Week 7-8: Sci-Fi [Julie]

What does Brown (2001) identify as the central themes and concerns of the novel?

Brown (2001) identified many themes in The Man in the High Castle such as totalitarianism and Eastern philosophy but the central theme would be metaphysics – Philip K. Dick’s obsession with alternate realities and what the perceived reality of the characters and even the readers is a complete and utter falsehood. Brown (2001) continued to say “Dick suggests that the world presented in 'The Man in the High Castle' is but an illusion, that other, better worlds might exist”, and surely to us readers, it is an illusion. Or is it?


Although The Man in the High Castle is a speculative fiction, it does share similarities with the broader SF genre. It does include the typical rocket ships and futuristic living conditions – but only for the Japanese and Germans. They always get the good stuff.

I like the fact that speculative fiction is so feasible, that perhaps right now, we're in that world inside "The Grasshopper Lies Heavy" or a whole other world. Maybe the Germans and the Japanese did win and we'll never know the difference. I had the same thoughts as Captain Wegener as he rode the Lufthansa ME9-E rocket on his way to Europe. He mused, “Even if all life on our planet is destroyed, there must be other life somewhere which we know nothing of. It is impossible that ours is the only world; there must be world after world unseen by us, in some region or dimension that we simply do not perceive. Even though I can't prove that, even though it isn't logical - I believe it” (Dick, 1962). While reading The Man in the High Castle, I had those thoughts and I found myself going a little bit paranoid too. Like Juliana Frink and other characters who believed they were in an alternate universe and panicked, so did I. It literally made me bang my head on the desk.


Man in the High Castle is a bit like Inception. There are simply too many worlds and what ifs for one mind to wrap itself on. Not that I didn't enjoy both.

References:

Brown, E. (2001). Introduction. In Dick, P.K., The Man in the High Castle (p.v-xii). London: Penguin.
Dick, P.K. (2001; 1962). The Man in the High Castle. London: Penguin.

Science Fiction Weeks 7 and 8

What is the difference in emphasis between the terms science fiction and speculative fiction?

Science fiction is a genre of fiction which mainly deals with made-up storylines, which have a scientific background. Settings can include future cities, alternate timelines, hyper-science advancement, and paranormal activities. The book 'Prey' by Michael Crichton is an example of this. It deals with nanobots taking the shape of (spoiler) humans. The story delves into themes of artificial life, genetic algorithms and futuristic examples of computing.

Speculative Fiction on the other hand is more concerned with Philosophy and ahistorical storytelling. There is a heavy undercurrent of social and cultural commentary. Philip K Dick has written several speculative fiction novels including The Man in the High Castle. Brown (2001) describes Philip K Dick as "a self-taught anti-establishment intellectual with an appetite for knowledge and an intimidating ability to absorb information. He had a thorough grounding in philosophy, psychology and religion." (p. vi). All these qualities shine through in The Man in the High Castle, which portrays the alternate history of Japan and Germany winning World War 2.

Philip K Dick however often skirts the line between science fiction and speculative fiction. A Scanner Darkly is an example of this. The futuristic technology of the scanners is much more science fiction than speculative. However, Philip K Dick's analysis of identity, and loss of identity through the lens of a drug user, is very evocative of some philosophies within speculative fiction.

Speculative fiction and science fiction are very closely related, but there are distinct enough differences. Science fiction is heavily science oriented, whereas speculative fiction is much more concerned with history and philosophy.

Science Fiction: Week 7 & 8

What is the difference in emphasis between the terms science fiction and speculative fiction? Which is the The Man In The High Castle?

Speculative fiction is when a story is told from a "What if?" condition. The creation of speculative fiction is the general sense of "general sense of hypothetical history, explanation, or historical storytelling. The Man In The High Castle is speculative fiction because we are presented with a world in which America, Great Britain and their allies lost World War II to the Japanese and Germans. As a result of this, Japan has occupied the West Coast of America while The Germans occupy the East Coast of the country. The only free states that are left in America are the Rocky Mountain states that are in the middle of the country.

But then again, The Man In The High Castle delves deeper into that by introducing the novel within the novel called "The Grasshopper Lies Heavy" which portrays "our" actually reality of World War II where America, Great Britain and all of the other countries defeated Japan and Germany and we have the world we live in today. America is its own country not occupied by either Japan or Germany. Obviously, the Japanese and Germans in the book have banned "The Grasshopper Lies Heavy" on sale but it's on sale in the free States of America that those two sides haven't occupied.

As you read further into the novel, The Man In The High Castle becomes a "what if scenario with a twist" (Brown, 2001). Once Juliana Frink meets up with "The Grasshopper Lies Heavy's" author Hawthorn Abendsen, that there are actually multiple realities that exist and some characters in the book choose to believe that the reality they are living right now is fake.

Other pieces of work that might fall into the category of Speculative Fiction is the Terminator series. This is looks into a dystopian future where machines have become smart and dangerous enough to eradicate humans from Earth. Although the first three films in the series looks at the characters trying to prevent this from happening, the fourth film explains that it was inevitable.

Science Fiction is more fantasy based and does not take the "what if" scenario into account. According to science fiction writer Angie Lofthouse (2012), science fiction can be described as a story "set on another planet, deals with aliens or takes place in space".

Science Fiction can include Star Wars which is a story set in a "Galaxy Far Far Away". There's no "what if" scenario presented in Star Wars nor is it based in a reality where humans on Earth could travel to. All it presents to us is a fictional story about the evil Sith wanting to take over the galaxy while Luke Skywalker is the last Jedi alive and has to defeat his own father to restore balance and peace.

Some other aspects I forgot to mention about the two genres is they way both are presented. Speculative fiction is usually set in an alternate world or reality based upon current technologies or technology that could be feasible to create. Science Fiction is a bit more far-fetched as the technology and worlds that are presented here are all made up. Much like the whole Star Wars universe where every planet, alien and even piece of technology was created all in the mind of George Lucas.  

Week 5 and 6

In Anime: Frome Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle, Napier states that in terms of writings on Japanese anime there is a

“significant contrast to American writing on Western animation, which still tends to look at either the terms of its visuality or its sociological role.  The reasons behind this difference are not hard to discover. Simply put, the West does not have the wealth of animated texts to draw on that Japanese scholars do” (2005, pp.18)

There is such a wide variety of anime available and in Japan its popularity is so prominent, anime is seen to be played throughout the day on television networks from kids shows in the morning, to prime time and well into the night. Each variety caters to a specific audience based on their ages and their social stances. Here are some of the main types of anime.

Kodomo- These anime shows are aimed at young children and are designed for a child’s short attention span. Usually they revolve around stories which aim to teach children daily lessons.

Shōnen- This is usually aimed at boys between the ages of 10 and 17 years. The stories are high action with humorous plots and male characters

Shōjo- Aimed at girls between the ages of 13 and 17 years, shōjo stories revolve around emotions and relationships.

Seinen- This is the next demographic up for males, aimed at a male audience of 18+. These shows incorporate a number of different elements; action, drama, comedy, romance, which cater to this age group.

Josei- Josei animation is intended for females older that high school age. The storylines are similar to shōjo but tend to be more realistic because the audience is more mature.

Ecchi- Ecchi comes from the word meaning sexy or naughty. In anime it  refers to skimpy clothing or partial nudity. Ecchi anime has a lot of fan service or nudity and is sometimes filled with innuendo or sexual humour.

Hentai- Translated hentai in anime means perverted. Hantai is the anime version of pornography. There is a lot of on screen sex. Some of the acts performed in hentai would be physically impossible and the characters themselves are sometimes impossible. They can include fairies, monsters, and even new and strange creatures. Hentai can delve into aspects that are taboo such as incest, rape and paedophilia.

With such a variety available, it is not hard to see why anime has become such an integral part of Japanese society. Anime has aimed to cater to very specific audience addressing their social standing, issues and likes. And while the same can be said for a number of television programmes and films in the west and even in Japan, the sheer volume of anime and its uniqueness have meant that it has not had to compete much with other forms of media, thus allowing its popularity to be maintained.

References

Audience. (n.d.). Retrieved September 16, 2012, from http://anilistings.webs.com/typesofanime.htm

Napier. S.J. (2005). Anime and local/global identity. Anime: from akira to howl’s moving castle, 16-           19. Retrieved from http://smile.solent.ac.uk/digidocs/live/Hines/Napier.pdf

Week 5-6: Anime [Julie]

What is the ‘shojo’ and how does it often function in anime?

‘Shojo’ in Japanese, literally translates to ‘young girl’ and refers to a specific character archetype commonly seen in anime. The ‘shojo’ is a female character who is typically aged 18 and below. Napier (2005) suggested that the ‘shojo’ role is atypical in other media.

Depending on the target audience and type of story, the function of ‘shojo’ varies.

In the case of Princess Mononoke, it is clear that the main character is a ‘shojo’ character. Many of Ghibli’s works, especially those of Miyazaki’s, have a tendency to use ‘shojo’ archetype characters as the protagonist of the story. In Mononoke, San is portrayed as a feral, aggressive and persistent girl which is the polar opposite of stereotypical Asian girls who are seen as obedient, refined and feminine.


Although not a typical ‘shojo’ character, the film Princess Mononoke also used many female characters with aggressive personalities such as Lady Eboshi who is the manager of Tatara and Moro the wolf god who raised San. Napier (2005) also pointed out that these characters defy the traditional convention of having men as leaders and in fact are placed second to the females.

Often in anime, if the ‘shojo’ archetype is the protagonist, they are are often given very out-going, persevering and courageous personalities. This can be seen in animes such as Sailor Moon and like San in Princess Mononoke who defies the typical view on Asian women. Most of animes with these types of ‘shojo’ characters are often targeted towards female audiences, commonly known as ‘shojo anime’.


On the other hand, the opposite is ‘shonen anime’ which translates to ‘boy’s anime’. The ‘shojo’ characters in these kinds of animes often end up playing the male protagonist’s love interest takes a more subdued role and commonly more subdued personalities.

Reference:

Napier, S. (2005). Anime: from Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.