The World of Sci-fi during WWII – Intermission Story (29)

Alex Schomburg artwork

The goings-on at the home front!!

The first Golden Age of Science Fiction—often recognized in the United States as the period from 1938 to 1946—was an era during which the science fiction genre gained wide public attention and many classic science fiction stories were published. In the history of science fiction, the Golden Age follows the “pulp era” of the 1920s and 1930s, and precedes New Wave science fiction of the 1960s and 1970s. The 1950s are a transitional period in this scheme.

One leading influence on the creation of the Golden age was John W. Campbell, who became legendary in the genre as an editor and publisher of science fiction magazines, including Astounding Science Fiction, to the point where Isaac Asimov stated that “…in the 1940s, (Campbell) dominated the field to the point where to many seemed all of science fiction.” Under Campbell’s editorship, science fiction developed more realism and psychological depth to characterization. The focus shifted from the gizmo itself to the characters using the gizmo.

Most fans agree that the Golden Age began around 1938-39.  The July 1939 issue of Astounding Science Fiction  is frequently cited as the precise start of the Golden Age. It contains the first published story by A. E. van Vogt (the first part of The Voyage of the Space Beagle) and first appearance of Isaac Asimov (“Trends”) in “Astounding”. (Isaac Asimov was first published a few months earlier in the March edition of Amazing Stories.) Science fiction writer John C. Wright said of Van Vogt’s story, “This one started it all.”  The August issue of the same magazine contained the first published story by Robert A. Heinlein (“Life-Line”).

‘Amazing Stories’, April 1926, vol. 1, number 1.

There are other views on when the Golden Age occurred. Robert Silverberg in a 2010 essay argues that the true Golden Age was the 1950s, saying that “Golden Age” of the 1940s was a kind of “false dawn.”   “Until the decade of the fifties,” Silverberg writes, “there was essentially no market for science fiction books at all”; the audience supported only a few special interest small presses.   The 1950s saw “a spectacular outpouring of stories and novels that quickly surpassed both in quantity and quality the considerable achievement of the Campbellian golden age.”

Many of the most enduring science fiction tropes were established in Golden Age literature. Space opera came to prominence with the works of E. E. “Doc” Smith; Isaac Asimov established the canonical Three Laws of Robotics beginning with the 1941 short story “Runaround”; the same period saw the writing of genre classics such as the Asimov’s Foundation and Smith’s Lensman series. Another frequent characteristic of Golden Age science fiction is the celebration of scientific achievement and the sense of wonder; Asimov’s short story “Nightfall” exemplifies this, as in a single night a planet’s civilization is overwhelmed by the revelation of the vastness of the universe. Robert A. Heinlein’s 1950s novels, such as The Puppet Masters, Double Star, and Starship Troopers, express the libertarian ideology that runs through much of Golden Age science fiction.

The Golden Age also saw the re-emergence of the religious or spiritual themes—central to so much proto-science fiction before the pulp era—that Hugo Gernsback had tried to eliminate in his vision of “scientifiction”. Among the most significant such Golden Age narratives are Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles, Clarke’s Childhood’s End, Blish’s A Case of Conscience, and Miller’s A Canticle for Leibowitz.

As a phenomenon that affected the psyches of a great many adolescents during World War II and the ensuing Cold War, science fiction’s Golden Age has left a lasting impression upon society. The beginning of the Golden Age coincided with the first Worldcon in 1939 and, especially for its most involved fans, science fiction was becoming a powerful social force. The genre, particularly during its Golden Age, had significant, if somewhat indirect, effects upon leaders in the military, information technology, Hollywood and science itself, especially biotechnology and the pharmaceutical industry.

Information sources: Sci-fi Outpost; Futurism.media; Wikipedia; Null Entrohy.

The idea for this post was contributed by Lavinia Ross of Salmon Brook Farms.  Please visit with her and Rick!

Click on images to enlarge.

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Military Superhero Humor – 

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Farewell Salutes – 

Johnny Anderson – Keystone, WV; US Army, WWII, PTO

Andrew Babiana – Lincoln, NE; US Navy, WWII, SeaBees

William Dickens – Palm Beach, FL; US Navy, WWII, PTO, USS Montepelier

John Gregory – Niagara, CAN; RC Army, WWII, ETO, 10th Battery / RCAF

Robert Frances – Conshocken, PA; US Merchant Marine, WWII / US Army, Korea

Thomas Hudner – Fall River, MA; US Navy, Korea, Vietnam, USS Leyte, pilot, Captain (Ret. 30 y.), Medal of Honor, destroyer USS Thomas Hudner (DDG-116) christened in his honor.

Frank Jordan – Youngstown, OH; US Army, WWII, PTO

Ann Mushet – Papakura, NZ; WAAF LACW, WWII # 433027

Anthony Stefanac – Yonkers, NY; US Army, WWII, ETO, Engineers

Mark Weiss – MI; US Navy, Iraq, Zanzibar, Special Warfare Lt., Bronze Star

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