Politics and Fiction
Which authors' fictional work, in your mind, best embodies a political/religious idea? This can be anything from a single book, to an entire body of work.
For instance: I've always thought Arthur C Clarke was a great example of a socialist. Between the 2001 series and any number of other books, he pretty much stated that the end-result of any society is going to be a socialist state. His "machine society" in 2001 was completely Communist, but only worked because it wasn't people. It was a funny idea, when I read it, that a political idea could be perfect, but because of human nature be terrible in practice. The fun thing about his work is that, whenever possible, he coached it with the best approximation of science he could do, even making some fantastic predictions about our solar system.
Other books that held interesting political ideas IMO: Snowcrash, by Neal Stephenson; the Sprawl Trilogy by William Gibson: Starship Troopers, by Heinlein; C.S. Lewis's retelling of Christian Mythology in the Narnia series; Alan Moore's V For Vendetta on anarchy; Neal Gaiman's wonderful world in American Gods, and any number of classic answers.
Don't be afraid to share, I'm looking for recommendations just as much as ideas. I'd love to hear some opinions on how all of you think life imitates art, or vice versa.
For instance: I've always thought Arthur C Clarke was a great example of a socialist. Between the 2001 series and any number of other books, he pretty much stated that the end-result of any society is going to be a socialist state. His "machine society" in 2001 was completely Communist, but only worked because it wasn't people. It was a funny idea, when I read it, that a political idea could be perfect, but because of human nature be terrible in practice. The fun thing about his work is that, whenever possible, he coached it with the best approximation of science he could do, even making some fantastic predictions about our solar system.
Other books that held interesting political ideas IMO: Snowcrash, by Neal Stephenson; the Sprawl Trilogy by William Gibson: Starship Troopers, by Heinlein; C.S. Lewis's retelling of Christian Mythology in the Narnia series; Alan Moore's V For Vendetta on anarchy; Neal Gaiman's wonderful world in American Gods, and any number of classic answers.
Don't be afraid to share, I'm looking for recommendations just as much as ideas. I'd love to hear some opinions on how all of you think life imitates art, or vice versa.
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e e cummings
One author people don't talk about a lot is Doris Lessing. I only got into her earlier this year, but much of her work is political, or at least deals with politics as an issue. The novels from the Children of Violence series and The Golden Notebook contain some pretty painful indictments of communist groups from the 1930s-1950s. Not from a reactionary angle, but from someone deeply involved with the party in Rhodesia for at least a decade and for some of her time in England. She also touches on some feminist issues, though she dislikes being called a feminist writer. The novels I read also touched on issues of racial discrimination in colonial Africa, though my understanding is that's more the main subject of The Grass is Singing.
I also read some E.M. Forster a while back and was for some reason surprised by how much he dealt with the politics and class in Edwardian England. I mean, the love interest in Room With a View is the son of *gasp* a working class socialist, which the Merchant/Ivory adaptation kinda glosses over. Howard's End is pretty interesting from a political angle as well.
I also read some E.M. Forster a while back and was for some reason surprised by how much he dealt with the politics and class in Edwardian England. I mean, the love interest in Room With a View is the son of *gasp* a working class socialist, which the Merchant/Ivory adaptation kinda glosses over. Howard's End is pretty interesting from a political angle as well.
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West surprisingly does a great job embodying government, class warfare, equal rights and religion in its entirety.
is that a joke movie?
No, it's a book and a Broadway musical. The only joke here is you.
i thought it was a joke movie
Goodnight Moon.
Of course, with the fiscal cliff talks, I think this book is insightful, "If You Give a Moose a Muffin."
Of course, with the fiscal cliff talks, I think this book is insightful, "If You Give a Moose a Muffin."
i love that book
- I think Charles Dickens works best showed the importance of basic welfare and employment laws.
- George Orwell, the dangers of state and propaganda
- Shogun highlights the dodgy dealings and dirty politics in the world very well
- His dark materials trilogy represents the dangers of religious institutions
- Lastly I'd have to say Terry Pratchet discworld books. They may be very humourous and absurd but some of the observations are pretty accurate and astute.
- George Orwell, the dangers of state and propaganda
- Shogun highlights the dodgy dealings and dirty politics in the world very well
- His dark materials trilogy represents the dangers of religious institutions
- Lastly I'd have to say Terry Pratchet discworld books. They may be very humourous and absurd but some of the observations are pretty accurate and astute.
I haven't read Shogun, I'll have to get around to that.
It's long but a very good read imo
Does Idiocracy count as fiction?
I'm surprised "Atlas Shrugged" hasn't been mentioned yet considering its recent portrayal on film...
Or "Animal Farm" with its 'commentary' on the Soviet Union of the Cold War years.
Or "Animal Farm" with its 'commentary' on the Soviet Union of the Cold War years.
That's because Atlas Shrugged sucks horribly.
huh, I think that depends on your political views. All of Ayn Rand's books are actually still in print, and her influences on society are quite impressive.
Most of the other books that were listed offer more substantial messages other than "greed and selfishness are good."
Regardless of viewpoint, Atlas Shrugged is full of severe plot holes and just plain old bad writing. It only gets attention because of Ayn Rand's personality cult.
Regardless of viewpoint, Atlas Shrugged is full of severe plot holes and just plain old bad writing. It only gets attention because of Ayn Rand's personality cult.
And yet Atlas Shrugged has made several lists of the most influencial books...
All of Rand's books are still being printed despite having been written decades ago. Even though critics hated her works, they only gained in popularity over the years. And considering she was born and raised in Russia and spent her early teen years under Lenin's rule, I think she had a legit reason to hate anything smelling of communism & socialism.
All of Rand's books are still being printed despite having been written decades ago. Even though critics hated her works, they only gained in popularity over the years. And considering she was born and raised in Russia and spent her early teen years under Lenin's rule, I think she had a legit reason to hate anything smelling of communism & socialism.
All of Rand's books are still being printed despite having been written decades ago.
As is A Tale of Two Cities. By the way, it's a much better book and isn't full of plot holes.
And considering she was born and raised in Russia and spent her early teen years under Lenin's rule, I think she had a legit reason to hate anything smelling of communism & socialism.
The Soviet Union didn't even come close to being a real Communist entity
Also, there is no legitimate reason for promoting a philosophy which can be summarized by the song Money.
As is A Tale of Two Cities. By the way, it's a much better book and isn't full of plot holes.
And considering she was born and raised in Russia and spent her early teen years under Lenin's rule, I think she had a legit reason to hate anything smelling of communism & socialism.
The Soviet Union didn't even come close to being a real Communist entity
Also, there is no legitimate reason for promoting a philosophy which can be summarized by the song Money.
Right, Soviet Union not coming close to being Communist, and yet they would seize people's businesses if they thought they could convince people it was for the betterment of the country...
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popularity =/= quality.
Fifty shades of grey is one of the most popular books, most sold books of all time. It's filled with shitty writing, and has been condemned by the kink community.
Fifty shades of grey is one of the most popular books, most sold books of all time. It's filled with shitty writing, and has been condemned by the kink community.
Ayn Rand's writing has been around for decades though. Crappy writing usually doesn't get passed on to the next generation. Fifty Shades and Twilight both will end up fading into obscurity once the initial following finds something else to fawn over. You don't hear much about the Da Vinci Code anymore, and everyone thought that was so great when it first came out...
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Well, it doesn't exactly embody a specific political opinion, but I hope you've read Ender's Game.
Of course I have!
Heh, well then that I suppose is a good one.