Tuesday, March 27, 2007

A Dreary Trend {Now Featuring 4:30am Humor}

Got that post-armageddon feeling again?

There seems to be a trend in most of the novels we've read that take place in that drab future where almost everything that once was has been destroyed. The world is no longer a safe place for man or beast, and radiation is the norm. It all sounds rather dreary to me, but common ideas keep coming up in the novels we're reading and the films we've viewed. Let me shed some light on a few similarities that come to mind, delivered in a humorous fashion to keep you, the reader, entertained. (See end note).

Big Cities
Call it the Sprawl, Glop, or whatever you please, but it all refers to the same general idea. What's left of humanity has gathered into massive supercities, most of which are unsafe to traverse due to one reason or another.

Violence Abound!
Blood is shed openly in the streets of the supercities. Concealed weapons are normal occurrences. Seeing a body or two isn't a problem, and if you shoot a replicant or get stabbed by a local gang member, nobody is going to think very much of it.

Hooray for Drugs (?!)
It appears as though you can get pretty much anything you want at anytime on the streets of the supercities. Take your pick of a friendly painkiller or the equivalent of twenty acid trips, it's all available at the right price.

Wear Sunscreen
Radiation seems to be a problem. Don't forget to wear your protective bodysuit and/or stay out of direct contact with that UV-laden sunlight. You'll get a tan pretty quick, but you'll also pick up some skin cancer.

Screw Earth! Let's leave!
Manufactured platforms in space are pretty easy to come by. It's where all the intelligent and successful people are going, as well as those who can simply afford it. You might land a pretty good job up on those space colonies too if you've got the skills.


The similarities between He, She and It and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (and Blade Runner) are pretty easy to pick out, as well as similarities to a plethora of other science fiction novels. I just thought I'd bring it up in case anyone else was noticing it as well. The plots differ significantly between the two novels, but the scenery is all too familiar...


(End Note) Off Topic - I'm writing this at about 4:30am, so the humor just seemed right to me at the time. Enjoy.

1 comment:

Dani said...

lolz, mmm sunny skin cancer....that's hot, literally hohohohoho

It seems the more technologically advanced the city is the more violent and primitive the people must become to survive in it (I'm talking about your average joe shmo).