Science fiction has been considered a vector of extrapolating current technological trends since its inception. This dissertation thesis aims to explore this relationship between science fiction and technology, specifically through the lens of popular culture (Jenkins, 2006), and how this amalgamation catalyzes technoscientific ideologies into consolidation and, ultimately, acts as a lighthouse guiding which technologies are developed, diffused and accepted by the general public. This dissertation is divided into four parts. The first one, called theoretical research, is dedicated to the explanation of the fundamental concepts through which the entirety of the work is built upon: material culture, popular culture and science fiction. The production process of popular culture is made bare and is tied with the origins and functions of science fiction. Exploring these functions further, it’s explained how they culminate into technoscientific microideologies that are later adopted, supported and replicated by decision makers in society. The second part is a phenomenological investigation into science fictions and materiality. Its goal is to understand, through a contemporary and historical perspective, the manifestation of the technotypes that circulate most strongly in contemporary society: Cyberpunk and New Wave. From these technotypes, specific categorizations were extracted and used to further categorize the case studies in search of patterns that could be extrapolated beyond this work. In the third section, the categories that were made apparent by the case studies are further validated through an analysis based on the CLA - Causal Layered Analysis method (Inayatullah, 1998), where each category is deepened through a single materialization that can have its origin pinpointed in science fiction narratives. The fourth part is where the conclusions are presented. Through this work, the final goal is to understand how popular culture science fiction works are not only extrapolated visions of future, but are the origins of technotypes that are agreed upon by society and further chased as ideals of technological production, and how a designer can leverage them to understand future technological opportunities an anticipate possible challenges posed by technological advancements.
Sin dai suoi esordi la fantascienza è stata considerata un vettore per estrapolare le attuali tendenze tecnologiche. Questa tesi di Laurea mira a esplorare questa relazione tra fantascienza e tecnologia, in particolare attraverso la lente della cultura popolare (Jenkins, 2006), e a compreendere come questa fusione catalizza le ideologie tecnoscientifiche e, al fine, guida quali tecnologie sono sviluppate, diffuse e accettate dal pubblico in generale. Questa tesi è divisa in quattro parti. La prima, denominata ricerca teorica, è dedicata alla spiegazione dei concetti fondamentali attraverso i quali si costruisce l'intero percorso: cultura materiale, cultura popolare e fantascienza. Il processo produttivo della cultura popolare messo a nudo e legato alle origini e alle funzioni della fantascienza. Esplorando ulteriormente queste funzioni, emerge come culmino in microideologie tecnoscientifiche che possono essere successivamente adottate, supportate e replicate dai decisori nella società. La seconda parte dell'elaborato è un'indagine fenomenologica sulla fantascienza e sulla materialità. Il suo obiettivo è comprendere, attraverso una prospettiva contemporanea e storica, la manifestazione dei tecnotipi più noti e riconoscibili nella società contemporanea: Cyberpunk e New Wave. Da questi tecnotipi sono state estratte categorizzazioni specifiche e utilizzate per categorizzare ulteriormente i casi di studio alla ricerca di modelli che potrebbero essere estrapolati al di là di questo lavoro. Nella terza sezione, le categorie che sono state rese evidenti dai casi di studio sono ulteriormente convalidate attraverso il modello della CLA - Causal Layer Analysis (Inayatullah, 1998), in cui ogni categoria viene approfondita attraverso un'unica materializzazione che può avere la sua origine individuata nelle narrazioni di fantascienza. Nella quarta parte vengono presentate le conclusioni. Attraverso questo lavoro, l'obiettivo finale è compreendere come le opere di fantascienza della cultura popolare non siano solo visioni estrapolate del futuro, ma rappresentino le origini di tecnotipi condivisi dalla società e ulteriormente inseguiti come ideali di produzione tecnologica, dall'altro come un designer possa sfruttarli per comprendere le future opportunità e anticipare le possibili sfide poste dai progressi tecnologici.
Threads that pull the future. Science fiction and technological advancements : cases and reflections
DLUHOSCH, JOÃO HENRIQUE
2020/2021
Abstract
Science fiction has been considered a vector of extrapolating current technological trends since its inception. This dissertation thesis aims to explore this relationship between science fiction and technology, specifically through the lens of popular culture (Jenkins, 2006), and how this amalgamation catalyzes technoscientific ideologies into consolidation and, ultimately, acts as a lighthouse guiding which technologies are developed, diffused and accepted by the general public. This dissertation is divided into four parts. The first one, called theoretical research, is dedicated to the explanation of the fundamental concepts through which the entirety of the work is built upon: material culture, popular culture and science fiction. The production process of popular culture is made bare and is tied with the origins and functions of science fiction. Exploring these functions further, it’s explained how they culminate into technoscientific microideologies that are later adopted, supported and replicated by decision makers in society. The second part is a phenomenological investigation into science fictions and materiality. Its goal is to understand, through a contemporary and historical perspective, the manifestation of the technotypes that circulate most strongly in contemporary society: Cyberpunk and New Wave. From these technotypes, specific categorizations were extracted and used to further categorize the case studies in search of patterns that could be extrapolated beyond this work. In the third section, the categories that were made apparent by the case studies are further validated through an analysis based on the CLA - Causal Layered Analysis method (Inayatullah, 1998), where each category is deepened through a single materialization that can have its origin pinpointed in science fiction narratives. The fourth part is where the conclusions are presented. Through this work, the final goal is to understand how popular culture science fiction works are not only extrapolated visions of future, but are the origins of technotypes that are agreed upon by society and further chased as ideals of technological production, and how a designer can leverage them to understand future technological opportunities an anticipate possible challenges posed by technological advancements.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/177951