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Dans les imaginaires du futur
Les deux imaginaires du futur les plus forts aujourd’hui sont la démesure technologique et l’apocalypse environnementale. Ils se conjuguent pour susciter en nous une sidération, un court-circuit de la pensée et de l’action. L’enjeu de cet essai c’est de sortir de cette impasse en traçant des chemins et un horizon pour y arriver : la construction d’utopies politiques, lucides sur le long terme, d’inspiration anarchiste et terrestre, contre l’idéologie dominante et en toute conscience des risques de dystopie. Sa méthode : considérer les séries TV et les films de cinéma, les BD, les romans et les nouvelles de science-fiction comme une extraordinaire source de savoirs et de pistes pour comprendre les impasses actuelles de l’écologie et du tout numérique, puis tenter d’entrouvrir des voies alternatives pour demain.
- GenresNonfiction
591 pages, Paperback
Published October 16, 2020
3 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 4, 2022
J'aurais beaucoup de mal à résumer cet ouvrage, tant il est dense et riche. Ariel Kyrou y propose d'explorer nos imaginaires du futur sous un angle à la fois technologique, écologique et politique.
La lecture m'a semblé un peu ardue mais diablement intéressante. L'auteur y multiplie les références littéraires, il a d'ailleurs fallu que je me retienne de toutes les noter, au risque de faire exploser ma pile à lire. Cependant, ce n'est pas un catalogue de références, car chaque oeuvre n'est citée que pour illustrer le propos de l'auteur.
Que ce soit pour parler de technologie, d'écologie, d'apocalypse, d'exploration spatiale, de vie extraterrestre ou d'utopies et de dystopies, Ariel Kyrou déroule un discours cohérent, engagé et richement documenté. Il ne cache pas ses sympathies libertaires et assume sa volonté de ne pas faire un choix binaire entre technologie et écologie, au profit d'un appel à la rupture avec le système dominant, à la réinvention d'un monde terrestre et humaniste.
La lecture m'a semblé un peu ardue mais diablement intéressante. L'auteur y multiplie les références littéraires, il a d'ailleurs fallu que je me retienne de toutes les noter, au risque de faire exploser ma pile à lire. Cependant, ce n'est pas un catalogue de références, car chaque oeuvre n'est citée que pour illustrer le propos de l'auteur.
Que ce soit pour parler de technologie, d'écologie, d'apocalypse, d'exploration spatiale, de vie extraterrestre ou d'utopies et de dystopies, Ariel Kyrou déroule un discours cohérent, engagé et richement documenté. Il ne cache pas ses sympathies libertaires et assume sa volonté de ne pas faire un choix binaire entre technologie et écologie, au profit d'un appel à la rupture avec le système dominant, à la réinvention d'un monde terrestre et humaniste.
January 7, 2021
4.5
Cet essai est très riche, très dense et passionnant grâce aux réflexions que l'auteur nous apporte sur la science-fiction, ce qu'elle fait, le rôle qu'elle peut avoir dans les recherches sur notre futur. J'ai parfois dû m'accrocher pour suivre, mais j'ai adoré cette façon de placer la SF dans le monde "réel", dans les réflexions politiques et sociales. Dommage pour les spoilers en revanche !
Chronique en ligne sur le blog : http://redbluemoon.unblog.fr/2021/01/...
Cet essai est très riche, très dense et passionnant grâce aux réflexions que l'auteur nous apporte sur la science-fiction, ce qu'elle fait, le rôle qu'elle peut avoir dans les recherches sur notre futur. J'ai parfois dû m'accrocher pour suivre, mais j'ai adoré cette façon de placer la SF dans le monde "réel", dans les réflexions politiques et sociales. Dommage pour les spoilers en revanche !
Chronique en ligne sur le blog : http://redbluemoon.unblog.fr/2021/01/...
March 24, 2021
Everybody has something to say about life, about society, about the environment and ultimately, about the future. At least, from their own standpoint.
Science fiction is one of the few styles of literature that deals with life today, in the future, and even in the past. Everyone uses his/her imagination to imagine a different, better world, no matter how small or large the imagined/proposed changes.
Science fiction covers numerous grounds: anthropology, astronomy, medicine/healthcare, politics, sociology, philosophy, psychology, technology, etc.
However, as with many things, it starts in the mind, you imagine something and continue from there.
----------
In his newest opus - Dans les imaginaires du futur (rough translation: In the imaginations of the future, or, Imagining the future, or interpreted: How the future was, has been and is imagined) -, journalist Ariel Kyrou dived into the massive database and piles of SF-works: books, comics, graphic novels, films, TV-series, music, ... Added to that were works by philosophers/sociologists.
The book is divided into five large chapters, each containing multiple, bite-size subchapters. I've added the English "translations" between brackets. Each chapter starts with a general introduction of the respective theme.
Chapter I: Imaginaires - Ce que nous font les récits du futur (Imaginations - What the stories of/about the future do to us)
In this first chapter, Mr Kyrou begins his dissection with the film 'Blade Runner' (both the 1982 and the 2017 versions) as a basis to address various themes, which allow him to mention other relevant works, like the books of Kim Stanley Robinson. What does the future look like in 'Blade Runner' (and by extension 'Blade Runner 2049)? The end of life on Earth, mankind having to colonise space to find a new safe haven, the development of androids to be able to adapt to this new way of living, etc.
As 'imagination' is a large concept, we're also taken on a philosophical tour with Jean-Jacques Wunenburger, Emmanuel Kant, Paul Ricoeur, Yves Citton, and others. We all have our own imagination, expressed in/through dreams, advertisements, souvenirs, mythologies, and so on. So yes, TV-advertisements by carmakers are used as an example.
The popular TV-series 'Game of Thrones' is also food for discussion, here a number of characters stand out as an example of how George R. R. Martin imagined the world to be or how it should be.
And that's where ideology and the vision of a certain utopia come into play. In other words, how fiction can be at the same time poison and antidote. Fiction can be the expression of existing ideas on the "ideal" world, but can also warn about the possible dangers of such societies. Authors like J. G. Ballard, Alain Damasio, Ursula K. Le Guin, Philip K. Dick, and books like 'Harry Potter' and 'Hunger Games' are all examples of how society could look or shouldn't look like.
Chapter II: Créations technologiques - Devenir dieu avec nos intelligences artificielles (Technological creations - Becoming god with our artificial intelligences)
AI and mankind or humanity 2.0. How AI more and more becomes part of our lives. One example as a start is Vernor Vinge's "singularity" (aka superhuman intellect), which is said to be based on a text by Stanislaw Lem, in which John Von Neumann (information technology pioneer).
What's the impact of AI (robots, computers, ...) on our way of life? How to incorporate AI in a safe way? Various companies, with Silicon Valley as main example, have been working for years on AI (Google, Facebook, ...).
The world is becoming more and more digital, online. Google, Facebook, Neuralink, Apple, ... Soon we'll all be communicating as semi-robots/androids. No need to think about the words any more, as computer already suggest default answers/replies/words (auto-correction?). You don't need to think or spend time reflecting on how you're going to phrase it, the computer will do that for you. Just think of something/Someone and a prefabricated mail/text/image/.... will arise or provide the answer to your question.
Most prominent names here are a.o. John Brunner, William Gibson, whose works were used as references.
AI can also be helpful: registering appointments, directing people to places/addresses/products/... and more. AI can also be "helpful" when all is linked up: your medical data, your driver's licence, your domicile, your bank account, your purchase history, ... So much even, that you will or won't be able any more to buy or do whatever you want, because your personal history will show that what you wish to do is detrimental to your health or you won't be able to buy/do something because you haven't paid your taxes or fines, and so on and so forth.
AI is also Cortana, Siri, and Alexa. You just ask those systems a question and they'll provide the info/answer; but in doing so, they're learning more about you and will know you better than you know yourself or than anyone else knowing yourself.
Last but not least, AI is also a bit of Frankenstein, of the trans-humanism of Google, of the computer DeepMind (chess), of HAL in Clarke's '2001: A Space Oddyssey'.
Chapter III: Fins du monde - De la nécessité d'une pluralité des effondrements (Ends of the world - On the need for a plurality of collapses)
The end of the world is a classic trope in SF, but also in real life. Viruses, wars, technological "advances", political decisions/ideologies, zombies, aliens, ecological disasters (floods, hurricanes, meteorites, ...), each of those has been a topic of many discussions and fears.
On the other hand, as the world continues in cycles. sometimes you have to end something to create a better version. Defining "better" remains a subjective question, obviously, as each of us finds something worth improving. Should mankind go extinct so that nature can reclaim what is hers? Should we continue the chosen path of technological advances or on the contrary, go back to a more basic kind of life, when the digital age didn't exist?
The end of the world and what comes next is also a political question. What will or should society look like? Before this question can be answered, we'd need to know how the world came to its end: climate change? Nuclear wars? Lack of natural resources? As you see, the end of the world can come in many forms and at multiple times. Ultimately, who's to decide what the next version of the world should look like? A few people or a large group? Everyone?
Chapter IV: Extraterrestre - L'exploration spatiale et les imaginaires de l'ailleurs (Extraterrestrial - Space exploration and the imaginations of elsewhere)
Space exploration. Since Perseverance has landed on Mars (February 2021), the topic of space exploration will surely inspire authors to create new stories, despite the plethora of books that have been published in the 20th and 21st centuries. Mr Kyrou picked out some examples of books, music, films, ... about Mars.
But why would man go and explore space? For the same, capitalistic reasons as applied on Earth? Or will we adapt our way of living to the local conditions? Here too, the question of (re)building a society comes into view. How would that happen? What would it look like? Would there still be a place for spirituality, religion, and alike?
And what with possible bacteria? Can bacteria from Earth survive on a planet like Mars?
Volte-Face d'Alain Damasio (Turn-around by Alain Damasio)
As the topics discussed in this book also involve Alain Damasio's books, it was perhaps not all that surprising to have him contribute to this essay. Mr Damasio is known for not being a fan of current technology (smartphones, always being connected, etc.), warning his readers about the dangers of Big Brother, of neo-liberal politics, of the dystopian side of civilisation in general. Mind you, I still haven't read any of his books, unfortunately.
Alain Damasio talks about this essay and why it was written. He continues with a few words on imagination and what's to gain from thinking about the future and how that future could turn out to be? Also, who benefits from this thinking about/imagining the future?
Chapter V: Gaïa 4.0 - Au-delà de la dystopie et de l'utopie terrestre (Gaia 4.0 - Beyond dystopia and terrestrial utopia)
This is the longest, thickest chapter. Ecology and technology, something that will always be of the essence, as we need our environment and its resources to live.
For this chapter, works by a.o. Octavia E. Butler, Ursula K. Le Guin, Kim Stanley Robinson, J. G. Ballard, Philip K. Dick, Thomas More, and Alain Damasio were often be used as references.
Some of the questions asked in this chapter: Can we restore nature to its original state, with its inborn characteristics? How can technology be used to do so? What with fake trees, bugs, bees, etc. that fulfill the same purpose as the real creatures? How will these affect our view of the world, of how we live or will live? How will these inventions impact climate?
Like in the previous chapters, politics, technology, art, work/jobs, ... are aspects that were used to analyse this theme.
Conclusion: Sept figures fantastiques pour réinventer le réel comme fiction (Seven fantastic figures to reinvent reality as fiction)
The conclusion consists of seven short chapters, each focusing on one fantastic creature/being (taken from various works) to reinvent reality as fiction, enchance reality, in other words.
Finally, the whole is rounded off with an extensive index of authors, artists, film makers, ... and those specific works that were used in each of the five blocks/chapters.
When I look at this list, the following names stand out (which means many others have also found a place in the book, but were mentioned only once or a few times):
* Jean-Pierre Andrevon (French author)
* Isaac Asimov (American author)
* Margaret Atwood (Canadian author)
* J. G. Ballard (British author)
* Jeff Bezos (Amazon CEO, or rather, former CEO)
* John Brunner (Britsh author)
* Octavia E. Butler (American author)
* Yves Citton (French philosopher)
* Arthur C. Clarke (British author)
* Philippe Curval (French author)
* Alain Damasio (French author)
* Philip K. Dick (American author)
* Catherine Dufour (French author)
* Greg Egan (Australian author)
* Stanley Kubrick (American film director)
* Bruno Latour (French philosopher, anthropologist, sociologist)
* Ursula K. Le Guin (American author)
* Li-Cam (French author)
* Cormac McCarthy (American author)
* Norbert Merjagnan (French author)
* Elon Musk (Tesla/Neuralink/SpaceX CEO)
* Kim Stanley Robinson (American author)
* Yannick Rumpala (French political scientist)
* Norman Spinrad (American author)
* Bernard Stiegler (French philosopher)
* Andreï Tarkovski (Russian author/film maker)
* Vernor Vinge (American author)
While it is of course advised/recommended that you have read or seen (some/all of) those works, foreknowledge is not really necessary, as Mr Kyrou has focused more on the themes/subjects of said works, less on telling the storyline. (on a side note: Any necessary elaboration is added in the footnotes on the respective pages, something I applaud. I'm not fond of endnotes, i.e. footnotes that were put together at the end of a book, even if these endnotes were divided per chapter. One just tends to not even read or consult these, because you'd have to flip back and forth all the time.)
----------
'Dans les imaginaires du futur' is a dense, but epic result of much research on how the future (and as a consequence, our present) has been and still is being imagined. Not only by authors/writers, but also by musicians, illustrators/painters, film makers, philosophers, and scientists.
It is a unique document that is very relevant today and will be in the years to come.
You can take a trip down memory lane or perhaps find inspiration to contribute to the future of mankind.
----------
If you wish to learn more, here are some interesting interviews, podcasts, articles by/about Ariel Kyrou and 'Dans les imaginaires du futur':
https://www.editions-actusf.fr/a/anon...
https://www.nova.fr/news/ariel-kyrou-...
https://usbeketrica.com/fr/meme-dans-...
https://usbeketrica.com/author/ariel-...
https://www.fonda.asso.fr/auteurs/ari...
https://www.franceculture.fr/emission...
https://podcast.ausha.co/c-est-plus-q...
----------
I was sent this book by Éditions ActuSF for review. Many thanks to them for the trust.
Science fiction is one of the few styles of literature that deals with life today, in the future, and even in the past. Everyone uses his/her imagination to imagine a different, better world, no matter how small or large the imagined/proposed changes.
Science fiction covers numerous grounds: anthropology, astronomy, medicine/healthcare, politics, sociology, philosophy, psychology, technology, etc.
However, as with many things, it starts in the mind, you imagine something and continue from there.
----------
In his newest opus - Dans les imaginaires du futur (rough translation: In the imaginations of the future, or, Imagining the future, or interpreted: How the future was, has been and is imagined) -, journalist Ariel Kyrou dived into the massive database and piles of SF-works: books, comics, graphic novels, films, TV-series, music, ... Added to that were works by philosophers/sociologists.
The book is divided into five large chapters, each containing multiple, bite-size subchapters. I've added the English "translations" between brackets. Each chapter starts with a general introduction of the respective theme.
Chapter I: Imaginaires - Ce que nous font les récits du futur (Imaginations - What the stories of/about the future do to us)
In this first chapter, Mr Kyrou begins his dissection with the film 'Blade Runner' (both the 1982 and the 2017 versions) as a basis to address various themes, which allow him to mention other relevant works, like the books of Kim Stanley Robinson. What does the future look like in 'Blade Runner' (and by extension 'Blade Runner 2049)? The end of life on Earth, mankind having to colonise space to find a new safe haven, the development of androids to be able to adapt to this new way of living, etc.
As 'imagination' is a large concept, we're also taken on a philosophical tour with Jean-Jacques Wunenburger, Emmanuel Kant, Paul Ricoeur, Yves Citton, and others. We all have our own imagination, expressed in/through dreams, advertisements, souvenirs, mythologies, and so on. So yes, TV-advertisements by carmakers are used as an example.
The popular TV-series 'Game of Thrones' is also food for discussion, here a number of characters stand out as an example of how George R. R. Martin imagined the world to be or how it should be.
And that's where ideology and the vision of a certain utopia come into play. In other words, how fiction can be at the same time poison and antidote. Fiction can be the expression of existing ideas on the "ideal" world, but can also warn about the possible dangers of such societies. Authors like J. G. Ballard, Alain Damasio, Ursula K. Le Guin, Philip K. Dick, and books like 'Harry Potter' and 'Hunger Games' are all examples of how society could look or shouldn't look like.
Chapter II: Créations technologiques - Devenir dieu avec nos intelligences artificielles (Technological creations - Becoming god with our artificial intelligences)
AI and mankind or humanity 2.0. How AI more and more becomes part of our lives. One example as a start is Vernor Vinge's "singularity" (aka superhuman intellect), which is said to be based on a text by Stanislaw Lem, in which John Von Neumann (information technology pioneer).
What's the impact of AI (robots, computers, ...) on our way of life? How to incorporate AI in a safe way? Various companies, with Silicon Valley as main example, have been working for years on AI (Google, Facebook, ...).
The world is becoming more and more digital, online. Google, Facebook, Neuralink, Apple, ... Soon we'll all be communicating as semi-robots/androids. No need to think about the words any more, as computer already suggest default answers/replies/words (auto-correction?). You don't need to think or spend time reflecting on how you're going to phrase it, the computer will do that for you. Just think of something/Someone and a prefabricated mail/text/image/.... will arise or provide the answer to your question.
Most prominent names here are a.o. John Brunner, William Gibson, whose works were used as references.
AI can also be helpful: registering appointments, directing people to places/addresses/products/... and more. AI can also be "helpful" when all is linked up: your medical data, your driver's licence, your domicile, your bank account, your purchase history, ... So much even, that you will or won't be able any more to buy or do whatever you want, because your personal history will show that what you wish to do is detrimental to your health or you won't be able to buy/do something because you haven't paid your taxes or fines, and so on and so forth.
AI is also Cortana, Siri, and Alexa. You just ask those systems a question and they'll provide the info/answer; but in doing so, they're learning more about you and will know you better than you know yourself or than anyone else knowing yourself.
Last but not least, AI is also a bit of Frankenstein, of the trans-humanism of Google, of the computer DeepMind (chess), of HAL in Clarke's '2001: A Space Oddyssey'.
Chapter III: Fins du monde - De la nécessité d'une pluralité des effondrements (Ends of the world - On the need for a plurality of collapses)
The end of the world is a classic trope in SF, but also in real life. Viruses, wars, technological "advances", political decisions/ideologies, zombies, aliens, ecological disasters (floods, hurricanes, meteorites, ...), each of those has been a topic of many discussions and fears.
On the other hand, as the world continues in cycles. sometimes you have to end something to create a better version. Defining "better" remains a subjective question, obviously, as each of us finds something worth improving. Should mankind go extinct so that nature can reclaim what is hers? Should we continue the chosen path of technological advances or on the contrary, go back to a more basic kind of life, when the digital age didn't exist?
The end of the world and what comes next is also a political question. What will or should society look like? Before this question can be answered, we'd need to know how the world came to its end: climate change? Nuclear wars? Lack of natural resources? As you see, the end of the world can come in many forms and at multiple times. Ultimately, who's to decide what the next version of the world should look like? A few people or a large group? Everyone?
Chapter IV: Extraterrestre - L'exploration spatiale et les imaginaires de l'ailleurs (Extraterrestrial - Space exploration and the imaginations of elsewhere)
Space exploration. Since Perseverance has landed on Mars (February 2021), the topic of space exploration will surely inspire authors to create new stories, despite the plethora of books that have been published in the 20th and 21st centuries. Mr Kyrou picked out some examples of books, music, films, ... about Mars.
But why would man go and explore space? For the same, capitalistic reasons as applied on Earth? Or will we adapt our way of living to the local conditions? Here too, the question of (re)building a society comes into view. How would that happen? What would it look like? Would there still be a place for spirituality, religion, and alike?
And what with possible bacteria? Can bacteria from Earth survive on a planet like Mars?
Volte-Face d'Alain Damasio (Turn-around by Alain Damasio)
As the topics discussed in this book also involve Alain Damasio's books, it was perhaps not all that surprising to have him contribute to this essay. Mr Damasio is known for not being a fan of current technology (smartphones, always being connected, etc.), warning his readers about the dangers of Big Brother, of neo-liberal politics, of the dystopian side of civilisation in general. Mind you, I still haven't read any of his books, unfortunately.
Alain Damasio talks about this essay and why it was written. He continues with a few words on imagination and what's to gain from thinking about the future and how that future could turn out to be? Also, who benefits from this thinking about/imagining the future?
Chapter V: Gaïa 4.0 - Au-delà de la dystopie et de l'utopie terrestre (Gaia 4.0 - Beyond dystopia and terrestrial utopia)
This is the longest, thickest chapter. Ecology and technology, something that will always be of the essence, as we need our environment and its resources to live.
For this chapter, works by a.o. Octavia E. Butler, Ursula K. Le Guin, Kim Stanley Robinson, J. G. Ballard, Philip K. Dick, Thomas More, and Alain Damasio were often be used as references.
Some of the questions asked in this chapter: Can we restore nature to its original state, with its inborn characteristics? How can technology be used to do so? What with fake trees, bugs, bees, etc. that fulfill the same purpose as the real creatures? How will these affect our view of the world, of how we live or will live? How will these inventions impact climate?
Like in the previous chapters, politics, technology, art, work/jobs, ... are aspects that were used to analyse this theme.
Conclusion: Sept figures fantastiques pour réinventer le réel comme fiction (Seven fantastic figures to reinvent reality as fiction)
The conclusion consists of seven short chapters, each focusing on one fantastic creature/being (taken from various works) to reinvent reality as fiction, enchance reality, in other words.
Finally, the whole is rounded off with an extensive index of authors, artists, film makers, ... and those specific works that were used in each of the five blocks/chapters.
When I look at this list, the following names stand out (which means many others have also found a place in the book, but were mentioned only once or a few times):
* Jean-Pierre Andrevon (French author)
* Isaac Asimov (American author)
* Margaret Atwood (Canadian author)
* J. G. Ballard (British author)
* Jeff Bezos (Amazon CEO, or rather, former CEO)
* John Brunner (Britsh author)
* Octavia E. Butler (American author)
* Yves Citton (French philosopher)
* Arthur C. Clarke (British author)
* Philippe Curval (French author)
* Alain Damasio (French author)
* Philip K. Dick (American author)
* Catherine Dufour (French author)
* Greg Egan (Australian author)
* Stanley Kubrick (American film director)
* Bruno Latour (French philosopher, anthropologist, sociologist)
* Ursula K. Le Guin (American author)
* Li-Cam (French author)
* Cormac McCarthy (American author)
* Norbert Merjagnan (French author)
* Elon Musk (Tesla/Neuralink/SpaceX CEO)
* Kim Stanley Robinson (American author)
* Yannick Rumpala (French political scientist)
* Norman Spinrad (American author)
* Bernard Stiegler (French philosopher)
* Andreï Tarkovski (Russian author/film maker)
* Vernor Vinge (American author)
While it is of course advised/recommended that you have read or seen (some/all of) those works, foreknowledge is not really necessary, as Mr Kyrou has focused more on the themes/subjects of said works, less on telling the storyline. (on a side note: Any necessary elaboration is added in the footnotes on the respective pages, something I applaud. I'm not fond of endnotes, i.e. footnotes that were put together at the end of a book, even if these endnotes were divided per chapter. One just tends to not even read or consult these, because you'd have to flip back and forth all the time.)
----------
'Dans les imaginaires du futur' is a dense, but epic result of much research on how the future (and as a consequence, our present) has been and still is being imagined. Not only by authors/writers, but also by musicians, illustrators/painters, film makers, philosophers, and scientists.
It is a unique document that is very relevant today and will be in the years to come.
You can take a trip down memory lane or perhaps find inspiration to contribute to the future of mankind.
----------
If you wish to learn more, here are some interesting interviews, podcasts, articles by/about Ariel Kyrou and 'Dans les imaginaires du futur':
https://www.editions-actusf.fr/a/anon...
https://www.nova.fr/news/ariel-kyrou-...
https://usbeketrica.com/fr/meme-dans-...
https://usbeketrica.com/author/ariel-...
https://www.fonda.asso.fr/auteurs/ari...
https://www.franceculture.fr/emission...
https://podcast.ausha.co/c-est-plus-q...
----------
I was sent this book by Éditions ActuSF for review. Many thanks to them for the trust.
September 9, 2023
While I reviewed the original version (2020) back in 2021, see here, I decided to get the re-issued and slightly updated pocket edition as well, also because, since September 2023, Éditions ActuSF unfortunately had to close its books after +20 years of publishing.
This reissue came out in April 2023. Strangely enough, someone added the ISBN 9782376865766 to the Kindle edition, but this ISBN does belong to the reissued, pocket edition. I'll leave like it is, as Kindle books sometimes have an ASIN and an ISBN.
So, what changed in this revised edition? I won't go into detail, simply copy-paste what its author, Ariel Kyrou posted on Facebook. His additions involve mainly the rise and evolution of AI, like the many articles and posts we have seen about ChatGPT, for example. But the war in Ukraine also found a place in this renewed edition.
02/05/2023: (link)
L'essai "Dans les imaginaires du futur" de mon double pesant vient de sortir en poche chez Hélios, fin avril donc. Histoire d'en parler un peu, je débute un feuilleton : entre un essai sorti fin octobre 2020 et ce même livre publié fin avril 2023, que change-t-on par petites touches sur épreuves avant impression ?
Première réponse : dans la sous-partie "L'IA au coeur des imaginaires du tout numérique", on ajoute ChatGPT.
Genre, la phrase "L’intelligence artificielle est aujourd’hui la reine de ce spectacle en plusieurs épisodes", devient : "Avec ChatGPT d'OpenAI en nouvelle star, l'intelligence artificielle est aujourd’hui la reine de ce spectacle en plusieurs épisodes. Son être tient à la fois du Golem et de la roue, du Léviathan et du supermarché, de la machine industrielle fabriquée pour nous servir, de la machine sociale conçue pour nous asservir et de la machine démiurgique qui nous transforme en petits ou grands dieux et dont on cauchemarde avec délectation qu’elle pourrait nous dépasser un jour ou l’autre."
Ou encore : à propos de l'incroyable ordinateur Shalmaneser de John Brunner dans Tous à Zanzibar : "Bref, cette machine excentrique réunit en un même tout les pièces apparemment contradictoires de l’IA d’aujourd’hui à la ChatGPT : ultraperformante et pourtant faillible, autant démoniaque
que ras du bitume, au service de la masse des consommateurs conformes devant leurs écrans, et in fine bien évidemment de sa multinationale (General Technics, dite GT) qui tire de l’exploitation professionnelle et grand public de la mécanique de copieux bénéfices."
06/05/2023: (link)
Suite de mon feuilleton à propos de la réédition en poche de "Dans les imaginaires du futur". L'ajout, toujours sur l'IA, est à la fin du passage cité, car je ne pouvais m'empêcher de mentionner mon nouvel héros de polar métaphysique, mais dans le réel : Blake Lemoine... Extrait donc : "Qu’AlphaGo devienne une IA « généraliste », ainsi plus proche de Hal, exerçant ses réseaux de neurones sur une multitude de domaines avec un minimum de connaissances a priori. Bref, que cette IA, passant d’un sujet à l’autre, devienne capable de résoudre tous types de problèmes, et pas simplement de vaincre les champions d’un jeu unique, aussi complexe soit-il à l’instar du go qui offre plus de possibilités de parties qu’il n’y a d’atomes dans l’univers. Et le tout, en théorie, sans devoir être « dressée » en permanence par une troupe d’ingénieurs et une foultitude de microtâcherons selon la méthode, dite « supervisée », de l’apprentissage machine de l’IA – mode dominant qui a donné sa dynamique à l’IA dénommée « connexionniste », basée sur les réseaux de neurones. Comment s’étonner, dès lors, qu’un ingénieur de chez Google, Blake Lemoine, ait soutenu en juin 2022 que son IA conversationnelle, LaMDA, avait développé « une vie intérieure riche remplie d’introspection, de méditation et d’imagination » ? Il a certes été viré, mais n’en reste pas moins persistante la perspective fantasmatique d’une machine capable d’apprendre par elle-même..."
26/05/2023: (link)
Dernier épisode de mon feuilleton de réédition en poche de l'essai "Dans les imaginaires du futur" : un petit ajout sur la guerre en Ukraine me semblait symboliquement important. À la toute fin du sous-chapitre "Les mutants du passage et de la transformation", cet événement marquant, comme un terrible chant du cygne d'un monde qui ne veut pas s'en aller, est désormais associé à un concept inventé par Paul Virilio : l'accident de réalité. Je cite : "par essence évolutif et durable, sur le temps de décennies, voire de générations", cet "accident de réalité peut se manifester par la radioactivité, conséquence d’un désastre nucléaire dans une région, ou demain par des enchaînements de pandémies ou d’effets du réchauffement climatique, par exemple dans des îles, des ports ou des bords de mer très menacés par la montée des eaux. À moins que l'accident de réalité ne prenne la forme d'une régression historique, de l'archaïsme d'un conflit armé sans issue, telle la guerre en Ukraine qui n'en finirait jamais suite à l'invasion russe du 24 février 2022."
Finally, two more links to podcasts or online debates for you to enjoy. See also the list at the bottom for more.
* https://smartlink.ausha.co/dessine-mo... (02/05/2023?)
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypq05... (10/01/2023)
Large edition or revised, mass market paperback edition, this essay remains important and heavily recommended to this day and beyond.
----------
For completion reasons, here's my original review:
Everybody has something to say about life, about society, about the environment and ultimately, about the future. At least, from their own standpoint.
Science fiction is one of the few styles of literature that deals with life today, in the future, and even in the past. Everyone uses his/her imagination to imagine a different, better world, no matter how small or large the imagined/proposed changes.
Science fiction covers numerous grounds: anthropology, astronomy, medicine/healthcare, politics, sociology, philosophy, psychology, technology, etc.
However, as with many things, it starts in the mind, you imagine something and continue from there.
----------
In his newest opus - Dans les imaginaires du futur (rough translation: In the imaginations of the future, or, Imagining the future, or interpreted: How the future was, has been and is imagined) -, journalist Ariel Kyrou dived into the massive database and piles of SF-works: books, comics, graphic novels, films, TV-series, music, ... Added to that were works by philosophers/sociologists.
The book is divided into five large chapters, each containing multiple, bite-size subchapters. I've added the English "translations" between brackets. Each chapter starts with a general introduction of the respective theme.
Chapter I: Imaginaires - Ce que nous font les récits du futur (Imaginations - What the stories of/about the future do to us)
In this first chapter, Mr Kyrou begins his dissection with the film 'Blade Runner' (both the 1982 and the 2017 versions) as a basis to address various themes, which allow him to mention other relevant works, like the books of Kim Stanley Robinson. What does the future look like in 'Blade Runner' (and by extension 'Blade Runner 2049)? The end of life on Earth, mankind having to colonise space to find a new safe haven, the development of androids to be able to adapt to this new way of living, etc.
As 'imagination' is a large concept, we're also taken on a philosophical tour with Jean-Jacques Wunenburger, Emmanuel Kant, Paul Ricoeur, Yves Citton, and others. We all have our own imagination, expressed in/through dreams, advertisements, souvenirs, mythologies, and so on. So yes, TV-advertisements by carmakers are used as an example.
The popular TV-series 'Game of Thrones' is also food for discussion, here a number of characters stand out as an example of how George R. R. Martin imagined the world to be or how it should be.
And that's where ideology and the vision of a certain utopia come into play. In other words, how fiction can be at the same time poison and antidote. Fiction can be the expression of existing ideas on the "ideal" world, but can also warn about the possible dangers of such societies. Authors like J. G. Ballard, Alain Damasio, Ursula K. Le Guin, Philip K. Dick, and books like 'Harry Potter' and 'Hunger Games' are all examples of how society could look or shouldn't look like.
Chapter II: Créations technologiques - Devenir dieu avec nos intelligences artificielles (Technological creations - Becoming god with our artificial intelligences)
AI and mankind or humanity 2.0. How AI more and more becomes part of our lives. One example as a start is Vernor Vinge's "singularity" (aka superhuman intellect), which is said to be based on a text by Stanislaw Lem, in which John Von Neumann (information technology pioneer).
What's the impact of AI (robots, computers, ...) on our way of life? How to incorporate AI in a safe way? Various companies, with Silicon Valley as main example, have been working for years on AI (Google, Facebook, ...).
The world is becoming more and more digital, online. Google, Facebook, Neuralink, Apple, ... Soon we'll all be communicating as semi-robots/androids. No need to think about the words any more, as computer already suggest default answers/replies/words (auto-correction?). You don't need to think or spend time reflecting on how you're going to phrase it, the computer will do that for you. Just think of something/Someone and a prefabricated mail/text/image/.... will arise or provide the answer to your question.
Most prominent names here are a.o. John Brunner, William Gibson, whose works were used as references.
AI can also be helpful: registering appointments, directing people to places/addresses/products/... and more. AI can also be "helpful" when all is linked up: your medical data, your driver's licence, your domicile, your bank account, your purchase history, ... So much even, that you will or won't be able any more to buy or do whatever you want, because your personal history will show that what you wish to do is detrimental to your health or you won't be able to buy/do something because you haven't paid your taxes or fines, and so on and so forth.
AI is also Cortana, Siri, and Alexa. You just ask those systems a question and they'll provide the info/answer; but in doing so, they're learning more about you and will know you better than you know yourself or than anyone else knowing yourself.
Last but not least, AI is also a bit of Frankenstein, of the trans-humanism of Google, of the computer DeepMind (chess), of HAL in Clarke's '2001: A Space Oddyssey'.
Chapter III: Fins du monde - De la nécessité d'une pluralité des effondrements (Ends of the world - On the need for a plurality of collapses)
The end of the world is a classic trope in SF, but also in real life. Viruses, wars, technological "advances", political decisions/ideologies, zombies, aliens, ecological disasters (floods, hurricanes, meteorites, ...), each of those has been a topic of many discussions and fears.
On the other hand, as the world continues in cycles. sometimes you have to end something to create a better version. Defining "better" remains a subjective question, obviously, as each of us finds something worth improving. Should mankind go extinct so that nature can reclaim what is hers? Should we continue the chosen path of technological advances or on the contrary, go back to a more basic kind of life, when the digital age didn't exist?
The end of the world and what comes next is also a political question. What will or should society look like? Before this question can be answered, we'd need to know how the world came to its end: climate change? Nuclear wars? Lack of natural resources? As you see, the end of the world can come in many forms and at multiple times. Ultimately, who's to decide what the next version of the world should look like? A few people or a large group? Everyone?
Chapter IV: Extraterrestre - L'exploration spatiale et les imaginaires de l'ailleurs (Extraterrestrial - Space exploration and the imaginations of elsewhere)
Space exploration. Since Perseverance has landed on Mars (February 2021), the topic of space exploration will surely inspire authors to create new stories, despite the plethora of books that have been published in the 20th and 21st centuries. Mr Kyrou picked out some examples of books, music, films, ... about Mars.
But why would man go and explore space? For the same, capitalistic reasons as applied on Earth? Or will we adapt our way of living to the local conditions? Here too, the question of (re)building a society comes into view. How would that happen? What would it look like? Would there still be a place for spirituality, religion, and alike?
And what with possible bacteria? Can bacteria from Earth survive on a planet like Mars?
Volte-Face d'Alain Damasio (Turn-around by Alain Damasio)
As the topics discussed in this book also involve Alain Damasio's books, it was perhaps not all that surprising to have him contribute to this essay. Mr Damasio is known for not being a fan of current technology (smartphones, always being connected, etc.), warning his readers about the dangers of Big Brother, of neo-liberal politics, of the dystopian side of civilisation in general. Mind you, I still haven't read any of his books, unfortunately.
Alain Damasio talks about this essay and why it was written. He continues with a few words on imagination and what's to gain from thinking about the future and how that future could turn out to be? Also, who benefits from this thinking about/imagining the future?
Chapter V: Gaïa 4.0 - Au-delà de la dystopie et de l'utopie terrestre (Gaia 4.0 - Beyond dystopia and terrestrial utopia)
This is the longest, thickest chapter. Ecology and technology, something that will always be of the essence, as we need our environment and its resources to live.
For this chapter, works by a.o. Octavia E. Butler, Ursula K. Le Guin, Kim Stanley Robinson, J. G. Ballard, Philip K. Dick, Thomas More, and Alain Damasio were often be used as references.
Some of the questions asked in this chapter: Can we restore nature to its original state, with its inborn characteristics? How can technology be used to do so? What with fake trees, bugs, bees, etc. that fulfill the same purpose as the real creatures? How will these affect our view of the world, of how we live or will live? How will these inventions impact climate?
Like in the previous chapters, politics, technology, art, work/jobs, ... are aspects that were used to analyse this theme.
Conclusion: Sept figures fantastiques pour réinventer le réel comme fiction (Seven fantastic figures to reinvent reality as fiction)
The conclusion consists of seven short chapters, each focusing on one fantastic creature/being (taken from various works) to reinvent reality as fiction, enchance reality, in other words.
Finally, the whole is rounded off with an extensive index of authors, artists, film makers, ... and those specific works that were used in each of the five blocks/chapters.
When I look at this list, the following names stand out (which means many others have also found a place in the book, but were mentioned only once or a few times):
* Jean-Pierre Andrevon (French author)
* Isaac Asimov (American author)
* Margaret Atwood (Canadian author)
* J. G. Ballard (British author)
* Jeff Bezos (Amazon CEO, or rather, former CEO)
* John Brunner (Britsh author)
* Octavia E. Butler (American author)
* Yves Citton (French philosopher)
* Arthur C. Clarke (British author)
* Philippe Curval (French author)
* Alain Damasio (French author)
* Philip K. Dick (American author)
* Catherine Dufour (French author)
* Greg Egan (Australian author)
* Stanley Kubrick (American film director)
* Bruno Latour (French philosopher, anthropologist, sociologist)
* Ursula K. Le Guin (American author)
* Li-Cam (French author)
* Cormac McCarthy (American author)
* Norbert Merjagnan (French author)
* Elon Musk (Tesla/Neuralink/SpaceX CEO)
* Kim Stanley Robinson (American author)
* Yannick Rumpala (French political scientist)
* Norman Spinrad (American author)
* Bernard Stiegler (French philosopher)
* Andreï Tarkovski (Russian author/film maker)
* Vernor Vinge (American author)
While it is of course advised/recommended that you have read or seen (some/all of) those works, foreknowledge is not really necessary, as Mr Kyrou has focused more on the themes/subjects of said works, less on telling the storyline. (on a side note: Any necessary elaboration is added in the footnotes on the respective pages, something I applaud. I'm not fond of endnotes, i.e. footnotes that were put together at the end of a book, even if these endnotes were divided per chapter. One just tends to not even read or consult these, because you'd have to flip back and forth all the time.)
----------
'Dans les imaginaires du futur' is a dense, but epic result of much research on how the future (and as a consequence, our present) has been and still is being imagined. Not only by authors/writers, but also by musicians, illustrators/painters, film makers, philosophers, and scientists.
It is a unique document that is very relevant today and will be in the years to come.
You can take a trip down memory lane or perhaps find inspiration to contribute to the future of mankind.
----------
If you wish to learn more, here are some interesting interviews, podcasts, articles by/about Ariel Kyrou and 'Dans les imaginaires du futur':
https://www.editions-actusf.fr/a/anon...
https://www.nova.fr/news/ariel-kyrou-...
https://usbeketrica.com/fr/meme-dans-...
https://usbeketrica.com/author/ariel-...
https://www.fonda.asso.fr/auteurs/ari...
https://www.franceculture.fr/emission...
https://podcast.ausha.co/c-est-plus-q...
----------
I was sent this book by Éditions ActuSF for review. Many thanks to them for the trust.
This reissue came out in April 2023. Strangely enough, someone added the ISBN 9782376865766 to the Kindle edition, but this ISBN does belong to the reissued, pocket edition. I'll leave like it is, as Kindle books sometimes have an ASIN and an ISBN.
So, what changed in this revised edition? I won't go into detail, simply copy-paste what its author, Ariel Kyrou posted on Facebook. His additions involve mainly the rise and evolution of AI, like the many articles and posts we have seen about ChatGPT, for example. But the war in Ukraine also found a place in this renewed edition.
02/05/2023: (link)
L'essai "Dans les imaginaires du futur" de mon double pesant vient de sortir en poche chez Hélios, fin avril donc. Histoire d'en parler un peu, je débute un feuilleton : entre un essai sorti fin octobre 2020 et ce même livre publié fin avril 2023, que change-t-on par petites touches sur épreuves avant impression ?
Première réponse : dans la sous-partie "L'IA au coeur des imaginaires du tout numérique", on ajoute ChatGPT.
Genre, la phrase "L’intelligence artificielle est aujourd’hui la reine de ce spectacle en plusieurs épisodes", devient : "Avec ChatGPT d'OpenAI en nouvelle star, l'intelligence artificielle est aujourd’hui la reine de ce spectacle en plusieurs épisodes. Son être tient à la fois du Golem et de la roue, du Léviathan et du supermarché, de la machine industrielle fabriquée pour nous servir, de la machine sociale conçue pour nous asservir et de la machine démiurgique qui nous transforme en petits ou grands dieux et dont on cauchemarde avec délectation qu’elle pourrait nous dépasser un jour ou l’autre."
Ou encore : à propos de l'incroyable ordinateur Shalmaneser de John Brunner dans Tous à Zanzibar : "Bref, cette machine excentrique réunit en un même tout les pièces apparemment contradictoires de l’IA d’aujourd’hui à la ChatGPT : ultraperformante et pourtant faillible, autant démoniaque
que ras du bitume, au service de la masse des consommateurs conformes devant leurs écrans, et in fine bien évidemment de sa multinationale (General Technics, dite GT) qui tire de l’exploitation professionnelle et grand public de la mécanique de copieux bénéfices."
06/05/2023: (link)
Suite de mon feuilleton à propos de la réédition en poche de "Dans les imaginaires du futur". L'ajout, toujours sur l'IA, est à la fin du passage cité, car je ne pouvais m'empêcher de mentionner mon nouvel héros de polar métaphysique, mais dans le réel : Blake Lemoine... Extrait donc : "Qu’AlphaGo devienne une IA « généraliste », ainsi plus proche de Hal, exerçant ses réseaux de neurones sur une multitude de domaines avec un minimum de connaissances a priori. Bref, que cette IA, passant d’un sujet à l’autre, devienne capable de résoudre tous types de problèmes, et pas simplement de vaincre les champions d’un jeu unique, aussi complexe soit-il à l’instar du go qui offre plus de possibilités de parties qu’il n’y a d’atomes dans l’univers. Et le tout, en théorie, sans devoir être « dressée » en permanence par une troupe d’ingénieurs et une foultitude de microtâcherons selon la méthode, dite « supervisée », de l’apprentissage machine de l’IA – mode dominant qui a donné sa dynamique à l’IA dénommée « connexionniste », basée sur les réseaux de neurones. Comment s’étonner, dès lors, qu’un ingénieur de chez Google, Blake Lemoine, ait soutenu en juin 2022 que son IA conversationnelle, LaMDA, avait développé « une vie intérieure riche remplie d’introspection, de méditation et d’imagination » ? Il a certes été viré, mais n’en reste pas moins persistante la perspective fantasmatique d’une machine capable d’apprendre par elle-même..."
26/05/2023: (link)
Dernier épisode de mon feuilleton de réédition en poche de l'essai "Dans les imaginaires du futur" : un petit ajout sur la guerre en Ukraine me semblait symboliquement important. À la toute fin du sous-chapitre "Les mutants du passage et de la transformation", cet événement marquant, comme un terrible chant du cygne d'un monde qui ne veut pas s'en aller, est désormais associé à un concept inventé par Paul Virilio : l'accident de réalité. Je cite : "par essence évolutif et durable, sur le temps de décennies, voire de générations", cet "accident de réalité peut se manifester par la radioactivité, conséquence d’un désastre nucléaire dans une région, ou demain par des enchaînements de pandémies ou d’effets du réchauffement climatique, par exemple dans des îles, des ports ou des bords de mer très menacés par la montée des eaux. À moins que l'accident de réalité ne prenne la forme d'une régression historique, de l'archaïsme d'un conflit armé sans issue, telle la guerre en Ukraine qui n'en finirait jamais suite à l'invasion russe du 24 février 2022."
Finally, two more links to podcasts or online debates for you to enjoy. See also the list at the bottom for more.
* https://smartlink.ausha.co/dessine-mo... (02/05/2023?)
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypq05... (10/01/2023)
Large edition or revised, mass market paperback edition, this essay remains important and heavily recommended to this day and beyond.
----------
For completion reasons, here's my original review:
Everybody has something to say about life, about society, about the environment and ultimately, about the future. At least, from their own standpoint.
Science fiction is one of the few styles of literature that deals with life today, in the future, and even in the past. Everyone uses his/her imagination to imagine a different, better world, no matter how small or large the imagined/proposed changes.
Science fiction covers numerous grounds: anthropology, astronomy, medicine/healthcare, politics, sociology, philosophy, psychology, technology, etc.
However, as with many things, it starts in the mind, you imagine something and continue from there.
----------
In his newest opus - Dans les imaginaires du futur (rough translation: In the imaginations of the future, or, Imagining the future, or interpreted: How the future was, has been and is imagined) -, journalist Ariel Kyrou dived into the massive database and piles of SF-works: books, comics, graphic novels, films, TV-series, music, ... Added to that were works by philosophers/sociologists.
The book is divided into five large chapters, each containing multiple, bite-size subchapters. I've added the English "translations" between brackets. Each chapter starts with a general introduction of the respective theme.
Chapter I: Imaginaires - Ce que nous font les récits du futur (Imaginations - What the stories of/about the future do to us)
In this first chapter, Mr Kyrou begins his dissection with the film 'Blade Runner' (both the 1982 and the 2017 versions) as a basis to address various themes, which allow him to mention other relevant works, like the books of Kim Stanley Robinson. What does the future look like in 'Blade Runner' (and by extension 'Blade Runner 2049)? The end of life on Earth, mankind having to colonise space to find a new safe haven, the development of androids to be able to adapt to this new way of living, etc.
As 'imagination' is a large concept, we're also taken on a philosophical tour with Jean-Jacques Wunenburger, Emmanuel Kant, Paul Ricoeur, Yves Citton, and others. We all have our own imagination, expressed in/through dreams, advertisements, souvenirs, mythologies, and so on. So yes, TV-advertisements by carmakers are used as an example.
The popular TV-series 'Game of Thrones' is also food for discussion, here a number of characters stand out as an example of how George R. R. Martin imagined the world to be or how it should be.
And that's where ideology and the vision of a certain utopia come into play. In other words, how fiction can be at the same time poison and antidote. Fiction can be the expression of existing ideas on the "ideal" world, but can also warn about the possible dangers of such societies. Authors like J. G. Ballard, Alain Damasio, Ursula K. Le Guin, Philip K. Dick, and books like 'Harry Potter' and 'Hunger Games' are all examples of how society could look or shouldn't look like.
Chapter II: Créations technologiques - Devenir dieu avec nos intelligences artificielles (Technological creations - Becoming god with our artificial intelligences)
AI and mankind or humanity 2.0. How AI more and more becomes part of our lives. One example as a start is Vernor Vinge's "singularity" (aka superhuman intellect), which is said to be based on a text by Stanislaw Lem, in which John Von Neumann (information technology pioneer).
What's the impact of AI (robots, computers, ...) on our way of life? How to incorporate AI in a safe way? Various companies, with Silicon Valley as main example, have been working for years on AI (Google, Facebook, ...).
The world is becoming more and more digital, online. Google, Facebook, Neuralink, Apple, ... Soon we'll all be communicating as semi-robots/androids. No need to think about the words any more, as computer already suggest default answers/replies/words (auto-correction?). You don't need to think or spend time reflecting on how you're going to phrase it, the computer will do that for you. Just think of something/Someone and a prefabricated mail/text/image/.... will arise or provide the answer to your question.
Most prominent names here are a.o. John Brunner, William Gibson, whose works were used as references.
AI can also be helpful: registering appointments, directing people to places/addresses/products/... and more. AI can also be "helpful" when all is linked up: your medical data, your driver's licence, your domicile, your bank account, your purchase history, ... So much even, that you will or won't be able any more to buy or do whatever you want, because your personal history will show that what you wish to do is detrimental to your health or you won't be able to buy/do something because you haven't paid your taxes or fines, and so on and so forth.
AI is also Cortana, Siri, and Alexa. You just ask those systems a question and they'll provide the info/answer; but in doing so, they're learning more about you and will know you better than you know yourself or than anyone else knowing yourself.
Last but not least, AI is also a bit of Frankenstein, of the trans-humanism of Google, of the computer DeepMind (chess), of HAL in Clarke's '2001: A Space Oddyssey'.
Chapter III: Fins du monde - De la nécessité d'une pluralité des effondrements (Ends of the world - On the need for a plurality of collapses)
The end of the world is a classic trope in SF, but also in real life. Viruses, wars, technological "advances", political decisions/ideologies, zombies, aliens, ecological disasters (floods, hurricanes, meteorites, ...), each of those has been a topic of many discussions and fears.
On the other hand, as the world continues in cycles. sometimes you have to end something to create a better version. Defining "better" remains a subjective question, obviously, as each of us finds something worth improving. Should mankind go extinct so that nature can reclaim what is hers? Should we continue the chosen path of technological advances or on the contrary, go back to a more basic kind of life, when the digital age didn't exist?
The end of the world and what comes next is also a political question. What will or should society look like? Before this question can be answered, we'd need to know how the world came to its end: climate change? Nuclear wars? Lack of natural resources? As you see, the end of the world can come in many forms and at multiple times. Ultimately, who's to decide what the next version of the world should look like? A few people or a large group? Everyone?
Chapter IV: Extraterrestre - L'exploration spatiale et les imaginaires de l'ailleurs (Extraterrestrial - Space exploration and the imaginations of elsewhere)
Space exploration. Since Perseverance has landed on Mars (February 2021), the topic of space exploration will surely inspire authors to create new stories, despite the plethora of books that have been published in the 20th and 21st centuries. Mr Kyrou picked out some examples of books, music, films, ... about Mars.
But why would man go and explore space? For the same, capitalistic reasons as applied on Earth? Or will we adapt our way of living to the local conditions? Here too, the question of (re)building a society comes into view. How would that happen? What would it look like? Would there still be a place for spirituality, religion, and alike?
And what with possible bacteria? Can bacteria from Earth survive on a planet like Mars?
Volte-Face d'Alain Damasio (Turn-around by Alain Damasio)
As the topics discussed in this book also involve Alain Damasio's books, it was perhaps not all that surprising to have him contribute to this essay. Mr Damasio is known for not being a fan of current technology (smartphones, always being connected, etc.), warning his readers about the dangers of Big Brother, of neo-liberal politics, of the dystopian side of civilisation in general. Mind you, I still haven't read any of his books, unfortunately.
Alain Damasio talks about this essay and why it was written. He continues with a few words on imagination and what's to gain from thinking about the future and how that future could turn out to be? Also, who benefits from this thinking about/imagining the future?
Chapter V: Gaïa 4.0 - Au-delà de la dystopie et de l'utopie terrestre (Gaia 4.0 - Beyond dystopia and terrestrial utopia)
This is the longest, thickest chapter. Ecology and technology, something that will always be of the essence, as we need our environment and its resources to live.
For this chapter, works by a.o. Octavia E. Butler, Ursula K. Le Guin, Kim Stanley Robinson, J. G. Ballard, Philip K. Dick, Thomas More, and Alain Damasio were often be used as references.
Some of the questions asked in this chapter: Can we restore nature to its original state, with its inborn characteristics? How can technology be used to do so? What with fake trees, bugs, bees, etc. that fulfill the same purpose as the real creatures? How will these affect our view of the world, of how we live or will live? How will these inventions impact climate?
Like in the previous chapters, politics, technology, art, work/jobs, ... are aspects that were used to analyse this theme.
Conclusion: Sept figures fantastiques pour réinventer le réel comme fiction (Seven fantastic figures to reinvent reality as fiction)
The conclusion consists of seven short chapters, each focusing on one fantastic creature/being (taken from various works) to reinvent reality as fiction, enchance reality, in other words.
Finally, the whole is rounded off with an extensive index of authors, artists, film makers, ... and those specific works that were used in each of the five blocks/chapters.
When I look at this list, the following names stand out (which means many others have also found a place in the book, but were mentioned only once or a few times):
* Jean-Pierre Andrevon (French author)
* Isaac Asimov (American author)
* Margaret Atwood (Canadian author)
* J. G. Ballard (British author)
* Jeff Bezos (Amazon CEO, or rather, former CEO)
* John Brunner (Britsh author)
* Octavia E. Butler (American author)
* Yves Citton (French philosopher)
* Arthur C. Clarke (British author)
* Philippe Curval (French author)
* Alain Damasio (French author)
* Philip K. Dick (American author)
* Catherine Dufour (French author)
* Greg Egan (Australian author)
* Stanley Kubrick (American film director)
* Bruno Latour (French philosopher, anthropologist, sociologist)
* Ursula K. Le Guin (American author)
* Li-Cam (French author)
* Cormac McCarthy (American author)
* Norbert Merjagnan (French author)
* Elon Musk (Tesla/Neuralink/SpaceX CEO)
* Kim Stanley Robinson (American author)
* Yannick Rumpala (French political scientist)
* Norman Spinrad (American author)
* Bernard Stiegler (French philosopher)
* Andreï Tarkovski (Russian author/film maker)
* Vernor Vinge (American author)
While it is of course advised/recommended that you have read or seen (some/all of) those works, foreknowledge is not really necessary, as Mr Kyrou has focused more on the themes/subjects of said works, less on telling the storyline. (on a side note: Any necessary elaboration is added in the footnotes on the respective pages, something I applaud. I'm not fond of endnotes, i.e. footnotes that were put together at the end of a book, even if these endnotes were divided per chapter. One just tends to not even read or consult these, because you'd have to flip back and forth all the time.)
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'Dans les imaginaires du futur' is a dense, but epic result of much research on how the future (and as a consequence, our present) has been and still is being imagined. Not only by authors/writers, but also by musicians, illustrators/painters, film makers, philosophers, and scientists.
It is a unique document that is very relevant today and will be in the years to come.
You can take a trip down memory lane or perhaps find inspiration to contribute to the future of mankind.
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If you wish to learn more, here are some interesting interviews, podcasts, articles by/about Ariel Kyrou and 'Dans les imaginaires du futur':
https://www.editions-actusf.fr/a/anon...
https://www.nova.fr/news/ariel-kyrou-...
https://usbeketrica.com/fr/meme-dans-...
https://usbeketrica.com/author/ariel-...
https://www.fonda.asso.fr/auteurs/ari...
https://www.franceculture.fr/emission...
https://podcast.ausha.co/c-est-plus-q...
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I was sent this book by Éditions ActuSF for review. Many thanks to them for the trust.
June 12, 2022
Très bon essai sur la SF, avec pour thème : la science fiction est politique.
Beaucoup d'œuvres vu sous un angle original et intéressant.
Bien entendu, on trouve toujours des manques à ce type d'exercice, en fonction de ses propres goûts, mais le livre est très riche, très bien pensé.
Beaucoup d'œuvres vu sous un angle original et intéressant.
Bien entendu, on trouve toujours des manques à ce type d'exercice, en fonction de ses propres goûts, mais le livre est très riche, très bien pensé.
July 9, 2024
Une immense claque, l'effet d'une flèche au coeur. Un essai palpitant, qui déborde de passion et d'érudition comme je n'en avais pas lu depuis longtemps. Bien que dense, il peut aussi bien être lu petit à petit que d'une traite. C'est un récit de récits, une ode à la littérature de science fiction, un concentré de réflexions passionnantes qui, plutôt que de nous imposer une vision des choses, tend à élargir les horizons de notre pensée, de nos lectures, individuelles comme communes.
Et dans le même temps, l'auteur reste à la place. Il ne laisse aucun sujet dans l'ombre, se laissant la liberté de ne pas les développer lorsqu'il estime que d'autres sont mieux à même d'en parler. Maintenant, j'espère que ces personnes prendront la parole, qu'elles seront soutenues et entendues afin de déployer encore davantage ces débats culturels, économiques, écologiques qui nous concernent tous. Que d'autres essayistes prendront la suite d'Ariel Kyrou pour aborder une littérature qui nous est aujourd'hui contemporaine lorsqu'on disposera du recul nécessaire pour le faire.
Et dans le même temps, l'auteur reste à la place. Il ne laisse aucun sujet dans l'ombre, se laissant la liberté de ne pas les développer lorsqu'il estime que d'autres sont mieux à même d'en parler. Maintenant, j'espère que ces personnes prendront la parole, qu'elles seront soutenues et entendues afin de déployer encore davantage ces débats culturels, économiques, écologiques qui nous concernent tous. Que d'autres essayistes prendront la suite d'Ariel Kyrou pour aborder une littérature qui nous est aujourd'hui contemporaine lorsqu'on disposera du recul nécessaire pour le faire.
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