http://cache.io9.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/io9.com.png http://io9.com/tag/utopias http://io9.com/tag/utopias Is optimism just a crazy notion, or does technological innovation totally justify our faith? In the comments on our article about optimistic stories that could still come true, commenter Corpore-metal points out some of the ways that technology has transformed the world — even if we're never going to have a utopia. More »
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Everybody wants more optimistic science fiction, but the near future is full of nightmare scenarios like global climate change. How do we get around that? Alastair Reynolds has one idea: a 22nd century saga set after the climate's already changed. More »
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The future is a beautiful place - and you can help make it that way, while picking up a paycheck at the same time. Here are 20 jobs that will help the human race avoid dystopia! More »
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Now that young-adult fiction is where most of great dystopian stories are being told, there are two awesome discussions going on. Kaitlin Ward asks what's the difference between dystopian and apocalyptic fiction. And Angie Smibert wonders where the utopias are. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5561512&view=rss&microfeed=true A great essay over at Crosscut.com explains why two different schools of utopian city planning in Seattle both try to ignore the city's present-day realities and historical features: More »
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For possibly the first time ever, North Korean art is being displayed in Europe, and the utopian optimism is heart-breaking. Yes, monster movies may not be the scariest culture North Korea ever produced. More »
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Gallileo's Dream author Kim Stanley Robinson explains why writing about utopias is much, much harder than writing about dystopias, but also much more worthwhile if we're planning on having descendants around to read our stories in the future. More »
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Today sees the publication of Ralph Nader's utopian future/alternate history, Only The Super-Rich Can Save Us! The 736-page epic ends with third parties winning elections, corporations being neutered, and America being saved. Oh, and Yoko Ono creates a mind-expanding logo. More »
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Back in the 1970s, eco-idealists dared to dream big. Just check out this fantastic concept art from the never-produced movie version of Ernest Callenbach's classic novel Ecotopia. Gallery below. More »
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Star Trek and Terminator often feature the same time-travel story: someone journeys back in time from the future. The only difference is, in Trek, our heroes are usually arriving from a shining paradise, while the Terminator franchise always shows people fleeing the shattered ruins of Earth. Whether they come from a dystopia or a utopia determines how our heroes view the past they arrive at. And, of course, both Terminator and Star Trek have big tentpole movies coming out next summer. Spoilers and speculation ahead. More »
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Everybody's sick of dystopian futures and bleak predictions. Whatever happened to science fiction's tradition of sunny optimism and can-do cheerfulness? Just because our population is exploding, our consumer economy is dependent on the waning availability of cheap oil and our oceans are dying, is no reason to be negative. Click through to vote for your favorite scenario in which everything is going to work out totally okey dokey. Hunky dory, even. More »
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