represent print culture in science fiction cinema. All the printed artifacts, like literature, books and letters, are defined according to Marshall McLuhan’s media theory. The analysis is based mostly on the movie Her (dir. Spike Jonze, 2013) and discusses how SF movies adapt and transform the twentieth-century predictions concerning print as a medium. This approach allows us to avoid a simple interpretation of the problem, where books or print become merely a sign of civilization that has passed. Furthermore, McLuhan’s theory helps effectively reveal the complex motivations of the characters who are shaped by a specific medium.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Robb

This is an historical meditation - an essay on material culture and how humans relate to it. It is written as a science fiction piece, taking the form of a plenary address to a Material Culture conference sometime in the future. Mobile phones are well on their way to becoming universal devices and this playful essay explores ideas concerning the consequences of the mobile phone for humans, our relations with technology and our evolution.


1974 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-48
Author(s):  
ALICE M. PADAWER-SINGER

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