Off-topic, yet not
I was just thinking the other day, and while I meant to write this a couple of days ago, I guess the passing of Arthur C. Clarke has made it more poignant.
Has anyone ever noticed the great dichotomy between British sci-fi and American sci-fi? For the most part, British sci-fi has been involved with time. From H.G. Wells to Doctor Who and Sapphire and Steel, they're always focused on the temporal aspects of it. Contrast that to the US, where it's all about exploration, from Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon to Star Trek and Stargate. Yes, Clarke himself was an exception in the British field, and there's exceptions in the American one as well (note I'm not touching on any of the other nations in the Anglosphere; while they do have worthy aspects and some outstanding fiction, it was only the UK and US points that came to mind), but for the most part, it's a case about the Brits thinking "when" and us thinking "where".
I discussed this with a friend of mine, pointing out that I think it might have a bit to do with the outlook of the national character. Americans are bound by the concept of Manifest Destiny, and while there's really no place to expand on the planet anymore, space is a fertile realm, and the concept of "Go West" easily translates to the area beyond the Karman line. On the other hand, the British tend to think about Pax Brittania and about an Albion Empire long since eclipsed and into the past. She mentioned something about American Idol and I ended up tuning her out (okay, she's not exactly Book Club material).
So, what do you all think?
Has anyone ever noticed the great dichotomy between British sci-fi and American sci-fi? For the most part, British sci-fi has been involved with time. From H.G. Wells to Doctor Who and Sapphire and Steel, they're always focused on the temporal aspects of it. Contrast that to the US, where it's all about exploration, from Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon to Star Trek and Stargate. Yes, Clarke himself was an exception in the British field, and there's exceptions in the American one as well (note I'm not touching on any of the other nations in the Anglosphere; while they do have worthy aspects and some outstanding fiction, it was only the UK and US points that came to mind), but for the most part, it's a case about the Brits thinking "when" and us thinking "where".
I discussed this with a friend of mine, pointing out that I think it might have a bit to do with the outlook of the national character. Americans are bound by the concept of Manifest Destiny, and while there's really no place to expand on the planet anymore, space is a fertile realm, and the concept of "Go West" easily translates to the area beyond the Karman line. On the other hand, the British tend to think about Pax Brittania and about an Albion Empire long since eclipsed and into the past. She mentioned something about American Idol and I ended up tuning her out (okay, she's not exactly Book Club material).
So, what do you all think?