#8 – The Dawn of Cinema

S2E25: Lisa Yaszek Interview A Reader's History of Science Fiction

In the series finale, I interview Dr. Lisa Yaszek, a sci-fi historian from Georgia Tech, about where we can expect science fiction to go in the future. Dr. Yaszek's recommendations: Wormwood Trilogy by Tade Thompson The Matrix Sunspot Jungle, ed. Bill Campbell Other works discussed: Binti Trilogy by Nnedi Okorafor "The Sixth World" by Nanobah Becker The Stars are Legion by Kameron Hurley The Universe of Xuya series by Aliette de Bodard Unstoppable series by Charlie Jane Anders
  1. S2E25: Lisa Yaszek Interview
  2. S2E24: Catch-Up Episode #9: Classics Lightning Round
  3. S2E23: Space Opera
  4. S2E22: Catch-Up Episode #8: Space Sci-Fi
  5. S2E21: Donna Barba Higuera Interview

At the same time science fiction came into its own as a genre, cinema was doing the same. Here, we see an overview of the most notable sci-fi films of the silent and pre-Code eras, and how they influenced the culture.

Movie recommendation: Metropolis.

Other films mentioned:
Le Voyage Dans La Lune (YouTube link with 2011 restoration soundtrack.)
Frankenstein
King Kong

Check out this episode!

About Alex R. Howe

I'm a full-time astrophysicist and a part-time science fiction writer.
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2 Responses to #8 – The Dawn of Cinema

  1. Tom Bridgman says:

    Another movie from this era that influenced science fiction cinema was “Our Heavenly Bodies” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Heavenly_Bodies) which incorporated a lot of practical effects that sci-fi uses. The characters touring the solar system meet the inhabitants of the various planets. It was basically Carl Sagan’s “Cosmos” for 1925. The film was lost for many years but recently reconstructed and presented at the AFI Silver Spring theater a few years ago.

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