Lit - 4th Mid

Speculative Fiction

* An umbrella term that encompasses horror, fantasy, science fiction, magical, realism, supernatural fiction, utopian and dystopian fiction, apocalyptic, post-apocalyptic fiction, alternate history, parallel universe, and other non-realist genres
* Asks and answers the question “what if...”

1. Science Fiction
2. Fantasy
3. Utopian Fiction
4. Dystopian Fiction
5. Apocalyptic Fiction
6. Post-Apocalyptic Fiction
7. Alternate History

Genres of Speculative Fiction

Science Fiction

* Deals mainly with the impact of actual or imagined science upon society or individuals
* Premise may either be based on or flatly contradict science facts and principles

Fantasy

* Uses magic and supernatural elements in plot, theme, and setting
* Magic is central to the genre
* Often involve journeys and quests

Utopian Fiction

Presents a world that is ideally perfect in all aspects of society

Utopia

an imaginary place in which the government, laws, and societal conditions are perfect

Dystopian Fiction

* Presents a futuristic, imagined world in which there is only an illusion of a perfect society, but is in fact one which is oppressed through corporate, bureaucratic, technological, moral, or totalitarian control
* Asks the question “what if...” to show the worst possible future consequence of an issue that we have now

Dystopia

* an imaginary place where people are unhappy and usually afraid because they are not treated fairly
* a state or condition in which life is extremely bad

Apocalyptic Fiction

Deals with the end of civilization either through nuclear war, plague, or some other general disaster

Post-Apocalyptic Fiction

* Set in a world or civilization after such a disaster
* Time frame may be immediately after the catastrophe, focusing on the struggles of survivors, or some time later when the existence of civilization before the catastrophe has been forgotten

Alternate History

* Set in worlds in which one or more historical events unfold differently from how it did in reality
* Based on the idea that for every event that occurs or decision made in our reality, there is another place (parallel universe) where the event or decision turned out differently

1. The citizens of society are controlled using propaganda
2. Information, independent thought, and freedom are restricted
3. A figurehead or concept is worshipped by the citizens of the society
4. Citizens are perceived to be under surveillance
5. Citizens have fear of the outside world
6. Citizens live in a dehumanized state
7. The natural world is banished and distrusted
8. Citizens must conform to uniform expectation. Individuality and dissent are bad
9. The society is an illusion of a perfect utopian world

Characteristics of a Dystopian Society

Harrison Bergeron

* First published in October 1961.
* Originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, the story was republished in the author's Welcome to The Monkey House collection in 1968.
* The story received the 2019 Hall of Fame Award from the Libertarian Futurist Society.

Kurt Vonnegaut Jr.

* November 11, 1922 - April 11, 2007
* Was an American writer.
* Published 14 novels, 3 short story collections, 5 plays, and 5 works of non-fiction, throughout his 50 years career with further collections being published after his death.

Text

allows you to navigate through the user interfaces of digital devices and software packages

Media Text

* refers to any media product we wish to examine and from which we derive meaning.
* It could be newspaper and magazine articles, comics, films, TV shows, music, performances, interviews, or talks.

Digital Media

* is digitized content-texts, audio, video, and graphics–that can transmitted over the internet or computer networks.
* Makes interactivity and community collaboration possible in ways that traditional media does not.

Podcast

E-Books

Digital Story

Vlog

Types of Popular Media

Podcast

Similar to a radio program, but with key differences: in a podcast, listeners can tune in to the show at their convenience and listen directly on any device that can play the audio file

E-Books

An electronic version of a printed book that can be read on a computer or an e-book reader.

Digital Story

Multimedia movie that uses a combination of pictures, video, audio, text, narration, and sometimes animation.

Vlog

A blog that contains video content (video blog).

TED

* Technology, Entertainment, and Design
* an organization conceived by Richard Saul Wurman that started in 1984 by creating conferences where great thinkers from around the world converge and share ideas through short, highly informative, inspiring, and thought- provoking talks.

TED Talks

* Slogan is “Ideas worth spreading”
* Held annually since 1990 and emphasizes technology and design but broadened its perspective to include talks on many scientifical, cultural, political, and academic topics
* Delivered in front of a live audience, recorded, and then uploaded on websites for an entire world of Internet users to consume