My freshman seminar, Issues in SF, is finishing up with Nancy Kress's
_Beggars in Spain_ (which is, btw, a beautifully teachable novel,
even for non-SF-fans). Kress's late 21st century America has exactly
the scenario described earlier: the majority of the population gets
their information in audio/video form, and few are literate;
government and business are run by a small, educated upper-middle class
of politicians & professionals. Kress's explanation: cheap energy,
automation, and an unusually strong economy make work optional for
the majority; her premise is that without the _need_ to be educated,
Americans would place no value on it and it would thus decline. Most
of my students, unfortunately, agreed that if they didn't have to work,
and therefore didn't have to get educated, they'd probably go along
with the "one big party after another" life of the population in Kress's
novel.
shelley
[log in to unmask]
_______________________________________________________________________________
Subject: The Dumbing of America
From: Science Fiction and Fantasy Listserv <[log in to unmask]> at internet
Date: 12/5/96 7:00 AM
Several non fiction treatments of this as a contemporary problem exist
(including one by the title of the subject line). What SF works have we
seen treat this? I don't want to include one where disaster has made
people revert to an earlier, more primitive state (where they must refigure
out using a bone to gain a water hole). I'm talking about the idea that
people are learning less and less, and pretty complacent about it.
Point in case: with the rerelease of the Star Wars movies, the prologue
crawl will have to be slowed down. That's right, say it with me, "A long
time ago..." In the time since it was first released, people have lost the
capability to read it at the former speed, and it will now be S-L-O-W-E-R.
Omigosh, we might be back on a SF topic!
Maryelizabeth
Mysterious Galaxy 619-268-4747
3904 Convoy St, #107 800-811-4747
San Diego, CA 92111 619-268-4775 FAX
http://www.mystgalaxy.com
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