The document discusses theories about science fiction put forth by Damien Broderick, including that SF became popular in the 19th-20th centuries in response to massive cultural, scientific, and technological changes. It emphasizes technology, materials, and symbolic objects over character development. The document also provides context about Philip K. Dick's 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? including its themes of artificial intelligence and the contrast between ordered human evolution through technology versus entropy on Earth. It defines key terms from the novel like simulacrum and provides background on Dick and adaptations of his works.

2. Theories: SF and OBJECTS / MATERIALS
Damien Broderick (1995)
 Claims SF became popular in 19th
- 20th
centuries
BECAUSE:
 Responds to massive changes: cultural, scientific,
technological
 Changing epistemologies (systems of knowledge,
ways of understanding reality)
 Proposes that science fiction departs from
conventional literature in
 Emphasis on technology, materials, and symbolic
objects—meaningful on a cultural scale
 working with a stock set of symbols/images
associated with popular sci fi (i. e. Martians,
nuclear holocaust, space travel, etc)
 Less attention to individual character
development. More interested in objects than
subjects

3. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
 First published, 1968 (same year as Kubrick’s film of
2001: A Space Odyssey)
 Similar interest in Artificial Intelligence (AI)
 Hal / Sal (Will I dream?) … and Androids (empathy?)
 Being and becoming…?
 Contrast in vision of human evolution as
ordered/organized by alien technology
 Monoliths as “van Neumann machines” (2010, pp. 256-
257)
 Machines that propagate like cells dividing or viruses
replicating (bacteriophages)—exponentially
Vs.
 ENTROPY  disorder of Earth in Dick’s futuristic vision
(kipple / dust)

4. Entropy: from Laws of Thermodynamics
 1st
law: All processes in the world involve
transfers of energy. Total energy in a closed
system remains constant
(Speculation: Universe as whole could be seen as closed system. If
so, total amount of energy in it is constant)
 2nd
law: Entropy= maximum of disorganized
energy… energy given off as heat, dissipated
during a process
(Speculation : evolution as process tends toward entropy—
maximum disorder)
IDEA applied very broadly: physics, biology, psychology…
 See John Isidore, p. 20

5. Dick’s Dark, Entropic Vision
 Looking backward: Noir and Hardboiled detective
fiction
 Noir = dark… used broadly in film of 1930s and 40s: black
and white film using heavy shadows…UNCERTAINTIES
 “noir” in fiction: Crime fiction of 1930s – 1940s—often
written from vantage point of criminals / gangsters…
evading the law
 Hardboiled: “gritty” realism, tough unsentimental (but
sometimes bewildered/lost) detective
 Hard to tell reality from illusion / artifice
 Looking ahead:
 Future noir—SF integrating noir elements
 Postmodernism: Celebration of artificial…no originals
left… SIMULACRA…

6. Simulacrum (plural: simulacra)
 Material image made to represent a deity,
person, or thing (electric sheep)
 Religious context: an effigy, material
representation of something divine/spiritual
 An illusion or a fake: has the appearance of
the original without the substance

7. Above: a radiated turtle native to Madagascar, like Tu’Imalila
(see epigraph, p. 2)

8. Cook’s honored gift—
illegal today!
 Today international
trade of many
freshwater turtles is
illegal.
 Radiated turtle is listed
as protected in CITES
(Convention on
International Trade in
Endangered Species of
Wild Fauna and Flora)
 As of 2008, Bangkok,
Thailand identified as a
major hub for
smuggling operations
of these turtles

9.  “Fake Fish Tank Aquarium”
($59.99)
 Facebook Apps: H2Opia,
Garden patch
 “Pucci Pups Shih-Tzu in
Carrier” ($19.99)
• A fashionably fetching pup just
for young dog lovers, this
special pooch will magically
grab for her magnetic treat
when placed near her mouth
• Includes adorable doggie
outfit, carrier bag, hat, dog
booties and food bowl
• Also includes hair accessories,
magnetic bone and leash with
collar
• Carrying bag: 9Hx6Wx10D"
• For ages 3 yrs. and up
• 9" Tall

10. Rand Corporation (see p. 15)
 Name: Research and Development
 Founded in 1948, Santa Monica, CA
 Private “think tank” of scientists whose research informs U.S. government and military policy
 From Rand mission statement: “For 60 years, decision makers in the public and private sectors
have turned to the RAND Corporation for objective analysis and effective solutions that address
the challenges facing the nation and the world. These challenges include such critical social and
economic issues as education, poverty, crime, and the environment, as well as a range of national
security issues.”
 CORPORATION: role in book: Rand  Rosen Corp

11. Science Fiction and the Quasi-
human
 Alien
 Archetype
 Cyborg
 Robot / Automaton / Android

12. Science Fiction and the Quasi-
human
Alien: a foreigner, someone from another
place, or a being from another planet.
Alienation from what we assume to be
“human” :
 The Deckards, husband and wife, at home
(introduction of humanity on Earth after World
War Terminus)
 See passages on Wilbur Mercer, pp. 22, 24, 70

13. Science Fiction and the Quasi-
humanArchetype: an original pattern or model, of which all things of the same type are representations or
copies
 like a cookie-cutter
 Archetypes: perpetually self-repeating, regenerating in literature, art, dreams
 Archetypal characters:
 Child
 Maiden / Damsel in Distress
 Evil stepmother
 Hero
 Savior
 Hunter
 Trickster
 Great Mother
 Wise Old Man
 Superman (Ubermensch), Cosmic Man
Wilbur Mercer as an Archetype: Passage on pp. 69-70: “Mercer…isn’t a human being; he evidently is an
archetypal entity from the stars, superimposed on our culture by a cosmic template”

14. Science Fiction and the Quasi-human
Cyborg:
integration of human and
machine
human being dependent for
existence on machines
- pace-maker
- the Borg in Star Trek Next Gen)
- life with the Penfield Mood Box
Above: “Hugh” of Borg, Star Trek the
Next Generation

15. Science Fiction and the Quasi-
human
Robot / Automaton / Android: all are artificially constructed
animated beings
Automaton: mechanical device that can move independently
Robot: usually mechanical rather than organic humans, animals
beings.
 Term popularized by Karl Čapeks’ play, R. U. R. (Rossum’s
Universal Robots), 1921
 here robots are organic, artificial humans, designed to take
place of people forced labor, social critique (what
industry can make of us)

16. Jaquet-Droz Automata (built between 1768 and 1774). The Sketcher (or
Drawer), the Musician, and The Writer
See them work on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1nxETblSi4

17. Science Fiction and the Quasi-
human
Android: automaton made from biological materials, or made to
resemble and interact with humans as if it were human
(humanoid)
 mechanics, silicon chips, circuitry?
 Or biological, genetic simulation?
Examples:
 Star Trek Next Gen: Data,
 Spielberg’s A.I. “mechas”
 Battlestar Galactica’s Cylons—biological, human
reproduction, emotional, enhanced telepathy
 Ridley Scott’s “replicants” vs. Dick’s “androids”

18. Philip K. Dick
(1928-1982)
 Sci fi stories and novels from 1950s – 1970s
 Science fiction with existential uncertainty:
What is real? How do we know?
 Post WW II Sci Fi: Colonization of other
planets, post-nuclear holocaust fears: what
could happen to Earth
 Dick: Pervading themes: Mystical
experience—accessible through artificial
means. Awareness of alternative realities
 Hugo Award, 1963: Man in the High Castle
(Germany and Japan win WWII and divide up
US between them)
 Madness? Or Genius? Dick’s own
visionary/auditory experiences (mid 1970s)
 Death 1982: strokes/heartfailure, age 53

19. Dick’s Perspective on Science Fiction:
"I want to write about people I love, and put them into a fictional
world spun out of my own mind, not the world we actually
have, because the world we actually have does not meet my
standards. Okay, so I should revise my standards; I'm out of
step. I should yield to reality. I have never yielded to reality.
That's what SF is all about. If you wish to yield to reality, go
read Philip Roth; read the New York literary establishment
mainstream bestselling writers….This is why I love SF. I love
to read it; I love to write it. The SF writer sees not just
possibilities but wild possibilities. It's not just 'What if' - it's
'My God; what if' - in frenzy and hysteria. The Martians are
always coming."

20. Text  Film
Eight feature films produced so far from Philip K. Dick’s fiction:
 Blade Runner
 Total Recall
 The Minority Report
 Screamers
 Impostor
 Confessions d’un Bario (novel: Confessions of a Crap Artist)
 Paycheck
 A Scanner Darkly