Real science fiction is about ape men being surprised by an unexpected rectangular prism, and problems with IBM made AIs.
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It was not intended as one, but it serves very well as one for those looking for one.
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Nothing to do with Communism at all. It’s just part of constantly ridiculing and mocking an authoritarian dictator in a way that we know he doesn’t like. Which is the very least he deserves, as it appears from the article that he’s pushing for a clampdown on an art form that had until now been an outlet for creativity and social commentary in China.
More widely, I’d say that this tightening of the grip on cultural expression is a sign that he’s worried. A number of destabilising events have come together in China this year* . and the powers that be appear to be clamping down harder on any perceived threat or outlet for protest in response.
All of which makes it even more important to refuse to be cowed by such petty authoritarianism on a grand scale, and also to support any Chinese writers who do manage to slip subtly anti-authoritarian messages past the censors. The Chinese state is saying that it wants to use cultural exports as a form of soft power, so they’re caught between clamping down too hard and making this tool useless to them, or opening up and allowing criticism to sneak out.
* Apart from being hit first by COVID-19, having to implement strict lockdowns and the consequent impact on society and the economy, China is also facing catastrophic flooding, which is disrupting industry and food supplies, an ongoing shortage of meat because of last year’s mass pig cull caused by an outbreak of swine fever, which in turn has led to soaring food prices and the panicky crackdown on food videos, the high-profile pro-democracy uprising in Hong Kong, as well as the ongoing trade war that despite being over-hyped, is hurting both the US and China,
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high profile directors generally had an easier time, though communism finds a way to fuck over anyone and everyone. In the case of Stalker, it was a movie that had to be shot twice because soviet laboratories didn’t know how to develop Kodak film and destroyed all his original footage.
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The whole film is about how AI is the successor species- vastly more suited to live and work in space than humans-- still hobbled by a dependence on oxygen, gravity, and food. It was HAL’s destiny to encounter the monolith, and David Bowman stole that opportunity from him.
I never managed to make Roadside Picnic click for me, but I loved “Monday Begins on Saturday”.
From what I’ve heard it’s uncharacteristically comic for the Strugatskys.
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I loved “Monday Begins on Saturday” too. I worked as a scientist in research institute in Central Europe, and can confirm that it is a really good parody 
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It IS the Orville!!
Seth Mcfarlane might be crass in his comedy at times, but the Orville is a spiritual successor and homage to TOS and TNG. I was super impressed with both seasons.
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It helps that the Orville has a couple of producers from Trek series: Brandon Braga and David Goodman. They even recycled an old Voyager script.
The show picked up a bit after the 2nd Season. So much so that the Picard series stole the Orville’s season closer plot.
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There is a terrific piece of Soviet children’s Sci-Fi with English subtitles on YouTube and I recommend it to anyone with an interest in Sci-Fi, Soviet culture or childrens’ TV
Guest From the Future was written by Kir Bulychev and shot as a five part TV series in and around Moscow in the summer of 1984. It apparently had a fairly major cultural impact and has a special place in the hearts of Russians of a certain age.
It was introduced to me by a friend who grew up in Soviet St. Petersburg, who told me that children’s TV was taken very seriously by the Soviet authorities and in the absence of a profit motive, they sort of threw everything at it! This is evidenced by the theme music to Guest From the Future, which if you take the time to listen to it is the most beautiful thing you will hear today.
I’ve watched the series a couple of times and I’ve never been able to see it as Soviet propaganda, it’s just really good Sci-Fi.
The theme music is here…
Part 1/5 is here…
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Life in China is science fiction by itself.
This is what Bayer (German brand) is using right now inside the subway in Chongqing as advertising.
“Household pest control leaders. Don’t be scared, bye bye pests”
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Well, you told me. Clearly all the memes and facile statements against Socialism/Communism win.
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But, I neither shared a meme or made any statement against Socialism/Communism.
Yeah, you were chosen as the representative critic. Too bad.
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