Comments on: Science Fascist (Edited) https://habitablezone.com/2017/09/15/science-fascist/ Thu, 09 Apr 2026 15:15:13 -0700 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Robert https://habitablezone.com/2017/09/15/science-fascist/#comment-40186 Robert Fri, 15 Sep 2017 17:50:36 +0000 https://www.habitablezone.com/?p=66831#comment-40186 Along with my pleasure at reading the genesis of some of the classics (like the Damon Knight short "To Serve Man" on which the notorious Twilight Zone episode was based; and serializations of what are now considered classics), I've frequently squirmed at the blithe misogyny of the times reflected in the stories. And the racism's there, smoothed over but not quite disguised by the rubber alien suit. I almost dropped my tablet when one story casually dropped the N-word a few times, in context in terms of characterization of the speaker, but shocking to modern sensibilities. And that nascent crypto-fascist attitude shows up a lot too, easily entangled in militaristic and jingoistic stories. America's Space Force would spread the blessings of human (that is, white male) civilization throughout the galaxy, at blaster-point. Lots of denunciations of lily-livered hand-wringing weaklings, and apocalyptic stories of the consequences if we didn't stiffen our spines and toughen up. It's possible what you're observing is the way a lot of writers who went on to become grand masters and other notables, were first forged in the heady days after World War II. They were still feeling the testosterone rush from winning the war, while fear adrenaline was starting to squirt as they look over their shoulders at the Commies. Their writing styles, imaginations, and attitudes were, for many of them set in stone back then, and they spent the rest of their careers mining their personal quarries. It was striking to see Heinlein run out of ideas before he died. His last couple of books consisted of mashing up characters from all his past stories in an attempt to derive some originality through reshuffling the deck. I think he really did have a fixed number of stories he could write, and he ran out. The writers of the Golden Age were masters of their time, but a lot of them got stuck in that dream. That doesn't mean that right-wing science fiction has disappeared as that generation has passed on. The Hugo Award flap over attempts to force explicitly right-wing novels on to the ballot testifies to that. And I doubt that boys will lose their fascination with war and explosions and bright shiny things. That brand of science fiction won't disappear, one can only hope it at least evolves. <a href="https://archive.org/details/galaxymagazine" rel="nofollow">Galaxy Magazine @ archive.org</a> Along with my pleasure at reading the genesis of some of the classics (like the Damon Knight short “To Serve Man” on which the notorious Twilight Zone episode was based; and serializations of what are now considered classics), I’ve frequently squirmed at the blithe misogyny of the times reflected in the stories. And the racism’s there, smoothed over but not quite disguised by the rubber alien suit. I almost dropped my tablet when one story casually dropped the N-word a few times, in context in terms of characterization of the speaker, but shocking to modern sensibilities.

And that nascent crypto-fascist attitude shows up a lot too, easily entangled in militaristic and jingoistic stories. America’s Space Force would spread the blessings of human (that is, white male) civilization throughout the galaxy, at blaster-point. Lots of denunciations of lily-livered hand-wringing weaklings, and apocalyptic stories of the consequences if we didn’t stiffen our spines and toughen up.

It’s possible what you’re observing is the way a lot of writers who went on to become grand masters and other notables, were first forged in the heady days after World War II. They were still feeling the testosterone rush from winning the war, while fear adrenaline was starting to squirt as they look over their shoulders at the Commies. Their writing styles, imaginations, and attitudes were, for many of them set in stone back then, and they spent the rest of their careers mining their personal quarries.

It was striking to see Heinlein run out of ideas before he died. His last couple of books consisted of mashing up characters from all his past stories in an attempt to derive some originality through reshuffling the deck. I think he really did have a fixed number of stories he could write, and he ran out.

The writers of the Golden Age were masters of their time, but a lot of them got stuck in that dream.

That doesn’t mean that right-wing science fiction has disappeared as that generation has passed on. The Hugo Award flap over attempts to force explicitly right-wing novels on to the ballot testifies to that. And I doubt that boys will lose their fascination with war and explosions and bright shiny things. That brand of science fiction won’t disappear, one can only hope it at least evolves.

Galaxy Magazine @ archive.org

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