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Wired has a recent article about author Octavia Butler and how her work presaged the "Make America Great" again campaign.
Octavia Butler, who died in 2006, was the author of such visionary science fiction novels as Kindred, The Parable of the Sower, and Dawn. Gerry Canavan, who just published a book-length study of Butler, describes her as one of the greatest writers of her era.
"I think you'd put her up there with Philip K. Dick and Le Guin and Delany and these other people who really made an impact on the way that science fiction circulates," Canavan says in Episode 234 of the Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast. "Especially that mode of literary science fiction that's somewhere in the middle between genre fiction and prize-winning novels, she has to be top two, top three in that list."
Butler made headlines this year when fans noted that her 1998 novel The Parable of the Talents features a fascist politician who rises to power by promising to "make America great again." The comparisons to Donald Trump are obvious, but Canavan says the character was actually inspired by Ronald Reagan.
[...] Butler had a singularly dark imagination, and often had to do multiple rewrites in order to tell her stories in a way that readers would find palatable. But Canavan says that in the current political climate, Butler's dim view of humanity is starting to seem ever more relevant.
"She often thought about how easy it would be for everything to just kind of go back to the way it was," he says. "That the things that seemed like they were permanent progress were really just a kind of epiphenomenon of the wealth of the United States in the latter half of the 20th century, and that when that fell apart, all the bad days would come back again."
(Score: 5, Insightful) by bradley13 on Sunday December 18 2016, @04:52PM
She may be a good author; I have no idea, since I haven't read her books. However, I do have a problem with anyone calling her novels "science fiction".
The SJW-dominated SFWA awarded the book mentioned in TFA, "Parable of the Talents" a Nebula award. As far as I can see, this is just more proof that the SFWA is totally dominated by the SJW crowd, desperately virtue-signalling. Consider the summary of the book: "Lauren Olamina was only eighteen when her family was killed, and anarchy encroached on her Southern California home. She fled the war zone for the hope of quiet and safety in the north. There she founded Acorn, a peaceful community based on a religion of her creation." This religion is then destroyed by a bunch of white Christians.
Just because the novel is set in the near future doesn't make it sci-fi. And what a funny coincidence that the character's invented religion is called Acorn. Her novels are all about racial activism, without any sort of "science" that I can see. Even friendly reviews point out that she writes without invoking much science fiction [slate.com].
tl;dr: TFA is just one more sore loser who doesn't understand why Trump won the election.
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 18 2016, @05:47PM
However, I do have a problem with anyone calling her novels "science fiction".
Don't you see the problem, Bradley13? All of us need to get together to Make Science Fiction Great Again!
(Score: 4, Insightful) by bradley13 on Sunday December 18 2016, @06:22PM
All of us need to get together to Make Science Fiction Great Again!
You think you're being sarcastic, but that's exactly what the puppies (sad and rabid) are all about.
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 18 2016, @07:28PM
> You think you're being sarcastic, but that's exactly what the puppies (sad and rabid) are all about.
And their stories are overwhelming flat and unimaginative.
And when they think they are being clever it completely backfires. [dailydot.com]
Dull, ignorant and selfishly angry. That's sums up both the puppies and trumpism.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Magic Oddball on Sunday December 18 2016, @07:46PM
It meets the classic/original criteria for science fiction that I learned of long ago as a teenage SF fan: fiction that takes place in the future or an alternate present, with the story at least partly anchored in speculation of what life might be like under different scientifically plausible circumstances. Classic science fiction included both the hard *and* soft sciences, typically with the 'hard' science providing the background change that drives the story (e.g. environmental disaster, genetic engineering, AI robot companions) and the 'soft' science (psychology, sociology, etc.) deciding how the characters handle that reality.
In that sense, "Parable of the Talents" sounds like it's not particularly different from the work of classic SF writers like Asimov, Card, Bradbury, Dick and Orwell — all of whom wrote some stories or novels that were much more blatantly activist–minded. Keep in mind, of course, that when authors write about things, most of them automatically use their own race & often gender for their protagonist, and throw aspects of their own quirks or concerns into the plot.
Consider another summary with a couple of details changed that wouldn't make a difference in the overall story arc:
“Michael's love is divided among his young daughter, his community, and the revelation that led him to found a new faith that could transform human destiny. But in the wake of environmental and economic chaos, the Martian government turns a blind eye to violent bigots who consider the mere existence of an Earth–born leader a threat. Soon, Michael realizes he must either sacrifice his child and followers — or forsake his must closely–held beliefs.”
If you read that summary on its own, would you dismiss it as "virtue signalling" and "racial activism"? If not, you might take into consideration that without reading the book, you might well be reacting more to the character's race/gender than to the actual story. (Even if slavery is part of the background, that could fit easily into the Martian/Earth story; Jane Yolen came up with something like that for her "Pit Dragon" series by placing the story on a planetary penal colony, for example.)
(Score: 3, Interesting) by bradley13 on Sunday December 18 2016, @08:07PM
Absolutely fair point - well said
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 18 2016, @08:08PM
Its funny how you give him the benefit of the doubt when his own words make it clear he neither deserves it nor wants it.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 18 2016, @09:15PM
There's that pejorative term "SJW" again, bandied gaily about. It automatically disqualifies you from the discussion. Have a nice day!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 19 2016, @02:30AM
Seeing as how Christianity has always been about embrace, extend, extinguish this is a very real possible dystopian future. There have been many countries throughout history that supported religious freedom, however there are a much greater number that mandated which religious were acceptable.
It is clear you can't see past your nose on this because you're so damn butthurt that society has moved past your comfort zone and is shining a big fat light on all of our problems.
Many have quoted "learn from history or be doomed to repeat it" but I guess you didn't get the memo. I like to believe it can't happen here in the US, but many others thought the same way until it was too late. We are getting a firsthand lesson on how the germans let the nazis gain power, I just hope it doesn't go that far. I also hope we will be able to repair the upcoming environmental damage, or that market forces make things like coal and oil less profitable.
You're crying about people sending up warning flags, what you refer to as losers whining, and yet how do we categorize your complaint about a complaint? Salty to the mother fucking core, you can't even handle a real discussion because it hurts your feels that someone criticizes your boy or however you view this farce.