Science Fiction in American Culture (Summer I–2020) » June 10th: Interstellar and Exploration themes

June 10th: Interstellar and Exploration themes

Overview

As I mention on Canvas, Interstellar is in my top 5 for favorite movies. I saw it twice in the theater, so that means something because I’ve only done that a few times. I did, however, see The Hangover in the theater 3 times…

Science and Technology

I’m not going to have anything definitive to say about this topic. Each one–science and technology–could be the basis for an entire semester (or entire career). I do want to reiterate that science fiction has science and technology as major plot elements as well as themes. Interstellar makes a big (and obvious) comment on the value of pursuing scientific discovery. I study technology from cultural and rhetorical perspectives. Simply put, that means I look at how technology is a product of the culture from which it comes and the rhetoric of technology, which is what message does a technology convey and how do we perceive/understand technologies.

Cultural Studies

Simply put, studying culture. Having a cultural studies lens means one looks at ideas, values, movements, society in general as being mediated be prevailing characteristics of a group (often on a large scale). This approach attempts to find (or read) the meanings of artifacts (ideas, technologies, and texts—including literature, film, music, etc.) as products of the cultures from which they come. There’s a social demand for new science and technology. Of course, initial reasons for researching a science or developing a technology can change based on how consumers use the technologies in ways not intended by inventors.

No artifact or idea is created in a vacuum—devoid of external influence. Scientists, engineers, authors and the materials they create are products of the characteristics of their culture, which includes the culture’s moment in time. Although we can’t identify universally essential features of each individual, we can argue (and support) what appear to be prevailing values of a culture. Unlike analysis that aims to “unlock” meaning based on an individual’s life (e.g. psychoanalysis), a cultural studies perspective interprets individual and group actions as primarily influenced by culture. People don’t like to hear this because it emphasizes that we’re really just herd animals.

There are other types of interpretations of science, technology, and society. One thing to remember is that in the Humanities, we don’t consider any one discipline having THE answer. Instead, we arrive at answers based on the questions we ask, which are mediated by our disciplinary epistemologies. Cultural Studies is inherently interdisciplinary because it borrows methods of interpretation from a variety of disciplines: History, Sociology, Philosophy, Anthropology, and others. My research and the classes I teach usually consider science and technology from historical and sociological perspectives—time period and society, respectively.

The (Sub)Cultural Study of Science and Technology

This class is going to take a different approach to science and technology. Instead of explaining how something is constructed or applied, we’re going to consider the value humans place on science and technology. We should view scientific fields as a variety of subcultures. Although biologists, chemists, physicists, etc. share the assumption that the scientific method is the appropriate way to produce knowledge, they focus on different aspects of the natural world (or universe).

Within those disciplines, members speak to each others through, essentially, their own language. Not only do they share a technical slang (jargon), they share assumptions of knowledge. We call these communication systems connecting members of a discipline discourse communities. It is difficult for an outsider to enter the conversation (or understand what he or she is reading or hearing) because discourse communities tend to speak to themselves. Often the non-scientific/technical audience consumes knowledge of the field through a filter. Perhaps a journalist or discourse community member conveys knowledge in general terms, picking and choosing the details to provide.

Another important consideration for us is how the expert’s authority is used to convince a lay audience that doesn’t fully understand the details of a science the way a member of the discipline would. There are many accounts about scientific and technological that identify assumptions that guide scientists and engineers to particular conclusions. Such an activity is the basis for critical thinking–don’t just read for information; read to discover the meaning and reasons behind expert conclusions. This doesn’t necessarily mean debunk or criticize the experts; instead, it means analyzing their epistemology, which is discipline specific.

Interstellar (2014)

Let’s focus on some key areas and think about the adventure aspect that we can relate to Weinbaum’s story in the next section. It’s interesting that Murphy comes into Cooper’s room in the beginning and wakes him up saying she thought he was her ghost. Well, she’s not wrong! Also, the interviews you see in the beginning on the TVs remind me of the way Band of Brothers is framed. I HIGHLY recommend that show (if you can stomach gore–missing limbs and such things). Also, all “quotations” below are really paraphrases.

  • Early on Cooper tells Murphy that “science is about learning what you don’t know…get to the how and why” and that leads you to conclusions.
  • Science fiction often brings in environmental themes. Although there’s no mention that the Earth is dying from our treatment, metaphorically, post-apocalyptic stories often allude to environmental destruction as a cause.
    • The Earth in Interstellar is dying, so the government put its attention on farming and not reaching for the stars to create new science.
  • The government also wants to control science, so it “corrects” textbooks as Murphy’s teacher claims. She cites that the Apollo mission was faked to bankrupt the Soviet Union into spending money on useless rockets.
    • There is a belief in American culture that the arms race was a planned American attempt to make the Soviets bankrupt and not just good luck.
    • After all, the Soviets were mired in a war in Afghanistan in the 1980s…
    • Lastly, the parent-teacher conference is also a comment on the way non-scientists try to regulate the message of science. Think about evolution, global warming, stem cell research.
  • Cooper represents the exploratory nature of humanity. Compare this to Weinbaum’s “A Martian Odyssey” below. He claims “we’re explorers and pioneers not caretakers….We used to look up in the sky and wonder; now we look down in the dirt.
    • Read metaphorically: Nolan (the director) could be warning us to not neglect scientific pursuits; look forward and not to the past. Cooper’s phrase “down in the dirt” could be interpreted as “having our heads in the sand.”
    • Cooper could also be alluding to the fact that we’re being myopic, short sighted. A major reason for SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) is technological spinoff: the technologies we “discover” that we can use in applications other than searching for ET.
    • On Interstellar‘s Earth, NASA had to do Lazarus in secret because, with the food shortage, public opinion wouldn’t let them spend money on NASA.
  • The sarcasm of the robots is pretty funny, and, not surprisingly, I quite like that.
    • TARS tells Cooper that absolute honesty isn’t the best policy with emotional beings, so his honesty setting is at 90%.
    • Think about it: “Does this {article of clothing} look good on me?” If it didn’t, would you sat so?
  • Cooper tells TARS he “[doesn’t] like pretending we’re back where we were. I want to know where we’re going.” He’s an explorer like the many who left their homeland and explored the Earth.
    • We can interpret Coopers point to mean exploration = progress.

The Issue with Love (in Interstellar)

You might have picked up on my sarcasm surrounding love. Well, even I could set that aside and enjoy Interstellar. Some of you may want to do your Essay #2 on this topic (perhaps comparing it to the chapter “Liar” in I, Robot). Cooper believes his love for his daughter, Murphy, is why the 5th-dimensional beings chose him to communicate to his daughter; also, Dr. Amelia Brand claims love is observable, quantifiable, and powerful. See “Illusion of Love” on June 4th’s page to read what I think…

  • The idea that Cooper can communicate with his daughter across dimensions is a comment that love can do anything {blah}.
  • Cooper also explains parental love.
    • As parents “we’re just here to be memories for our kids. When you’re a parent, you’re the ghost of your children’s future.”
    • Of course, that line foreshadows that we learn Cooper is Murphy’s “ghost.”
  • Cooper tells Dr. Amelia Brand that he didn’t tell Murphy the Earth could end because “You make sure you tell your children they’ll be safe, and that doesn’t mean telling a 10 year old the world’s going to end.”
    • Later, Prof. Brand, the father, tells the older Murphy he didn’t tell his daughter for similar reasons.

Dr. Mann…the Best of Us

Well, I’m sure we all hate Dr. Mann, and there’s good reason to. However, put his situation in perspective: How mad are you when you miss your connecting flight or your trip to Vegas is delayed? Don’t you say, “I’d do anything” to get out of this airport? Don’t worry, though. Dr. Mann (in the person of Matt Damon) was better prepared the next time he was stranded on a planet in the Martian, and he needed rescuing.

  • Dr. Amelia Brand tells Cooper “Dr. Mann is the best of us. He’s the reason we’re all here.”
    • This statement ends up being ironic because he was the reason they went to his planet based on manipulated data.
    • There’s also hubris in his statement: “I never really considered the possibility that my planet was not the one.” It’s quite arrogant to think you’ve got the planet trillions of light years away (not to a black hole) that’s the one.
    • Also, the one who finds the planet gets to populate it, making that person feel like a god.
  • Dr. Mann is quite infuriating when he gives Cooper that speech about “Our survival instinct is our greatest strength.”
    • He does explain to Dr. Amelia Brand and Cooper in his base camp that he knew and agree with Prof. Brand’s policy of not telling people the Earth was doomed.
    • “Prof. Brand knew people wouldn’t work together without believing they could find a solution.” He says people are shortsighted and care about immediate family, but we’re too individualistic and “focused on our immediate needs and family” to “have empathy beyond our line of sight.”
    • What does that comment say about us? Not good. Perhaps it just means without the illusion of hope, we won’t conform and work together as a society.

By the way, I think a Hipster must have engineered those landers because who else would have perfected “retro rockets”? Then again, engineering requires a lot of math and there aren’t any Hipster mathematicians because math is so derivative.

Stanely Weinbaum’s “A Martian Odyssey”

This story is one of the many that editor John W. Campbell helped coach the author on. Isaac Asimov’s early career in science fiction would have gotten nowhere (well, most likely not as early a start) without the support of Campbell. He was important for Asimov’s thinking on the Three Laws of Robotics.

Let’s consider some surface features of the story before going under the surface and interpreting between the lines (yes, this parallels the narrative where Jarvis and Tweel walk on the Martian surface then go underground and find the cure-all egg). We’ll move from this to an analysis based on Weinbaum’s life and then on to a cultural-historical interpretation.

The Excitement of a Desolate Martian Surface

Mars doesn’t seem all that exciting, does it? It’s practically a barren wasteland with dangerous and goofy creatures, an environment with severe temperature fluctuations much like deserts on Earth. But, just like the Mojave Desert, you can find an oasis. Jarvis and Tweel don’t find Las Vegas,* but they do find creatures that defy explanation and survive on different chemical composition needs. What could we say about the brick-laying silica creature building pyramids forever (pp. 149-150)?
*Speaking of Las Vegas, at the Treasure Island, there used to be a show called Sirens of TI, and, on the surface of Mars, there are these siren-like creatures that lure unsuspecting hikers to them and then eat them. Jarvis called them dream beasts and he was shown a vision of Fancy Long–a New York dancer (c.f. Jean Harlow “The Sex Siren). Even in the future, there are female go-go dancers entertaining men. What can we say about the role of women here in conjunction with discussion on female roles and beauty in our two previous texts?

Common images from Science Fiction Magazines

Humans have always been fascinated by the tales of exploration. Long before our mass media technologies that beam “instant” news to us and even long before the printing press, humans told stories about explorers going to distant lands–some were based on actual exploration like Marco Polo’s travels to Asia, and some were based on mythology like Homer’s Odyssey about Odysseus’s (Ulysses in Roman mythology) journey back from the Trojan Wars to Ithaca (in upstate New York–just kidding). Weinbaum’s story contains all the components for an exciting adventure story:

  • A sidekick he saves and who travels with him
  • Bizarre creatures unknown to the adventurer
  • New civilizations and battle–need to fight to get home safely
  • Treasure or products of value

Because it’s a short story, we’re able to get through it much quicker than Lord of the Rings and The Odyssey. The characters make reference to the public’s assumed excitement about their journey when Harrison laments “I wish you’d saved the films, though. They’d have paid the cost of this junket; remember how the public mobbed the first moon pictures?” (p. 138). The American public consumed video and audio of the actual moon landing, but they had been consuming tales of adventure throughout its history: Lewis & Clarke’s Expedition, Cook & Peary’s North Pole excursion, and Admundsen’s trip to the South Pole.

The Desire to Transcend One’s Time

Even though we can’t assume the author’s point of view is the only factor for interpretation, we shouldn’t ignore connections to the author’s life. Weinbaum, like many sci fi or creative writers generally, might have been writing to indulge in other worlds and situations because he had a longing for something incomplete in his life. AGAIN, THIS ISN’T THE INTERPRETATION OF ALL HIS WORKS, but it is a plausible one. Weinbaum also wrote romance stories and a collection of stories about a scientist looking for a lover, who is ultimately lost. The theme of searching is apparent in his work and possibly drove his imagination and, therefore, his writing. A series of stories he wrote dealt with Dixon Wells, who was a student and later assistant to the great Haskel Van Manderpootz (they have a Sherlock Holmes and Watson-type relationship): “The Worlds of If” (1935), “The Ideal” (1935), and “The Point of View” (1936-posthumusly published). In the beginning of “The Point of View” Dixon Wells laments the trials and tribulations of finding the woman of his dreams:

There was the affair of the subjunctivisor, for instance, and also that of the idealizator; in the first of these episodes I had suffered the indignity of falling in love with a girl two weeks after she was apparently dead, and in the second, the equal or greater indignity of falling in love with a girl who didn’t exist, never had existed, and never would exist–in other words, with an ideal. Perhaps I’m a little susceptible to feminine charms, or rather, perhaps I used to be, for since the disaster of the idealizator, I have grimly relegated such follies to the past, much to the disgust of various vision entertainers, singers, dancers, and the like. (para. 6)

We learn at the end of “The Point of View” that Dixon Wells eventually falls in love with another man’s wife, an unattainable love. Interestingly, Jarvis calls Fancy Long “a vision entertainer” in “A Martian Odyssey” (p. 151).

Also, Weinbaum died of throat (or lung) cancer shortly after this story was published. He was born and died in Louisville, KY…home of the 2013 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Champions. Again, I caution you to read authors’ works as a lead up to their final moment (not all authors who committed suicide wrote incessantly about their suicides), but the fact that the characters mention the possibility to cure cancer with the egg (p. 159) is important. That’s not just Weinbaum’s concern in 1934-1935; even today, groups raise money and awareness on cancer in hopes that one day a cure will be found.

Historical-Cultural Interpretation

Here’s a rundown of the characters on this 21st-Century Martian expedition:

  • Jarvis–possibly the American, reminiscent of a frontiersman
  • Harrison–American or British Captain, incredulous to Jarvis’s tale
  • Putz–definitely German, the engineer
  • Leroy–definitely French, the biologist
  • Tweel (Tweerl)–Jarvis’s alien sidekick he saves
    • p. 144: Jarvis on Tweel–“Our minds simply looked at the world from different viewpoints, and perhaps his viewpoint is as true as ours.”
    • In Weinbaum’s story “Valley of Dreams”–the sequel to this one–readers learn that Tweel’s race is the Thoth, who visited the ancient Egyptians and brought the gift of writing.
    • Cover of The Best of Stanley G. Weinbaum (1974)

This crew of Europeans and, presumably, Americans reflects the colonial aspirations Western nations had in the first half of the 20th Century. Of course, others had these aspirations. Additionally, connecting the adventure aspects of the story to European conquistadors, we can read how for quite some time Western culture assumed that riches could be found in far away lands. Whether it’s Aztec/Inca gold or the fabled Fountain of Youth, the culturally held assumption (or fascination) is that discoveries in other lands could be of value. It’s no surprise that we call scientific and technological breakthroughs “discoveries” even though they aren’t found. Jarvis stealing the cure-all Martian “egg” alludes to colonial patterns of exploitation.

More Questions to consider:

  • Which is the most mythical character? Consider the title of the short story.
  • Which character is the most traditionally science fiction? Fantasy character?
  • What does the return home suggest?

Specific passages to discuss:

  • p. 137: “The Ares expedition, first human beings to set foot on the…planet Mars.”
  • p. 137: Mad scientists and Atomic Power (history of nuclear power)
    • “the mad American Doheny perfected the atomic blast at the cost of his life”
    • “only a decade after the equally mad Cardoza rode on it to the moon”
  • p. 139: “[Jarvis]…took a cartridge belt and revolver…”
    • Theoretically, you can shoot a gun on Mars, and it will travel farther than on Earth.
    • There’s too little oxygen, however, to build a fire.
  • p. 143: Language barriers
    • Tweel used a version of addition to to compare like and unlike and similar things
    • pp. 143-144: Jarvis says, “Well, there we were. We could exchange ideas up to a certain point, and then–blooey! Something in us was different, unrelated; I don’t doubt that Tweel thought me just as screwy as I thought him.”
  • p. 153: Tweel’s weapon “did hold as many shots as a cowboy’s gun in a Western movie.”
  • p. 157: Those pushcart creatures really live (and die) for their work…

Future Stuff

I’ve assigned “Bicentennial Man” for tomorrow. Don’t forget that you still have two Canvas post to respond to before Friday, 6/12 at 11:00 pm.