Prehistory & early history
of Science Fiction
SOAR – Global SF
Spring 2010
D. W. Koon
Prehistory of SF
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Homer (ca. 850 BCE?)
Lucian of Samosata (b. 125AD)
Kepler (1634)
Cyrano de Bergerac (1657)
Raspé: Munchausen (1785)
Munchausen by Doré: Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Doremunchausen-illustration.jpg
Homer (850 BCE?)
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Iliad: Hephaestus (Vulcan) creates
mechanical help-mates.
• e.g. Talos
 Guardian of Crete
 Made of Copper
From “A history of Science Fiction: prehistory”, Dr. Agatha Taormina, NVCC-Loudoun,
http://www.nvcc.edu/home/ataormina/scifi/history/prehistory.htm.
Image: Computational Vision and Robotics Laboratory, Heraklion, Crete, Greece,
http://www.ics.forth.gr/cvrl/images/image003.jpg.
Lucian of Samosata (b. 125 A.D.)
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Icaromenippos (Journey through the air) :
using strap-on wings to reach Moon.
• Interplanetary voyage
• Prosthetic limbs
• Cyborgs
From “A history of Science Fiction: prehistory”, Dr. Agatha Taormina, NVCCLoudoun, http://www.nvcc.edu/home/ataormina/scifi/history/prehistory.htm.
Lucian Picture: Wikipedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Lucian_Samosata.warj.png
Icarus Picture: Aviation University
http://eaa.aviationuniversity.com/multimedia/img/icarus.gif
Some French proto-SF and
modern SF
1657 deBergerac: Comical History...Moon.
1752 Voltaire: Micromégas
visitors from other planets
...and many more.
1863 Jules Verne: Five weeks in a balloon.
Dropoff in French SF during US Golden Age of SF.
Recovery since late 1950s, but in the image of
Anglo SF?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_science_fiction &
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Verne
French literature: Jules Verne
(1828-1905)
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Over 50 works, from
1863-1905:
• A Journey to the Centre of
the Earth (1864)
• From the Earth to the Moon
(1865)
• Twenty Thousand Leagues
Under the Sea (1869–1870)
• Around the World in Eighty
Days (1873)
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_verne
Early SF film
(& horror, adventure, fantasy, etc.)
SOAR – Global SF
Spring 2010
D. W. Koon
Le voyage dans la lune (1902)
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Georges Méliès, France (Bacon
number = 4). Directed 561
films, 1896-1914.
A bullet-like rocket is fired
from a cannon, lands on Moon.
Adventures with the natives
ensue. Revolutionary special
effects.
Other films include The
Impossible Voyage (1904).
(Journey through Alps to the
Sun)
http://www.filmsite.org/posterpages/p_voya.html
Himmelskibet (“Airship” 1917)
• Holger-Madsen, Denmark.
• Appeared in English under a
variety of names.
• Earthlings visit Mars, convert
to vegetarianism, pacifism
from natives, spread the
message back home.
http://membres.lycos.fr/starmars/himmel.html
http://www.commersen.se/sol/bok_film/film.html
Der Golem (1914, 1920)
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Paul Wegener, Germany (also
plays the Golem).
60 min.
Taken from Jewish folk legend,
16th Century automaton created
to protect the Jews of Prague.
Contains the precursor to machine
programming. (Emet→Meit =
truth→death)
One of first examples of German
Expressionism in film (See
Metropolis)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golem
http://www.ministore.at/aa.stummfilm.htm
Classics
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1924 Aelita. Yakov
Protazanov, USSR.
1926 Metropolis. Fritz Lang,
Germany.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/da/Metropolisne
w.jpg
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1929 Woman in the Moon.
Lang.
• Origin of the 10-9-8-7…
Flash Gordon v Buck Rogers
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Popular US serials, typically 12-15
episodes each.
•
•
•
•
1936
1938
1939
1940
Flash Gordon: Space Soldiers
Flash Gordon’s Trip to Mars
Buck Rogers Conquers the Universe
Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe
Flash: http://www.leconcombre.com/biblio/filmographie/serials-16.html
Buck: http://www.serialexperience.com/image_gallery/Buck_Rogers.jpg
Conclusions?
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Longer and longer films, thanks to
advances in the technology.
Better and better special effects,
production values.
Sensational genres = big box office:
horror, adventure, science fiction
(before it had a name), noir.
The pulp era of Science
Fiction (“Scientifiction”)
SOAR – Global SF
Spring 2010
D. W. Koon
Pulp-era SF
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Cheap, lowbrow magazines for mass
consumption. “Pulp” refers to the quality
of paper used, as opposed to the “slicks”.
“Pulps” published SF, detective (e.g. noir),
romance, horror, Western, true crime
Is this the “Golden Age” of Science
Fiction?
What is the “Golden Age” of Science
Fiction?
The Frank Reade series:
Dime store novels and penny dreadfuls
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Steam Man: the world’s first robot:
Steam Man of the Prairies: 1865; Steam Man of the Plains:
1876. http://www.bigredhair.com/steamman/
Frank Reade, continued
“Steam rules!”
Frank Reade’s Victorian Airships:
http://bigredhair.com/airships/
“Highbrow” SF novels of the era
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Jules Verne (18281905).
• SF from 1863 to 1904.
• Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.or
g/wiki/Jules_Verne
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Herbert George Wells
(1866-1946).
• SF from 1888-1943.
• Time Magazine
• http://www.time.com
/time/covers/0,16641
,1101260920,00.html
?internalid=AC
Edgar Rice Burroughs
(1875-1950)
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Tarzan series (1912-1947)
Barsoom or John Carter of Mars
series (1912-1948)
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Believed that "...if people were paid for
writing rot such as I read in some of those
magazines that I could write stories just as
rotten. As a matter of fact, although I had
never written a story, I knew absolutely
that I could write stories just as
entertaining and probably a whole lot more
so than any I chanced to read in those
magazines."
Erbzine:
http://www.erbzine.com/
Edgar Rice Burroughs’
A Princess of Mars (1912)
erbzine.com, amazon.com
Hugo Gernsback (1884-1967)
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1904 Immigrates from Luxembourg
1905 Founds Electric Importing
Company
1911 Writes Ralph 124C 41+
1926 Founds Amazing Stories
1929 Starts Wonder Tales
Great Depression: Radio Craft,
Short Wave Craft, Sexology
80 patents at time of death
1953 First Hugo Awards awarded
for science fiction.
Wikipedia.org
Ralph 124C 41+: Hugo Gernsback
(1911)
Predictions:
•Radar
•2-way TV
•Solar energy collection
•Fluorescent lighting
•Tape recording
•Synthetic fabrics
Frank R. Paul gallery:
http://www.frankwu.com/Paul1.5A.html
Pulp SF classics: Amazing Stories
(Gernsback,1926)
http://www.oldsfbooks.com
John W. Campbell, Jr. (1910-1971)
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SF Author, Editor, Mentor
Editor, 1938-1971, of
Astounding Science Fiction
(Analog since 1960).
“Stable of writers” includes
Heinlein, Asimov, Sturgeon,
van Vogt, L. Ron Hubbard
Memorial prizes for Best SF
Novel, Best New Writer in his
honor
http://www.fantascienza.com/
delos/delos55/img/robot/
asimov/john-w-campbell.jpg
Pulp SF covers:
Astounding Science Fiction
http://linesonpaper.tripod.com/zast531.jpg,
http://linesonpaper.tripod.com/zast1053.jpg
More pulp SF:
Buxom babes and bug-eyed monsters
http://www.oldsfbooks.com/
What is the “Golden Age” of
Science Fiction?
“The Golden Age of Science Fiction is
thirteen.”
– Terry Carr? Damon Knight?
Isaac Asimov? Harlan Ellison?
James Blish? Peter Graham?
Works cited
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The Ultimate Science Fiction Guide
site,
http://www.magicdragon.com/Ultimate
SF/SF-Index.html.
The Internet Movie Database,
www.imdb.com.
Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org.
Works Cited
• “A history of Science Fiction: prehistory”, Dr. Agatha
Taormina, NVCC-Loudoun,
http://www.nvcc.edu/home/ataormina/scifi/history/prehistory
.htm.
• Images:
 Munchausen by Doré: Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Dore-munchausenillustration.jpg
 Talos: Computational Vision and Robotics Laboratory,
Heraklion, Crete, Greece,
http://www.ics.forth.gr/cvrl/images/image003.jpg.
 Lucian: Wikipedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Lucian_Samosata.warj
.png
 Icarus: Icarus Picture: Aviation University
http://eaa.aviationuniversity.com/multimedia/img/icarus.g
if