4 ms·

So I don't quite get it. Is the station a metaphor for them having died and are in some kind of purgatory?

by King-Aaron 6y ago

FloppyDisk2021 6y ago
...
- basementcat 6y ago
  I thought the whole point of sci-fi was to comment on society, politics, etc.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - JetAlone 6y ago
    Teleologically speaking, that's one of its uses... But I think the whole point of sci-fi is more about story-telling through "what-ifs" of varying feasibility driven by vision and imagination. It's easy for that to become ideological commentary, even propaganda because our visions are affected by our worldview. But personally, I still wouldn't say that commentary defines any genre of writing besides commentary.
  - goatlover 6y ago
    I personally like sci-fi for the sci-fi, as long as the story and characters are interesting and well written. It can include commentary on society and politics as a lot of good stories do, but it's not the main reason for reading or watching science fiction for me. It is supposed to be set in a fictional world, after all. One of imagination and exploring possibilities. And if it's just used as a medium for commenting on contemporary issues, I'm not interested. There's other mediums for that like the news or documentaries.
    - spacemanmatt 6y ago
      > It is supposed I think that begins an overly-subjective line of thinking that just doesn't fit everyone. It certainly doesn't fit me.
- moron4hire 6y ago
  So... Written never ago
- zorpner 6y ago
  This is honestly the most hilarious possible misread of J.G. Ballard, perhaps one of the most overtly politically ideological sci-fi authors who ever wrote. Read High-Rise (or watch the surprisingly good movie!). Read Concentration City.
  - FloppyDisk2021 6y ago
    ...
- jowday 6y ago
  You're not familiar with JG Ballard are you?
- optimalsolver 6y ago
  Might want to actually Google the author.
dylan604 6y ago
Was it written by JJ Abrams?
madaxe_again 6y ago
Being Ballard, it’s an allegorical tale, yes, but not for anything so bland as mortality. The last line, about worshipping the station, is the reveal. Ballard saw within man a tendency to underestimate the depth of the problems he tackled, and a tendency to end up absolutely enmired within false premises, within artifice - these themes are endemic to many of his dystopias. My best guess is that this is a parable on exactly those themes.
- kaetemi 6y ago
  I guess it's about the bias towards one's own world view. (And eventually the worship of beliefs, which are mere constructs of our limited knowledge.) The space travelers travel from transit station to transit station. What do they assume when they stumble upon an uninhabited Earth? It's a transit station. It's not only the bias of the space traveler, but also that of the reader who assumes that the space traveler is familiar with the concept of people living on planets, and therefore since the traveler did not conclude that this was an uninhabited planet, the reader already assumes it cannot be Earth.
- twic 6y ago
  I think Ballard's thing is not about people's tendency to underestimate the weirdness of the universe, but about the universe being far weirder than we think. Which is very close to being a distinction without a difference, i know. But i think it's rare that Ballard frames this as a flaw in people; rather, it's a terrifying fact about the universe.

So I don't quite get it. Is the station a metaphor for them having died and are in some kind of purgatory?

FloppyDisk2021 6y ago

...

basementcat 6y ago
I thought the whole point of sci-fi was to comment on society, politics, etc.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- JetAlone 6y ago
  Teleologically speaking, that's one of its uses... But I think the whole point of sci-fi is more about story-telling through "what-ifs" of varying feasibility driven by vision and imagination. It's easy for that to become ideological commentary, even propaganda because our visions are affected by our worldview. But personally, I still wouldn't say that commentary defines any genre of writing besides commentary.
- goatlover 6y ago
  I personally like sci-fi for the sci-fi, as long as the story and characters are interesting and well written. It can include commentary on society and politics as a lot of good stories do, but it's not the main reason for reading or watching science fiction for me. It is supposed to be set in a fictional world, after all. One of imagination and exploring possibilities. And if it's just used as a medium for commenting on contemporary issues, I'm not interested. There's other mediums for that like the news or documentaries.
  - spacemanmatt 6y ago
    > It is supposed I think that begins an overly-subjective line of thinking that just doesn't fit everyone. It certainly doesn't fit me.
moron4hire 6y ago
So... Written never ago
zorpner 6y ago
This is honestly the most hilarious possible misread of J.G. Ballard, perhaps one of the most overtly politically ideological sci-fi authors who ever wrote. Read High-Rise (or watch the surprisingly good movie!). Read Concentration City.
- FloppyDisk2021 6y ago
  ...
jowday 6y ago
You're not familiar with JG Ballard are you?
optimalsolver 6y ago
Might want to actually Google the author.

dylan604 6y ago

Was it written by JJ Abrams?

madaxe_again 6y ago

Being Ballard, it’s an allegorical tale, yes, but not for anything so bland as mortality. The last line, about worshipping the station, is the reveal. Ballard saw within man a tendency to underestimate the depth of the problems he tackled, and a tendency to end up absolutely enmired within false premises, within artifice - these themes are endemic to many of his dystopias. My best guess is that this is a parable on exactly those themes.

kaetemi 6y ago
I guess it's about the bias towards one's own world view. (And eventually the worship of beliefs, which are mere constructs of our limited knowledge.) The space travelers travel from transit station to transit station. What do they assume when they stumble upon an uninhabited Earth? It's a transit station. It's not only the bias of the space traveler, but also that of the reader who assumes that the space traveler is familiar with the concept of people living on planets, and therefore since the traveler did not conclude that this was an uninhabited planet, the reader already assumes it cannot be Earth.
twic 6y ago
I think Ballard's thing is not about people's tendency to underestimate the weirdness of the universe, but about the universe being far weirder than we think. Which is very close to being a distinction without a difference, i know. But i think it's rare that Ballard frames this as a flaw in people; rather, it's a terrifying fact about the universe.