Pulp (Science) Fiction

[masqthephlsphr]

Yeah. So. I might have been a little hasty in my prediction that all 30's pulp sci fi would be melodramatic. Too much (over)exposure to Captain Proton. That said, the sci-fi of the 1930's still seems to have an earnest straight-forwardness to it. That is, with the exception of minor details, it does not read as particularly revolutionary to the

Comments

[cactuswatcher]

I've read the first two, but honestly don't remember them.

The Sci-Fi of the 1930s into the 1960s was frequently full of men and occasionally women literally tramping together toward the future, which somehow is full of the same old prejudices in slightly different form. You are very correct in noticing the link between the older Sci-Fi and the original Star-Trek. It's interesting to see how the prejudices morph to the times (not really go away) in Star Trek NG.

[masqthephlsphr]

What makes Star Trek a step up is its inclusion of women. Of course, they could not get them into the upper eschelons of command like TNG could, but that wasn't for lack of trying.

Black Destroyer managed to have a Japanese crew member, a feat in 1939, to say the least, so it was a step up re: race over the other two stories on this list, which go beyond merely ignoring race and actually have future people regard Negroes as "primitives." Not unexpected, just a jagged edge that catches on your sock as you try to step over it.

But the feel of the original Trek is very much in line with the feel of some of these stories.

TNG feels dated now as well, mostly for its Very Earnest Liberalism. That was something I wasn't even aware of at the time because you don't notice things you tend to agree with, until you've been exposed to alternative points of view over and over again.