On the Origins of Modern Biology the Fantastic: Part 10-Ray Bradbury and Mechanisms of Regulatio
tor_dot_com_feed posted: On the Origins of Modern Biology and the Fantastic: Part 10-Ray Bradbury and Mechanisms of Regulation
Bradbury followed up The Martian Chronicles with his last book of largely science fiction stories, The Illustrated Man (1951), full of metaphorical stories about civil rights, atomic war, and the misuse of technology. Meanwhile, Bradbury was welcomed into the literati, further inspiring him to publish more and more literary stories. In 1953, his first collection mixing SF and literary fiction, Golden Apples of the Sun (1953), was released. But it was his reputation within SF that finally earned him the opportunity to break into Hollywood with his first original story treatment for a movie, It Came From Outer Space, which turned the space invader trope on its ear.
It was this foray in film that exposed Bradbury to McCarthy’s Hollywood Communist witch hunts and in response, Bradbury produced perhaps his most enduring book, Fahrenheit 451 (1953). Bradbury also drew on his memories of the Nazi book burnings he’d seen in newsreels as a kid and from a bizarre encounter with the LAPD he’d had while walking. The novel was written in two sessions in the basement of the UCLA Library, where he pumped dimes into a rental typewriter, and Bradbury released it with Ballantine Books, a publisher who recognized science fiction’s literary potential. Bradbury was clearly on to something and Fahrenheit 451 was an instant success, garnering high praise from critics nationwide for its unflinching look at censorship and the dangers of mass-media-induced complacency.
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