Analyzing Dystopian Fiction: Ideology, Orwell, and our Haunted Futures
Added 2020-09-28 02:27:43 +0000 UTCGabriel Gipe joins Breht to discuss the genre and history of dystopian fiction, its ideological role in American society, the impact of George Orwell and anti-communism on our culture, and what it even means to discuss dystopia while living in one.
Check out Gabriel's book reviews on Instagram @mr_gs_book_club
Outro Music: "Gallows" by CocoRosie
Comments
This is the first episode I’ve been legitimately disappointed in. The focus was far too heavy on 1984 and Brave New World, and I’m amazed that Island never even got a mention. It is by far Huxley’s best work, and specifically the culmination of his life’s politics. Huxley after Brave New World was a much different person. I know you may not be Sci-Fi heads, but as one myself it was kinda a bummer how this never really got past Surface level criticisms of each work. You can look to Huxley himself to see solid critiques of Brave New World, he wrote extensively on it. I also thought it was odd how the guest in passing mentioned that Orwell was in the Spanish Civil War and that he never went to the USSR, but neglected to mention that during his time in the Spanish Civil War he interacted directly with the bolsheviks, and in fact wrote an entire book about his experiences. Love the podcast overall, but compared to the level of depth you typically go into, it was disappointing that the choices here are literally the most popular and overrated books in the genre.
Aksel B
2022-07-27 21:36:24 +0000 UTCI really enjoyed this episode, especially the critique of how Orwell is used in the popular consciousness. That said, I can’t believe y’all made it through this whole episode without talking about Octavia Butler, the late great science fiction author. Her Parable of the Sower book, written in the late 90s, has become incredibly popular of late, actually getting onto best seller lists for the first time. Her work is both entertaining and useful, and I hope to hear a rev left about Octavia sometime.
Matthew Conover
2020-10-07 20:30:39 +0000 UTC
