Tuesday, September 19, 2017
Weeks 7 and 8
Science fiction - PKD
1) What is the difference in emphasis between the terms science fiction and speculative fiction? Which is The Man in the High Castle?
2) According to Mountfort (2006), what role does the I Ching have as an organisational device in the structure of Man in the High Castle? How does the use of this device illuminate the character of the novel’s protagonists?
3What does Brown (2001) identify as the central themes and concerns of the novel? What elements conform to the wider generic features of science fiction?
4) What does Dick(1995) himself theorise about the I Ching?
5) A Scanner Darkly is not really Science Fiction but a thinly disguised autobiography.
A Scanner Darkly is true Science Fiction in that it takes a trend in society, in this case surveillance, and takes it to its logical extreme.
Comment on these two different views with reference to the film and/or the novel and what you can discover about the author's life.
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What is the difference in emphasis between the terms science fiction and speculative fiction? Which is The Man in the High Castle?
ReplyDeleteSpeculative fiction is the umbrella genre that covers superhero fiction, science fiction, fantasy, science fantasy, horror and supernatural fiction. Science fiction is its own genre in some terms, but than the majority of it is also included in the term speculative fiction. Speculative fiction is a genre of fiction that encompasses works in which the setting is other than the real world, involving supernatural, futuristic, or other imagined elements.
Science fiction is fiction based on imagined future scientific or technological advances also major social or environmental changes, of which frequently portray space or time travel and life on other planets.
The differences between the two is hard to compare, as science fiction is technically part of speculative fiction. But the "Alternate history" branch comes under the speculative fiction umbrella, so technically "The man in the high castle" is a work of speculative fiction.
Because Science fiction revolves around the fact it has to have a relationship with the principles of science. As "The man in the high tower" explores the way the world would be if Germany Italy and Japan won world war 2.
Answer is pretty sketchy. Speculative fiction usually involves a strong thematic elements based on speculation about the future of society and culture.
ReplyDelete2) According to Mountfort (2006), what role does the I Ching have as an organizational device in the structure of Man in the High Castle? How does the use of this device illuminate the character of the novel’s protagonists?
ReplyDeleteA stunning theoretical novel of 'counterfactual history' from one of America's most exceedingly respected sci-fi authors, Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle.
Philip K. Dick's acclaimed cult novel gives us a horrifying glimpse of an alternative world - one where the Allies have lost the Second World War. In this nightmare dystopia the Nazis have taken over New York, the Japanese control California and the African continent is virtually wiped out. His book offers a new vision of reality - an alternative theory of world history in which the Axis powers were defeated - giving hope to the disenchanted. Does 'reality' lie with him, or is this world just one among many others?
According to Wikipedia the I Ching is a collection of practical wisdom, pertaining to every conceivable situation. It originates in ancient China and is the oldest Chinese classical text. "I Ching" means "Classic of Changes" or "Book of Changes." (While mostly the spelling "I Ching" is used, "Yijing" is, in fact, the official modern spelling.)
Mountfort (2006), explains how Dick claims that it was actually in part written by the I-Ching. He says he used the book of changes as a creative guide and also used I Ching to develop the plot, ceding decision making about many aspects of the narrative to the text of the hexagrams. Furthermore, he may have made that whole thing up in order to create a mind-bending metafiction. However, it might be misdirection he created.
According to Mountfort (2006), “Dicks literacy experimentation with the I Ching was. An oracle text can provisionally be defined as a symbol set with an associated body of oral or written commentaries that are used in divination.”
He has stated in his interview: “I Ching gives advice beyond the particular, advice that transcends immediate situation. The answer has a universal quality. If you use the I Ching long enough and continually enough it will begin to change and shape you as a person.” (Mountfort, 2006)
Reference:
Brown, E. (2001). Introduction in Dick P.K: The Man in the High Castle. London: Penguin.
Mountfort, P. (2006). Oracle-text/Cybertext in Philip K. Dick’s The Man in the High Castle. Conference paper, Popular Culture Association/ American Culture Association annual joint conference, Atlanta, 2006.
Wikipedia: I Ching. Retrieved 20 October 2017 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Ching
Wikipedia: The man in the high castle. Retrieved 20 October 2017 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_in_the_High_Castle
What does Dick(1995) himself theorise about the I Ching?
ReplyDeleteI Ching also known as “The Book of Changes” could be described as an ancient Chinese book of divination on the fundamental terms of the ying and yang (Rieder, 1988). Philip K. Dick has used the I Ching to plot the development of ‘The Man in the High Castle’. He used it as a guide for advice on aspects such as character development and the outcome. The Man in the High Castle is a book set in an alternate reality where Germany and Japan had won the World War 2. Throughout the whole story we see many characters turning to the 1 Ching before making decisions and based the decisions on the results it provide. For example, Juliana takes the books help to devise her plan of action after fleeing the assassin she was tied up with. Also, Frank Frink consults the book as he believes that it will enlighten him regarding import business decisions. Dick was a frequent user of the I Ching himself and thought that it could improve any situation whether the outcome be positive or negative. According to Dick (1995), “I Ching is merely a means of consulting the already apparent future, and being prepared for what lies ahead”. Even though he was completely devoted to I Ching, he took a more realistic understanding of it. He knew that seeking the future came with danger. He saw it as more of a means to approach the future, rather than predicting it.
References:
DeleteDick, P.K. (1995). Schizophrenia and the I Ching. In Sutin, L. (Ed), The Shifting Realities of Philip K. Dick (pp. 175-182). New York: Vintage.
4) What does Dick(1995) himself theorise about the I Ching?
ReplyDeleteDick states that the I Ching operates on the “basis of synchronicity” and can be used to deal with this particular matter. He refers to synchronicity as a matter of “acausal connectives” or events that link together and happen outside of time. This can be seen as the now. He often contextualizes this notion by comparing our world to the world of schizophrenics. He argues that we work with the element of time but schitozofrenics don’t because to them, time does not exist and everything happens in the now. He mentions that we can experience this notion of synchronicity if we take LSD. He describes it as eternal bliss. He explains how the state can unfold epics and include peculiar events. He talks about how the state goes against the typical cause and effect sequence that we tend to use, and adapts to a much more casual progression. He states that our knowledge of reality is what gets us by and that the “cause and effect” sequence is all that we know. He goes on to talk about how synchronicity can destroy us. He gives an example of how one day we will show up at a blind intersection drunk at exactly the same time another drunk will and we will both die.
Personally, I feel like his theories about synchronicity can relate to drugs or the world of drugs and the mind state that drugs induce. I see this in how he refers to the state of synchronicity as “eternal bliss” at first but then later goes on to say that it will kill us in the end, which is vey contradicting. To me, this means that in the beginning, the euphoria of drugs may seem like the best thing in the world. When you experience the feeling of euphoria, you discover things about yourself and you gain a sense of clarity and everything all of a sudden makes sense whether it abides to the cause and effect sequence or not. However, with that high must come a low and an end point and in the text, I think that is what Dick is talking about when he mentions that synchronicity will eventually kill us in the end which is what can happen with drugs.
Towards the end of the text, Dick talks about how the I Ching can help you deal with synchronicity. This implies that the book holds some type of wisdom or knowledge or acts as a mentor. Dick says to ask the I Ching questions. Not questions about the future but questions that have no bearing on your life or your present conduct. A strong message I got from the text is to don’t let the future dictate your present.
References
DeleteDick, P.K. (1995). Schizophrenia and the I Ching. In Sutin, L. (Ed), The Shifting Realities of Philip K. Dick (pp. 175-182). New York: Vintage.