#14 – Robert Heinlein Part I: The Juveniles – A Reader’s History of Science Fiction
Robert Heinlein was one of the first major authors to write science fiction specifically for children. In this episode, we explore how he did it and what sets him apart from his contemporaries in this area, along with the other classic children’s sci-fi books up through the golden age. Book recommendation: Have Spacesuit–Will Travel Other books mentioned: The Tom Swift Series The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry The Chrysalids by John Wyndham Grumbles from the Grave, Chapter 3 John J. Miller on Starship Troopers Adam Gopnik on The Little Prince Farah Mendlesohn on children’s sci-fi Alec Nevala-Lee on Heinlein’s writing
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
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.
Interesting. I hadn’t heard of that one. I’ll have to check it out.