Science Fiction

Watch the video essay on the Science Fiction channel https://youtu.be/CYDpD5skkvM Subscribe to the Science Fiction podcast feed for long form commentaries on these video essays https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/ Join the Science Fiction community on Facebook to continue the discussion https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197/ Become a member of the Science Fiction channel on youtube for full access to all content https://www.youtube.com/c/DamienWalter/membership Or join for any monthly donation and all the same benefits via the website https://damiengwalter.com PATREON COMING SOON LINK ????? Get all-you-can-eat audiobooks with a free month of Audible+ https://amzn.to/3Hb1R0P

Follow the the Science Fiction podcast and become a member https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/ Advanced Scifi & Fantasy Writing https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/ The Rhetoric of Story https://damiengwalter.com/the-rhetoric-of-story/ Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197

We’re in a civilisational war between the pre-modern, the modern, and the post-modern. Or to give them their “culture war” names – the Reactionary, the Neoliberal…and the Woke. We need a better future for our civilisation. A future some people are starting to call the Metamodern. In this episode of the Science Fiction podcast I think about what a Metamodern future might look like. It’s a not a cyberpunk dystopia or a solarpunk utopia. Instead I think our Metamodern future might look like…a theme park. Watch my original critique of Hanzi Freinacht - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJpR-TwJ-gc Read Oliver Amrowson's full question - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJpR-TwJ-gc&lc=Ugx436_Gbl2ip_plwbd4AaABAg Learn more at the Metamodern Spirituality community on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/metamodernspirituality Follow the the Science Fiction podcast and become a member https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/ Access the full podcast archive and all my courses as a member for ANY monthly donation... Advanced Scifi & Fantasy Writing https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/ The Rhetoric of Story https://damiengwalter.com/the-rhetoric-of-story/ Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197

This podcast explores the character Homelander as a parody of Superman and a satire of America. They discuss the strengths and shortcomings of 'The Boys' TV show. They delve into the concept of mythos in storytelling and its connection to human potential. They explore the role of emotion in storytelling and discuss mythopathic storytelling in 'The Boys' and 'Watchmen'.

There's a reason why Neil Gaiman is the most famous writer scifi, horror & fantasy ever made. That rockstar reputation didn't start with appearances on The Simpsons. By the age of 32, when most writers are just getting started, Gaiman had already written a masterpiece of fantasy. The 75 issues of The Sandman are a tour through the mythos of humanity, and a masters thesis on the uses, and abuses, of fantasy. But the origin of The Sandman in comic books kept it a cult classic for over 30 years. Gaiman became better known for novels like American Gods and stories for children. (The Sandman is NOT for children.) Now a new Netflix adaptation, created by Neil Gaiman himself, is a chance for The Sandman to meet the mainstream. Will it succeed where previous adaptations of Gaiman have failed? I feel quietly confident the answer is yes. Audio extracts from The Sandman audiobook produced by Dirk Maggs https://amzn.to/3ox9qox Follow the the Science Fiction podcast and become a member https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/ Advanced Scifi & Fantasy Writing https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/ The Rhetoric of Story https://damiengwalter.com/the-rhetoric-of-story/ Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197

Psychohistory is among the most important ideas born in science fiction. A science that allows us to predict the future of human civilisation. It's tempting to ask...could Psychohistory be real? Algorithms can control masses of humankind. Complexity science and agent based modelling are already predicting mass human behaviour. And as we face our civilisational "Seldon Crisis" can we learn a less from Isaac Asimov about the future of humankind? 00:00 We are in a Seldon crisis 01:48 Isaac Asimov's Foundation 03:51 Why do civilisations collapse? 06:17 What is the Foundation saga about? 12:12 Psychohistory 17:50 The Metacrisis 26:07 Psyche & Civilisation 39:28 Resolving the Metacrisis Follow the the Science Fiction podcast and become a member https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/ Advanced Scifi & Fantasy Writing https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/ The Rhetoric of Story https://damiengwalter.com/the-rhetoric-of-story/ Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197 The best book to understand Ken Wilber https://amzn.to/3NSwBnu Read the Foundation saga https://amzn.to/3yp65MN

Transhumanism makes grand claims about the future of humankind, from genetic engineering and artificial wombs to immortality and uploading humanity to the cloud. Lead by pseudo-scientific thinkers like Ray Kurzeil, Transhumanism has become a popular ideology among Silicon Valley tech leaders including Elon Musk and Peter Thiel. In recent years it has also become the focus of conspiracy theorists from Anti-Vaxxers to Qanon, who claim the ultimate goal of the "global elite" is to turn humans into post-humans. The truth is that Transhumanism is a fantasy born in the pages of science fiction. While authors like Bruce Sterling and William Gibson warned against the terrors of Transhumanism, today's Transhumanists see it as an inevitability, and have transformed the fantasy of Transhumanism into an anti-human religion. 00:00:00 The Torment Nexus 00:01:34 Welcome to the Science Fiction podcast 00:04:06 Beyond our ape brained meat-sacks - a profile of Elise Bohan 00:08:23 We are in a time between worlds & Transhuman conspiracy theories 00:13:14 Understanding Transhumanism as narrative, storytelling and modern mythos 00:19:15 ONE - Transhumanism is Utopian 00:24:06 TWO - Transhumanism assumes fundamental change 00:26:00 THREE - Transhumanism is a pseudo-science 00:29:34 FOUR - Transhumanism is a religious vision of transcendence 00:34:38 FIVE - Transhumanism is authoritarian 00:39:12 SIX - Transhumism wants to liberate us from our human bodies 00:44:38 SEVEN - Transhumanism is science fiction 00:48:04 EIGHT - Transhumanism believes technology is the force of progress 00:51:40 NINE - Transhumanism devalues the human 00:55:58 TEN - "We're building God you know." 01:06:53 ELEVEN - Transhumanism is a power structure 01:13:01 TWELVE - Transhumanism is dystopian 01:16:20 THIRTEEN - Transhumanism is anti-humanism Beyond Our Ape Brained Meat Sacks - https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/jun/04/beyond-our-ape-brained-meat-sacks-can-transhumanism-save-our-species Jonathan Rowson on Zak Stein and our time between worlds - https://twitter.com/Jonathan_Rowson/status/1532318004071084034 Follow the the Science Fiction podcast and become a member https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/ Advanced Scifi & Fantasy Writing https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/ The Rhetoric of Story https://damiengwalter.com/the-rhetoric-of-story/ Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197

When did Superman get so "Dark"? He's as American as apple pie, coca-cola and black-ops interventions in the politics of other sovereign nations. Superman is the symbol of all that is best about the United States of America. An indefatigable powerhouse, an Apollonian sun deity, child of the gods but raised by mortal man, and the archetype of post-WW2 American self image. But as America has re-learned its own history, so Superman has changed and mutated. From shining demigod hero. To dark underworld evil. 00:00 Superman gets a ride in a London cab 00:59 Have we had enough of Dark Superman? 03:50 Content Warning 05:30 Superman is a strange hero 07:55 Superman as Apollonian archetype 11:12 A brief history of Dark Superman 15:42 THE ARCHETYPAL BEING 26:39 Shadow & Ego of Carl Jung 31:54 A shadow-work exercise 39:33 Integrating the Shadow of the Superman Follow the the Science Fiction podcast and become a member https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/ Advanced Scifi & Fantasy Writing https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/ The Rhetoric of Story https://damiengwalter.com/the-rhetoric-of-story/ Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197

Why does science fiction not get the respect it deserves...from literary fiction? It’s the East coast vs West cost gangster rap rivalry but fiction writers (except without the drive-by shootings…that I know of?) An ancient feud between the Realists and the Fantasists. But beneath the surface of the LitFic vs SciFi argument is a more serious issue, about the power of storytelling, and the duty of storytellers. Are we just the people paid to cast shadows for your entertainment, or is it the storyteller’s job to lead you out of the cave? Follow the the Science Fiction podcast and become a member https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/ Advanced Scifi & Fantasy Writing https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/ The Rhetoric of Story https://damiengwalter.com/the-rhetoric-of-story/ Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197 Read my top science fiction to rewire your consciousness https://amzn.to/3gQqfGR

Batman. Luke Skywalker. Conan. Paul Atreides. And now The Northman. Just a few of the Unfathered men that dominate our storytelling. Why are we obsessed with the Unfathered man? Follow the the Science Fiction podcast and become a member https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/ Advanced Scifi & Fantasy Writing https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/ The Rhetoric of Story https://damiengwalter.com/the-rhetoric-of-story/ Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197 Read my top science fiction to rewire your consciousness https://amzn.to/3gQqfGR