6 countries that have produced the most sci-fi stories are also the most imperialistic, says University of London professor

Blazing Reader,

Fiona Moore, a Professor of Business Anthropology at Royal Holloway, University of London, published an essay on the subject of postcolonialism as it pertains to the cult TV science fantasy series, Doctor Who. In it, she makes some fascinating observations about the role science fiction has had in both encouraging and critiquing imperialism — the policy of one country extending its power and influence via military force (a nicer word for violence) and other forms of manipulation.

Here's a sample from her essay where she notes that the countries that have produced the most science fiction (SF) stories are also the same countries that have a habit of invading other lands:

Since the turn of the century, there have also been a large number of articles and books analysing the colonial origins, and premises, of SF (e.g. Kerslake 2010), as well as presenting, and analysing, postcolonial developments in the genre. A key article is Csicsery-Ronay (2003), which notes that “The dominant SF nations are precisely those that attempted to expand beyond their national borders in imperialist projects: Britain, France, Germany, Soviet Russia, Japan, and the US. The pattern is clear, but not simple.” (231).

You can read Moore's entire essay about "Postcolonialism in Late 1980s Doctor Who" over on academia.edu.

John C.A. Manley

John C. A. Manley is the author of Much Ado About Corona, All The Humans Are Sleeping and other works of philosophical fiction that are "so completely engaging that you find yourself alternately laughing, gasping, hanging on for dear life." Get free samples of his stories by becoming a Blazing Pine Cone email subscriber.