How does science fiction have the potential to shape our understanding of human nature, reality, and the universe? It’s a topic that Damien Walter — writer, video essayist, and lifelong enthusiast of science fiction — is continuously exploring. If you take a look at his popular YouTube channel (aptly titled “Science Fiction”) you’ll see a wealth of critical analyses that explore the role the genre plays as a mirror to society, illuminating its potential to be more than mere escapism, but a lens through which we can examine the myths that shape us.
This week on The Wonder Dome, Damien shares with us his insights on science fiction’s capacity to deconstruct and reconstruct our worldviews, while also offering critiques of the ways in which we engage with storytelling, criticism, and debate today — especially online, where performativity often inflames radical polarization. From the architecture of storytelling to the transformative power of myth, this episode is a must-listen for anyone intrigued by the intersection of narrative, ideology, and the quest for meaning in an ever-changing world.
"Poem-Rocket" by Allen Ginsberg I am another Star. Will you eat my poems or read them or gaze with aluminum blind plates on sunless pages? do you dream or translate & accept data with indifferent droopings of antennae? do I make sense to your flowery green receptor eyesockets? do you have visions of God? Which way will the sunflowers turn surrounded by millions of suns? This is my rocket my personal rocket I send up my message Beyond Someone to hear me there My immortality without steel or cobalt bassalt or diamond gold or mercurial fire without passports filing cabinets bits of paper warheads without myself finally pure thought
Show Notes:
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#144 Fictions and Factions (with Damien Walter)