This is the first of a series of posts on free culture and podcasting. I’ll be pulling out some of my favourite podcasts for discussion and highlighting some of the best podcasting available in the commons.
Free Culture Podcasts: One
Canada’s Robert J. Sawyer on TVO’s Big Ideas
Science fiction — or, as it is often wished to have been called, speculative fiction — is a genre that I enjoy for its ability to tackle contemporary issues without boundaries. It is fittingly postmodern in the manner with which it can abandon all pretense of place, time, character, morality, politics and such to discuss/parse/analyze/criticize both our current world and the challenges we face ahead.
It arms us with language and imagery to define our surroundings and circumstance. It sneaks by soci-political gatekeepers by cloaking itself in make-believe, allowing us to have conversations about difficult or taboo subjects in relative openness. Imagine tackling the issues of the surveillance-state without 1984 or morally comprehending robotics without Asimov. SF provides an vocabulary and literary framework with which to tackle both new developments and enduring aspects of humanness.
Robert J. Sawyer, a respected Canadian author whom I’ve shamefully never read, gave a fantastic podcast distributed by TVO’s Big Ideas. In it, he lament Hollywood’s approach to science fiction, compares it to literary science fiction — both pop-sci-fi and otherwise. George Lucas is particularly pulled out for criticism, so much that Sawyer just stops short of calling him an apologist for racism and slavery. Sawyer marks the release of the original Star Wars as the decline of courageous sci-fi in cinema, comparing it to the strong social commentary of Planet of the Apes. Michael Crichton, too, is criticized for his overly-pessimistic and deterministic approach to science.
If you enjoy science fiction, whether in film or writing, Sawyer gives a provocative and engaging lecture. And if nothing else, it’s made me want to begin to read his books.
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