Screened recently featured an interesting and insightful article by Andrew Gray titled “Mr. Spock, Space Wizard.” The piece begins with an often ignored or overlooked function of technology in science fiction that is akin to magic. Gray then takes this a step further:
Science-fiction films and television have an odd relationship with magic. They dance on the line between fantasy and fact, replacing magic spells for scientific theories and technology. The most ardent science-fiction separates magic and science as antitheses. However, the brief nature of film and television require that the impossible happen to advance a story. Magic is required. Science and technology are used as alternate names for magic — different monikers for the same type of arcane knowledge. Those that wield this knowledge of science are akin to fantasy film wizards. They are Space Wizards.
As the title of the essay indicates, Gray argues that Mr. Spock from the Star Trek franchise, may be understood as a Space Wizard. After tracing this concept back to science fiction’s earliest depiction in cinema, he then provides a number of examples, over the course of the character’s evolution, as to how Spock may be understood in this capacity.
If we move beyond the Space Wizard in science fiction cinema we can also note parallels in psychology, myth, and religion. This ocmes in the figure of the Magus, the legendary magician of superhuman powers, which, according to E. M. Butler in his book The Myth of the Magus (Cambridge University Press, 1948), “is an archetype central to myth and religion across many cultures.”
If Butler’s concept of the Magus holds true, then it is not surprising to see it surface in science fiction cinema as one of our leading expressions of myth for a scientific and mystical age. Screened and Mr. Gray are to be commended for probing one of science fiction’s most beloved characters for a deeper understanding of his significance.
Growing up as a fan of horror in the 1970s there was little by way of exploration of this genre in magazines. Of course there was FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND, but that was largely written for the kid monster fan. I was surely that, but even as a child, and later as a teen fan, I wanted to explore horror, and its cousin genres of science fiction and fantasy, in more depth. Today the situation is quite different in that there are a number of different print magazines, as well as Internet fan zines. They are of differing emphasis and quality, but for the fan as well as the scholar who wants to explore horror deeply, there are few options.
One of the publications that fills this need and niche is DIABOLIQUE. I have had the opportunity to read Issue 5 in a PDF format, and I was impressed. The magazine not only includes an exploration of significant topics by good writers, but also includes an impressive layout, and breathtaking photographs.
I recently had the opportunity to speak with Gregory Petaloudis, Director of Marketing and Promotion for DIABOLIQUE, to learn more about the publication.
TheoFantastique: With so many horror magazines available at the present time, what went into the decision making process for creating DIABOLIQUE?
Greg Petaloudis: Actually, this was a decision we made over a year ago. Granted, the modern digital age has given the opportunity to the average person to become a so-called ” Horror magazine publisher.” However, let’s see how many are still in business a few years from now. Most of them only do it on a part-time basis and have little experience as to what it really takes to publish a successful horror genre magazine for the long term. Even the established Horror publications are not what they used to be.
TheoFantastique: How is it unique?
Greg Petaloudis:DIABOLIQUE is unique in a number of ways: 1) The layout and graphics are better than any current horror magazine sold on newsstands. 2) DIABOLIQUE is full color, lavishly illustrated with well written articles from established journalists. 3) We also review films from around the world, not just the new horror films released in America, which are not that good and every horror magazine reviews anyway. 4) DIABOLIQUE is professionally printed and our staff pays attention to every little detail.
TheoFantastique: The magazine takes an in-depth look at various aspects of horror, probing it beyond its surface entertainment value. Do you find more fans and academics interested in exploring horror in this way?
Greg Petalouis: Definitely! The reviews from different critics and loyal fans alike clearly proves we are on the right track, especially for a publication like ours that’s only at issue 5. Let’s not forget the top distributors already want to distribute our magazine internationally! We listen carefully to what they say and improve each issue, always evolving and changing for the better. Additionally, adolescent kids are no longer the target audience for horror magazines. Now, people between the ages of (18-55) are actively reading and collecting back issues of DIABOLIQUE.
TheoFantastique: What are the backgrounds of some of your contributors, and what types of topics are they addressing?
Greg Petalouis: All of our contributors are established journalists who have interviewed countless celebrities, authors, etc and written articles for other periodicals. Every month, new journalists are joining our team of growing contributors! Additionally, they also write blogs and some even have their own websites. Most of them try not to address the same issues like every other horror magazine, rather with more in depth articles on the past, present and future of both classic, modern and foreign horror films.
To learn more about DIABOLIQUE, and what’s included in Issue No. 5 (July/August 2011) visit the website and Facebook Page.
An idea that brewed in the fertile brains of Kim Paffenroth, Matt Cardin, and myself, has taken a major step toward becoming reality. Working with Kim Paffenroth as co-editor, and having sifted through a number of submissions after a call for papers, we have chosen the lineup for an upcoming essay collection on THE UNDEAD AND THEOLOGY. This will be a volume similar to Open Court’s series of volumes that look at philosophy and various aspects of popular culture. Our volume will not only consider vampires and zombies, but also cenobites, Golems and other forms of Jewish folklore creatures as objects of theological reflection. THE UNDEAD AND THEOLOGY will include essays by:
Arnold T. Blumberg
Jessica DeCou
Hannah Gilbert
Vicky Sue Gilpin
Joseph Laycock
Jarrod Longbons
John W. Morehead
Ashley John Moyse
J. Ryan Parker
Brian Solomon
Ben Stovell
Andrea Subissati
My own contribution will be a chapter tentatively titled “Zombie Jesus, Zombie Walks, and the Eschatology of Postmodern Flesh.” Publisher and release date TBA in the weeks to come.
A recent news item discussed serious pessimism in France leading to fears of mass suicide in the country, perhaps in connection with fears over the Mayan “prophecy of doomsday” in 2012. CNN reported:
Paris (CNN) — The specter of a mass suicide tied to the widely predicted end of the world in December 2012 has prompted a warning from a government official in France, where people are already gathering at a place believers predict may provide the only escape from the apocalypse.
Georges Fenech, president of French government agency Miviludes, which observes sect movements and warns the public of potential risks, told CNN that he had alerted French public authorities, including the prime minister, to the issue.
“We fear that this message of fear could have serious consequences on fragile members of the French population,” he said.
The Next Big Thing also commented on this phenomenon in connection with new religions in the past:
The most recent involving France was a series of 74 suicides in the late 1990s in France, Switzerland and Canada by devotees of the Order of the Solar Temple.
The fascination for Apocalypse theories fits with the mood of gloom that has engulfed France over the past decade. Opinion polls regularly highlight the country as one of the most pessimistic in the world.
Radio and television preacher Harold Camping’s failed prophecy of the end earlier this year (revised to October 2011) gained an international following and interest. It may be that given the the fascination with ancient civilizations, prognosticators, the alleged “Mayan doomsday prophecy,” connected with a lingering global recession, that we may see international fears and fervor surrounding alleged Armageddon as the calendar ticks closer to December 21, 2012.
From King Kong to Candyman, the boundary-pushing genre of the horror film has always been a site for provocative explorations of race in American popular culture. In Horror Noire: Blacks in American Horror Films from 1890’s to Present, Robin R. Means Coleman traces the history of notable characterizations of blackness in horror cinema, and examines key levels of black participation on screen and behind the camera. She argues that horror offers a unique representational space for black people to challenge the more negative, or racist, images seen in other media outlets, and to portray greater diversity within the concept of blackness itself.
Horror Noire presents a unique social history of blacks in America through changing images in horror films. Throughout the text, the reader is encouraged to unpack the genre’s racialized imagery, as well as the narratives that make up popular culture’s commentary on race.
Offering a comprehensive chronological survey of the genre, this book addresses a full range of black horror films, including mainstream Hollywood fare, as well as art-house films, Blaxploitation films, direct-to-DVD films, and the emerging U.S./hip-hop culture-inspired Nigerian “Nollywood” Black horror films. Horror Noire is, thus, essential reading for anyone seeking to understand how fears and anxieties about race and race relations are made manifest, and often challenged, on the silver screen.
Through a Facebook post by Christopher Knowles, previously interviewed here at TheoFantastique, I was made aware of a piece titled “Creativity, evolution of mind and the ‘vertigo of freedom.’” This is a “A DIALOGUE BETWEEN JASON SILVA AND TECHNO-ECOLOGIC SCHOLAR RICHARD DOYLE.” The exchange is interesting as the topics of evolution and psychedelics are brought together. The introduction to the dialogue describes Doyle as, “An explorer of the exciting and confusing rhetorical membrane between humans and an informational universe, he argues that in co-evolution with technology, we find ourselves in an evolutionary ecology that is as vital as it is unexplored.”
In his new book, Darwin’s Pharmacy (University of Washington Press, 2011), Doyle puts forward two claims that undergird his main thesis:
(1) Ecodelics [psychedelic plants] have been an integral part of the human toolkit, so suppressing them is like suppressing music, jokes or other aspects of our humanity. (Here I am following Samorini, Siegel, and others)
and
(2) As integral parts of the human toolkit, ecodelics are best modeled as part of sexual selection – the competition for mates and the leaving of progeny. A careful look at Charles Darwin’s writings on sexual selection will show that sexual selection works through the management of attention – what we would now call “information technologies.” Think birdsong, bioluminescence ( the most widespread communication technology on the planet), poetry. The peacock is managing and focusing peahen attention with his feathers, so what we have called “mind” has been involved in evolution for a very long time. Mandrilles eat iboga before competing for mates.
As I read this exchange I could not help but be reminded of the great but largely neglected science fiction film ALTERED STATES (1980). This film stars William Hurt as a scientist using psychedelics in combination with a sensory deprivation tank which eventually changes his genetic structure causing him to regress and later progress in evolutionary development. ALTERED STATES also includes some interesting passing visual references to religion and mystical experiences, including depictions of apocalyptic imagery from the Book of Revelation, as well as the Genesis creation story with the first humans standing hear the Tree of Life, with an interesting twist in that it appears to be a mushroom tree, raising questions as to whether humanities woes are better explained by psychedelic experience and gnosis rather than a restored relationship with a personal Creator.
The dialogue with Doyle is interesting as it brings together evolutionary science, psychedelics, mysticism, and gnosis, and as it also dovetails somewhat with a great 1980s science fiction film
Since its inception in 2007, members of Exploring the Extraordinary have organised two very successful academic conferences that have brought together researchers from a variety of different disciplines and backgrounds. The purpose of these events has been to encourage a wider dissemination of knowledge and research, and an interdisciplinary discussion of extraordinary phenomena and experience. By ‘extraordinary’ we refer to phenomena and experiences that are considered to be beyond the mundane, referring to those that have been called supernatural, paranormal, mystical, transcendent, exceptional, spiritual, magical and/or religious, as well as the relevance of such for human culture.
The 3rd Exploring the Extraordinary conference will take place in York in the U.K. on the 23rd-25th September. Exploring the Extraordinary is an interdisciplinary network for those actively engaged/interested in research into the ‘extraordinary’ – for example, topics often regarded as paranormal, supernatural, religious, transcendent, ecstatic, exceptional, mystical, anomalous, magical, spiritual.
The conference will include:
Keynote lectures
Professor Charles Emmons – ‘In praise of experience as data’
Dr Serena Roney-Dougal – ‘Tibetan psychic traditions’
Panels
Boundaries, personal experience and the mystical
Vampires in culture
Space, place and supernatural resonance
The paranormal on both sides of the Atlantic
Parapsychological approaches to paranormal belief and experience
Hospitals, dying and extraordinary experiences
Documentaries
Trance mediumship: A Portrait
Personal Electronics
Ghost Project
Also – sessions on art, photography and spirit; research reports; and two art exhibitions (‘Nature, twilight and the night’ and *’Dimensions of
spirit’)
The conference costs £70 (£55 for concessions) or £30 (£20 concessions) per day. For further information about Exploring the Extraordinary, and to see the conference schedule, please visit http://etenetwork.weebly.com. Registration forms, and further information, is available from ete.network@gmail.com.
Dr Hannah Gilbert,
Anomalous Experiences Research Unit,
Department of Sociology,
University of York,
Heslington, York,
YO10 5DD
United Kingdom
One of my readers posted a comment on a previous post of mine on Ray Bradbury which made me aware of the book Age of Wonders: Exploring the World of Science Fiction (Tor Books, 1996), by David Hartwell. I was able to pick up the 1984 version published by Walker and Company through Amazon (which I was surprised to find was autographed by the author), and I am pleased to recommend this book as one which provides some significant insights into science fiction. For those unfamiliar with Hartwell,
David G. Hartwell is the senior editor at Tor/Forge Books and the publisher of The New York Review of Science Fiction. A recipient of 2006 Hugo Award, and the World Fantasy and Eaton awards, he is the author of Age of Wonders, the editor of The World Treasury of Science Fiction, and the coeditor of two anthologies of the best Canadian science fiction, Northern Stars and Northern Suns.
Age of Wonders is written by a science fiction insider to help introduce and explain the genre to outsiders. it is written in a way that is as informative as it is entertaining. For me, two insights of Hartwell were especially noteworthy. The first relates to the cultural significance of science fiction fandom and conventions. While acknowledging a “surface frivolity,” Hartwell suggests that there is something far more significant at work. In his view:
There is no parallel more apt than the underground movements of the last two hundred years in Western civilization: the Romantics, the Modernists, the Beats. (Note to literary historians: This would make an interesting study.)
To outsiders, and to the media in most treatments of science fiction and other genre fans as little more than obsessive geeks or nerds, Hartwell recognizes that there is something of social and cultural significance in the not-so-underground movement that is science fiction fandom. I applaud his insight, and echo his call for historians and scholars in other disciplines to undertake a comparative analysis of science fiction in literature and other forms of expression as a legitimate social movement.
The second significant insight comes in Chapter 3, “Worshiping at the Church of Wonder.” Breaking with past characterizations that science fiction and religion are incompatible, Hartwell says that,
A sense of wonder, awe at the vastness of space and time, is at the root of the excitement of science fiction…
To say that science fiction is in essence a religious literature is an overstatement, but one that contains truth. SF is a uniquely modern incarnation of an ancient tradition: the tale of wonder. Tales of miracles, tales of great powers and consequences beyond the experience of people in your neighborhood, tales of the gods who inhabit other worlds and sometimes descend to visit ours, tales of humans traveling to the abode of the gods, tales of the uncanny: all exist now as science fiction.
Science fiction’s appeal lies in its combination of the rational, the believable, with the miraculous. It is an appeal to the sense of wonder.
Here again I think Hartwell is on to something, particularly in the decades since he first wrote these thoughts as science fiction has continued to find increasing connections to wonder, myth, and even religion. For those who doubt this, in science fiction cinema consider two examples from Steven Spielberg. His Close Encounters of Third Kind presents the possibility of alien life and visitation of the Earth framed in religious ways, from the choir-like music at key points of the film, to the descent of the alien mothership that is reminiscent of the towering spires of ancient church cathedrals. As another example, in Minority Report the film raises questions of foreknowledge, free will, and priesthood, normally the stuff of religion in the past, but now nestled comfortably in science fiction discourse.
Given Hartwell’s insights into science fiction it would be interesting to see him update this volume to account for developments since the time of publication (perhaps the 1996 edition touches on some of this) to include the increasing popularity of fan conventions that some have seen paralleling religious pilgrimage, the incorporation of religious elements within science fiction by writers with religious and esoteric commitments, and the rise of hyper-real and fiction-based religions that draw upon science fiction and related genres, at times as sacred text.
TheoFantastique Podcast 2.2 discussing Black Death is now available in iTunes. Previous podcasts can be found elsewhere at present, including 2.1 on The Rite, and 1.1 on Horror Zone: The Cultural Experience of Contemporary Horror Cinema.
There is an interesting intersection between religion and science fiction at times, and a notable example of this comes with the 1970s television series Battlestar Galactica and Mormonism. The show was presented in a new incarnation as a series on SyFy from 2004-2009 which was very well received by fans, and which was very different than the 1970s version. While reading through Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy (Open Court, 2008), among a number of interesting chapters and topics one in particular stood out, a piece by Ivan Wolfe titled “Why Your Mormon Neighbor Knows More about This Show Than You Do.” On Battlestar Galactica Wiki we find additional information about Mr. Wolfe:
He has also published and presented the following academic papers on Battlestar Galactica: “The Lost Tribes of Mormon Science Fiction Literature: Battlestar Galactica in Books and Comics.” (in the AML Annual 2002. Provo, Utah: Association for Mormon Letters, 2002) and “Epistemology and Ontology in Batttlestar Galactica and Mormon Theology.” (presented at the 2007 Southwest/Texas Popular Culture/American Culture Association 28th Annual Conference, The Hyatt Regency Conference Hotel, Albuquerque, NM; February 14-17, 2007).
Wolfe is well versed in the relationship between Battlestar Galactica and Mormonism, and we discuss this topic, and the general issue of science fiction and Mormonism, in the following interview.
TheoFantastique: Ivan, thank you for coming to discuss this topic. I’d like to begin with your personal story. How did you come to develop an interest and work in science fiction, and Battlestar Galactica (BSG) in particular?
Ivan Wolfe: Well, I’m a practicing Mormon. I was raised Mormon, and when I was a kid watching BSG in syndication, I noticed that a lot of the terminology (Council of the Twelve, marriage for all the eternities, among other aspects) on the show sounded a lot like what I was hearing in church on Sunday. Of course, as a kid it took me three times through the Chronicles of Narnia to understand that Aslan = Christ, so I didn’t get the resonances right away with BSG. However, once I did realize what was going on, it seemed interesting, but not necessarily something worth studying or writing about.
However, when I went to college at BYU (Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah – the LDS Church owned institution of higher education), I got involved with the science fiction community there. I decided to write an essay on BSG and Mormon thought for a class, but in doing the research, I found what had been written wasn’t very good. A few disparaging comments from Orson Scott Card, and only one major academic article that was full of errors (some minor issues like Baltar misspelled as Boltar, but also several major factual errors about the series itself).
This was before the new series was even announced. I believe at the time, Richard Hatch hadn’t even filmed his “Second Coming” trailer. There were a few comics that were out, and I made an effort to collect all of them, as well as the book series co-authored by Hatch. I presented an essay at the AML (Association for Mormon Letters) about the topic, and figured that was about it. A few years later, the new series came out and was a big hit. I was skeptical at first, but the first two seasons were good enough that I stuck with the whole series, despite my disappointment with the final season.
Now, based on my conference presentations and published essays, I’m probably the greatest living expert on Mormonism and Battlestar Galactica.
TheoFantastique: Perhaps we can move from the general to the specific as we discuss this topic. I remember being surprised a few years ago when I discovered at Adherents.com that a disproportionally large number of Latter-day Saints are science fiction writers, compared to other religious populations. Why is this? It’s interesting to me to see the affinities between some religious traditions and certain genres of literature and film. For example, pagans seem to have a connection to fantasy and horror, and it seems as if there is a strong connection between Mormonism and science fiction. Would you have any feel for why there is this strong connection? What is it about the Mormon faith that helps it come together so nicely with science fiction?
Ivan Wolfe: There are several reasons. Two that come to mind immediately are the novel Added Upon and Marion K. Smith. Added Upon was the first “Mormon Novel” in that it was the first work of fiction written by a Mormon for other Mormons to deal directly with Mormon issues. It’s an odd little book, full of theological speculation, down to earth events, and spiritual warfare. But one section of it is clearly utopian and even discusses advanced technology. It’s partly science fiction, and I think the looking forward to a utopian future on the Earth with Christ in charge gives Mormons a world view amenable to future speculation.
Marion K. “Doc” Smith was a professor of English at BYU (he has since passed on), and he nearly single handedly helped nurture and protect the science fiction community at the largest church owned university. He taught the science fiction writing and literature classes, and was the faculty advisor for everything sf related on campus, from the club Quark to the semi-professional magazine The Leading Edge to the annual academic symposium “Life, The Universe, and Everything.” A lot of nationally published LDS sf authors came out of his classes.
TheoFantastique: Who are some of the more prominent LDS science fiction writers that readers may not be aware of?
Ivan Wolfe: Tracy Hickman, co-author of the Dragonlance series and author of a few other science fiction and fantasy novels. M. Shayne Bell, Lee Allred, Eric James Stone – all are great authors. Mike Allred is a comic book creator (most famous for Madman) who is also adapting The Book of Mormon (the actual book, not the musical) in graphic novel format. Brandon Sanderson is more fantasy than science fiction, but outside of Orson Scott Card, he’s the most prominent LDS author on the market right now.
TheoFantastique: Moving to your contribution to the book Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy, many know of the Mormon influence in the series of the 1970s, but not whether or how it might find itself in the more recent television series. What types of elements or influences from Mormon cosmology do you see in the series in its various incarnations?
Ivan Wolfe: The original series is clearly built upon several LDS principles. The ideas of eternal progression (the ultimate destiny of humanity is to become gods themselves), marriage for eternity, the existence of Satan (Count Iblis in the original series), and Kobol/Kolob as an originating place all come from Mormon beliefs. Even the Egyptian motifs of the costumes in the original series likely come from the LDS belief that Abraham taught the Egyptians astronomy and that some Egyptian mummies acquired by founder Joseph Smith were accompanied by sacred writings (see “The Book of Abraham” in the LDS scripture The Pearl of Great Price).
The more recent series keeps a few of the terms, but has a completely different cosmology. Instead of eternal progression (as God is, man may become), it’s built on the idea of doing the same thing over and over again (all this has happened before and will happen again). There are echoes, but no real LDS substance. The various comic books and novels are similar. Richard Hatch’s co-authored novels go into a very different direction, replacing a lot of the Mormon ideas with totally new ones, while still keeping some of the same terms.
One of my biggest disappointments is that there was no Iblis figure in the new BSG, unless one decides that GOG (the “God of Galactica” – though it doesn’t like being called “God” – referenced in the series finale’s final moments) is the Iblis figure. That interpretation might actually improve the ending, though it would make it a lot more depressing.
TheoFantastique: Do you see science fiction as a continuing place for Mormon writers, television producers, and perhaps film producers, to continue to incorporate and express aspects of their beliefs?
Ivan Wolfe: Well, yes – but, that applies to pretty much anyone. Catholic, Democrat, Agnostic, Socialist-Anarchist – whatever the belief system, people will use science fiction (and other genres) to express their beliefs. I’ve read lots of hard right wing military science fiction and many far left utopian novels – and lots in between. My favorite science fiction novel is A Canticle for Leibowitz (though I did not care for the sequel) and my favorite author is Gene Wolfe (no relation). Gene Wolfe is Catholic, and Canticle is a very Catholic novel.
I expect Mormons will continue to create science fiction for as long as there are Mormons.
TheoFantastique: Ivan, thank you again for discussing this topic here.
Ivan Wolfe: Thank you! For those interested, I will also have an essay in the upcoming Sherlock Holmes and Philosophy from Open Court. It isn’t about anything specifically Mormon or religious, but it deals with the terms “canon” and “apocrypha”, and so I discuss religion briefly in the essay.
Screened recently featured an interesting and insightful article by Andrew Gray titled “Mr. Spock, Space Wizard.” The piece begins with an often ignored or overlooked function of technology in science fiction that is akin to magic. Gray then takes this a step further:
