Technology Unit Review
Ray Bradbury’s Science Fiction
What is Science Fiction?
Science fiction is a writing style which combines science and
fiction.
It is only limited by what we presently know about the basic
physical laws of nature.
It evolved as a response to fantasy.
How does an author create a science fiction story?
1. Writers take scientific possibilities and develop them step-bystep from known data to form a story.
2. They use extrapolation. They take a known scientific fact and
imagine what might happen if certain evens or situations evolved.
For exampleFact: Man can build space shuttles.
Imagine: Man traveling on a shuttle to the farthest
reaches of the galaxy and discovering new life.
How are Science Fiction and Fantasy Different?
In Science Fiction, there
needs to be some
possibility that the
events could possibly
happen.
In Fantasy, the author
can use far-fetched
assumptions.
For example: unicorns,
three-legged creatures etc.
Major Topics in
Science Fiction Stories
Space travel to and from other planets (Star Wars, Star Trek)
Time travel to the past and future (Back to the Future)
Psychological/biological changes to man brought about
by scientific changes (The Incredible Hulk, Spider Man)
Major Topics in
Science Fiction Stories
Science applied to human relations for constructive or destructive
purposes (The Giver, Divergent)
Battle with alien life forms (Signs, The Day the Earth Stood Still,
Prometheus)
Alternate Universe (Star Wars)
Why should we read science fiction?
 Entertaining
 Makes the audience wonder “What If?”
 Encourages creativity in writing
 Introduces students to a new literary genre
Teaches lessons about the value and dangers of advanced technology
 Enhances imagination
When did Science Fiction become a popular genre?
Science fiction really became a popular after the atomic
bomb was dropped on Hiroshima that ended World War II
in 1945. This event prompted a rash of after-the-bomb and
alien invasion films.
What else during this time period helped science
fiction become popular as well as Ray Bradbury’s
stories?
Lasting effects of World War II
The Era of McCarthyism
The 1950’s & Explosion of a new technology
Lasting effects of WWII
Hitler has just been
defeated
During his “power” reign
he burned many books
Soviet Union also banned
and burned books
Communist China also
burned books
Threat of nuclear war and fear
Drills in schools, special bells, etc. that inspired fear in all generations
The Atomic Age
Although the United States emerged from WWII victorious and powerful, it
was not long before the Soviet Union developed its own stockpile of atomic
weapons. The use of the first nuclear weapons at Nagasaki and Hiroshima
initiated the Atomic Age, Cold War, and decades of fear.
The Cold War & Nuclear Weapons
This war was an indirect war between The Soviet
Union and The United States. It began after World
War II because The Soviet Union was Communist
nation and wanted to spread that throughout Europe
and The United States wanted to spread the message
of Democracy and end Communism.
The war created a nuclear arms race, because the
United States was unwilling to share nuclear
information with other nations. This created tension
from the Soviet Union and Russia, because they were
in fear of bombs from the United States. There was
also a space race, which was when Russia sent the first
satellite into space.
Americans were fearful of Communists in our country
and a possible attack using nuclear weapons from the
Soviet Union.
McCarthyism:
"Are you now, or have you ever been, a
member of the Communist party?"
In 1947, President Truman had ordered
background checks of every civilian in service to
the government. When Alger Hiss, a highranking State Department official was convicted
on espionage charges, fear of communists
intensified.
McCarthy capitalized on national paranoia by
proclaiming that communist spies were
omnipresent and that he was America's only
salvation.
An atmosphere of fear of world domination by
communists hung over America in the postwar
years. There were fears of a nuclear holocaust
based on the knowledge that the Soviet Union
exploded its first A-bomb in 1949. That same
year, China, the world's most populous nation,
became communist. Half of Europe was under
Joseph Stalin's influence, and every time
Americans read their newspapers there seemed
to be a new atomic threat.
During McCarthyism most
Americans were accused of
being communists but actually
weren't.
Mob Mentality is when a group of people commit actions
because it would
be harder to go against the mob. Mob Mentality was also key for McCarthy's
success in getting elected back into senate. How this was possible was because the
citizens of the U.S were scared of being Black listed if they went against McCarthy.
Also if they went against McCarthy they would get accused of Communism and
could go to jail. So people would not go against it and would let McCarthy do
whatever he wanted. So McCarthy went on until 1957 .
Above all, several
messages became crystal
clear to the average
American: Don't criticize
the United States. Don't be
different. Just conform.
McCarthyism
 Questions about the integrity
of the government
 Movement where fear of
Communism was wide-spread.
 practice of making accusations
of disloyalty, subversion, or
treason without proper regard
for evidence
Bradbury published There Will Be Soft
Rains in 1950, five years after the U.S.
dropped the first atomic bombs on
Japan. This story reflects the fear at that
time that rival nations might unleash
their deadly technology on the world
and destroy humanity, entirely.
Powerful people were filling the world with fear
 As the 1950s and the Cold War
progressed Ray Bradbury saw the
government taking a great deal of
power over the people and this
worried him.
  How could a government with too
much power be dangerous?
 Ray Bradbury saw the world changing
quickly and dangerously so this is why
he wrote Fahrenheit 451 – to warn
people of what would happen if
society continued down what he
believed was a dangerous path….
At the same time technology was changing how we
communicated and how we were entertained.
 1945- fewer than
10,000 television sets in
the entire United States
 1950- More than 6
million in the United
States
 1960- More than 60
million in the United
States
The only other
technology to grow as fast
as television has been
smartphones. This
includes landline
telephones, electricity,
computers, the Internet,
mobile phones, and radio.
“Smart phones have gone
from 5 percent to 40
percent in about four
years, despite a recession.
In the comparison shown,
the only technology that
moved as quickly to the
U.S. mainstream was
television between 1950
and 1953.”
-Technology Review
The 1950s
 By mid-century, nearly 60%
of Americans were members
of the middle class; they had
more discretionary income.
 Consumerism = Success
 The electronics industry
became the 5th largest
industry. Television had a
widespread impact in
American homes.
 The United States became an automobile
culture.
 The increase in prosperity after the war led to
an increased passivity and conformity.
Jobs were plentiful and the common adage of
the time period was: “follow orders, and you
will succeed.”
Ray Bradbury (1920-2012)
 As a child, Bradbury recalls an intense
fascination with monsters, magicians,
horror movies, futuristic fantasy and,
adventure films.
He was influenced by the stories of Edgar
Allen Poe.
 He began writing stories at the age of 12.
 He wrote for Alfred Hitchcock and The
Twilight Zone.
 Bradbury is the author of more than 500
published literary works that include short
stories, plays, novels, poetry, and
screenplays.
The Life of a Writer
 In 1940, Bradbury sold his first story.
 In 1942, he was able to quit his newspaper job and write
full-time.
 His first novel was The Martian Chronicles, which
describes humankind’s first attempt to colonize the planet
Mars.
 This novel combines science fiction with social
commentary—an approach that characterizes much of his
work.
 Bradbury considers most of his work fantasy rather than
science fiction, explaining “Science fiction is the art of the
possible, fantasy is the art of the impossible.”
“There Will Come Soft Rains”: short story published in
1950 that was then included in The Martian Chronicles later
that year.
This is a science-fiction story that is set in the aftermath of a
nuclear holocaust. The futuristic house is the only one remaining
in the city and still serves its now absent family, following the
same daily routines as it always has. In the end, a fire starts and
the house is destroyed.
Fahrenheit 451: Published as a novel in 1953
 It is the 24th
century. Books are
considered
dangerous and
illegal. Nobody is
allowed to own
them. Most people
are happy being
plugged into their
technology, where
they do not have to
think too hard. All
books that are
found are burned.
Firefighters didn’t
stop fires… they
started them.
Social Concerns
 Bradbury’s works explored the
threat of nuclear war, censorship,
racism, conformity, and the
dangers of technology—issues that
still concern us today.
What is Social Criticism?
Social criticism analyzes (problematic) social structures, and
aims at practical solutions by specific measures, radical
reform, or even revolutionary change.
“There Will Come Soft Rains”
 Bradbury published “There Will Be
Soft Rains” in 1950, five years after
the U.S. dropped the first atomic
bombs on Japan. This story reflects
the fear at that time that rival
nations might unleash their deadly
technology on the world and
destroy humanity, entirely.
Fahrenheit 451: Social Commentary
Fahrenheit 451 is a social criticism that
warns against the danger of suppressing
thought through the censorship of books.
It uses the conventions of science fiction to
convey a message that “oppressive
government, left unchecked, can do
irreparable damage to society by limiting
the creativity and freedom of its people”.
It condemns not only the antiintellectualism of Nazi Germany (book
burnings), but also America in the 1950s—
the heyday of McCarthyism, and a growing
fear of communism.
Predict or Prevent? “There Will Come Soft Rains”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
BCpzJUSu848
 Smart Homes
Predict or Prevent? Fahrenheit 451
 Bradbury claimed he was trying to
“prevent the future”.
 He did foresee many future
developments:
Walkmans, earbuds, big-screen and
interactive t.v., rise in violence,
growing illiteracy, condensation of info
into “sound bites”, explosion in
population
Topics in Fahrenheit 451:
Censorship
Ignorance Vs
Knowledge
Technology
Deadening the
human experience
Dystopian Society
Censorship in the Story
 In the world of Fahrenheit 451,
books are burned because they
trigger thought and discontent, two
things that are unwelcome in this
“happiness oriented” society.
 What’s unexpected about the
censorship in Fahrenheit 451 is
that it seems to have originated
with the people, not the
government.
Ignorance vs. Knowledge in the story
 What does true happiness consist of?
 Is ignorance bliss, or do knowledge
and learning provide true happiness?
 In this world, firemen promote
ignorance by destroying books—and
with them—knowledge.
 Bradbury focuses on the importance
of learning and how it impacts our
ability to make decisions. He
believes that without the ability to
think about what we’re doing, we’ll
be led to do wrong.
Technology-Deadening Human Experience in
the story
 Technology in Bradbury’s 24th
century is highly advanced and
dominates society.
 TV, radio broadcasts, fast cars and
atomic weapons dominate people’s
experiences—at the expense of
things like nature, music and
poetry.
Dystopian Society
an imagined
place or state in
which everything
is unpleasant or
bad, typically a
totalitarian or
environmentally
degraded one.
 The “Dystopia” motif, popular in
science fiction—that of a
technocratic and totalitarian
society that demands order at the
expense of individual rights—is
central to the novel.