Benford's "Effing the Ineffable"
science fiction is all about the alien
good SF should not present a humanlike subject but instead a truly strange and foreign experience
to what extent is science fiction actually alien?
historical examples of imperialist powers and their being unable to understand the languages or philosophies of other cultures
Her (film)
story about an operating system that the main character accepts as human
is it a story about something fundamentally alien?
what counts as "human"? intrinsic or constructed, or both? if so, in what proportion are these two aspects?
is the film actually science fiction even though it's portrayed more as a romance/drama and deals with very human themes?
is it too personal and too small in scope to be science fiction?
Aliens
in earlier depictions extraterrestrial aliens are portrayed as hyperintelligent, unfeeling beings
recent decades have seen more bestial or warlike aliens
does this shift make them more alien by making them more inhuman and monstrous?
or does it make them more human by making them more emotional?
what does it mean to fundamentally be more or less human-like?
Robots (Short Circuit, the Iron Giant)
according to Benford, are these bad science fiction?
both about machines becoming more human
robots learn to evaluate and feel in an emotional manner
would these fall under the aforementioned humanistic science fiction, where alien entities are described in very human terms?
Never Let Me Go
moral/ethical questions on what makes someone human
subjugation of a clone class that is biologically human but not treated as such
do the clones depict an alien experience?
House of the Scorpion
human perspective revealed to be an alien perspective
dystopian setting where "humanity" is, in a way, false
is it another example of portraying the human and alien as alike?
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