Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Stop Suppressing Politically Controversial Sci-Fi

I am beginning to get more than a little paranoid about the apparent suppression of politically risky sci-fi. Norman Spinrad's latest novel, Osama the Gun, can't get published in the States because it deals with a future terrorist attack in a nuanced manner. Spinrad's famous novel Iron Dream, which portrays Hitler as a science fiction writer, mysteriously has gone out of print, despite the fact that it is considered one of the major explorations of Hitler's ideology in contemporary sci-fi. Spinrad is a major writer, but I fear he's ticked off so many people by being honest that he's suffering a kind of unofficial censorship today.
Similarly, until quite recently, Peter Watkins's films were out of circulation. Watkins sci-fi is some of the most politically radical ever filmed, particularly Privilege, which mocked government control of the entertainment industry and youth culture. That this excellent film was unavailable for close to forty years is a travesty. We need more artists like Watkins and Spinrad, not less.
And while you're at it, will someone finally release Blake's 7 here in the States? Don't worry, we can handle the bleakness. What we can't handle is a science fiction genre that refuses to take risks.

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