Also Make the Heavens - DiVA portal

241 Pages·2010·2.66 MB·English

Skrifter utgivna
av Avdelningen för litteratursociologi
vid Litteraturvetenskapliga institutionen i Uppsala
Publications from the Section for Sociology of Literature at the Department
of Literature, Uppsala University
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Also Make the Heavens

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Svante Lovén

Also Make the Heavens
Virtual Realities in Science Fiction

Uppsala 2010

Avdelningen för litteratursociologi
vid Litteraturvetenskapliga institutionen i Uppsala
The Section for Sociology of Literature at the Department of
Literature, Uppsala University
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Parts of the second chapter have previously been published in “Even better
than the real thing? Counterfeit realities and twentieth century dystopian fic-
tion”, Human IT. Tidskrift för studier av IT ur ett humanvetenskapligt per-
spektiv, 2–3, 2001, pp. 233-289.

Cover photograph by the author.
Cover design by Martin Högvall.
Printed at Kph Trycksaksbolaget, Uppsala, 2010.

Copyright © Svante Lovén 2010
ISSN 0349-1145
ISBN 978-91-88300-49-2
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Till Elisabeth, Magnus och Anna
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Contents

Acknowledgements 9

Introduction 11

1. The charm and danger of the illusion
1. Introduction 29
2. The seductive image and the weakness of our nature
Plato 31
Christian iconophobia 34
The illusion as witchcraft: Two Renaissance allegories 39
3. The human demiurge
The celebration of illusionist art 43
The man-made world and the dream of order 47
The Romantic poet as creator god 55
4. The technological spectacle
Romantic mistrust of technology 59
The virtual reality of the panorama 60
The virtual reality as decadence:
J.K. Huysmans’ Against Nature 70

2. The humanist reaction
1. The terror of direct experience 79
E.M. Forster, “The Machine Stops” 80
2. Escape of the masses
The threat of film 84
Aldous Huxley, Brave New World 86
3. Coming to America
The complete illusion 92
4. Televised reality
The medium of conformity 97
Televisions 101

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3. The culture of simulations
1. The rule of measure and the cybernetic marketplace
Cultural contexts 117
Frederik Pohl, “The Tunnel Under the World” 126
Daniel F. Galouye, Simulacron-3 129
The gnostic pattern 136
2. Philip K. Dick
Introduction 143
Time Out of Joint 147
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch 158

4. Computer space
1. Introduction 166
2. Posthuman apotheosis
John Varley, “Overdrawn at the Memory Bank” 174
Vernor Vinge, “True Names” 178
3. Postmodern coda: William Gibson, Neuromancer
Introduction 188
The idealist delusion 195
Case’s development 201

Concluding remarks:
Virtual reality and the American experience 212

Bibliography 221

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Acknowledgments

The major part of this book was written within the research project
”IT, narrative, and the literary system”, which was conducted at the
Division of the Sociology of Literature, Department of Comparative
Literature, University of Uppsala, and financed by Axel and Margaret
Ax:son Johnson Foundation. I have also received support from the
University of Gävle.

During the writing of this book a number of individuals have read
drafts, attended seminars, come up with reading suggestions, and gen-
erally expressed interest in a way that made me feel that my investiga-
tion, excentric as it may be in the context of Swedish academe, has
been worth the effort.
I owe special thanks to Johan Svedjedal, who welcomed me aboard
the research project, and supported my investigation even when it
strayed from its original plan. Alan Shima offered valuable comments
and generously gave of his time and expertise during the finishing
phase of editing, over and beyond the call of duty. Bob Goldberg gave
precious advice during a critical phase of writing. I have also received
valuable input from Claes Ahlund, Bo G. Ekelund, and Michael Gus-
tavsson. Martin Högvall helped me make the cover look good.

I dedicate this book to my wife Elisabeth, and to our children Magnus
and Anna.
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