Philip K. Dick - New Wave's Depressed Uncle - Extra Sci Fi

[@extrahistory]

The question is, which sci fi writer is more goth? Mary Shelly (learned to write by tracing letters off of gravestones) or Philip K. Dick (literally had a tombstone since he was born)

[@Ada-kr4io]

Mary, she kept her husband's heart which had turned to stone, wrapped in his poems

[@jaybee9269]

I think I’d give the nod the PKD. That’s pretty messed up for a little boy...

[@finntownsley5144]

To be fair, Philip K Dick could be Cybergoth and Mary Shelly more or a classic goth? They both were heavily influential in establishing those genres.

[@Ada-kr4io]

@@jaybee9269 mary also lost her virginity on her mother's grave

[@jannegrey]

Could you do an episode on Stanisław Lem? He is also a Sci-Fi giant that outgrows the scope of Genre. Sorry for double comment.

[@deltaket6485]

"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe."

[@isaacschmitt4803]

I don't believe you.

[@sylveonguy7709]

I’ve seen terrible things in my life Some of which actually happened

[@K__a__M__I]

"What do you mean, _"you people"_ !?"

[@sudevsen]

This was ad-libbed and not written by PKD

[@markmerzweiler909]

@@sudevsen True...but perfectly done!

[@plucas1]

That second blank tombstone would be seriously f*cked up. Especially to some poor little kid.

[@ОлегКозлов-ю9т]

Ikr, his parents were total Dicks

[@theyakkoman]

Childhood trauma is a very common source for depression and anxiety, especially if it's emotional abuse. No wonder he became depressed later in life if that's a thing that happened in his childhood. Poor kid.

[@hughjanos3992]

Well clearly it knocked a couple o' dicks screws loose

[@donaldpetersen2382]

Agreed, however child death was much more prevalent during that time.

[@ShmoopyLongnuts]

@@ОлегКозлов-ю9т Well played haha

[@Rocketboy1313]

Wow, learning that about Dick's life really does contextualize all his work. I have read "Do Androids Dream", "Ubik", and "In a Scanner Darkly" and that information changes all of them. I guess this is an instance where "death of the author" is less possible because Dick's world view permeates so much of his material.

[@falconJB]

Read about PK Dick's struggle with drug addition in the early 70's and how much A Scanner Darkly is based around things he experienced.

[@Cathowl]

I think we get really caught up on the idea of "death of the author" as being the "best" way to view media, and a lot of people seem to forget that it's just one tool in the analysis toolbox. But a lot of times the author's background and intentions are highly relevant to interpreting what they wrote, and to discard them means missing out on a lot.

[@z-beeblebrox]

Death of the Author is good for understanding works of fiction as they are, and especially in a historical context, because there will inevitably come a day when all authors will become like Homer, and utterly unknown beyond the work they wrote. Understanding how those future people might read a work is important because it tells us something about ourselves too. But until that time, it's also good to interpret stories from the author's perspective as well.

[@ICountFrom0]

When I worked at a video store, I borrowed "scanner darkly" so often, and to this day I still can't tell you anything about it.

[@zeikjt]

You said it. I've read D.A.D.o.E.S. (what an acronym!) and Ubik and learning about his life informs so many of the plots and metaphors so completely :D

[@whatsinadeadname]

The thing I liked most about "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" is how the questions were designed such that, as a rule, a typical modern human would be labeled an android due to "lack of empathy."

[@YukoValis]

Want to know something that freaks me out? Philip was born on the same day that I was born (not the year) and died on the same year that I was born in. On top of that, I recently found out he made a book called "Valis" something I've had in my username for the last 20+ years.

[@doubleg281]

Very PKD. If he was alive today he would definitely think you were a reincarnation or part of the vast active living intelligence system that saved his son

[@IliyaMoroumetz]

I also know the who game series that your name is based on. I played a few of them back in the day. Good times.

[@TheGearhead222]

What's really sad is that the Benzadrine inhalers he used contributed to his early death (but also to his creativity)-John in Texas

[@YukoValis]

@@TheGearhead222 well that really had nothing to do with what we were talking about lol.

[@jestawell]

You should read valis then it’s all about coincidences and fate

[@TheChillLefty]

Hah, I'm a depressed uncle. Maybe I should progress a sub genre.

[@wolfeprocter]

Same

[@Crazybark]

I.....am still waiting on the spider part to end

[@Rocketboy1313]

I read the book and that scene is shockingly unpleasant and removed all the sympathy you may have had for the replicants, showing how their lack of empathy makes them dangerous.

[@Crazybark]

@@Rocketboy1313 ah

[@svankensen]

@@Rocketboy1313 Pretty much, yeah. The scene where the protagonist tests and is tested by the other cop is chilling too.

[@geroni211]

For me that was probably the best part of the book. For all of the horror we feel for spiders, that scene was lovely to show our empathy for ALL living beings

[@Syurtpiutha]

I started my bachelor's thesis on the unreliability of introspection with the 'What does a scanner see?' monologue from A Scanner Darkly. My kind of science fiction. I hope this show will discuss later scifi, especially things like The Expanse.

[@LoneTiger]

5:55 _"“Tell me one last thing,”_ said Harry. _“Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?”_ Dumbledore beamed at him, and his voice sounded loud and strong in Harry’s ears even though the bright mist was descending again, obscuring his figure. _“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”_

[@jordanloux3883]

I didn't get Valis, one of Dick's split-timeline stories, but I'll always remember the part where the main character is rambling to the doctors in the insane asylum, shocking them all into silence when he regains enough sanity to talk about how he misses his son and hopes his wife is treating him well. Those little moments are what keep me reading Dick's books.

[@UnreasonableOpinions]

The strongest element of his writing is his incredible ability to generate empathy. It’s the fuel of all his best novels, and at its most effective in Do Androids Dream. I have never been as invested in a fictional animal as in the toad Deckard finds near the end of the book, and more devastated by this toad turning out to be artificial than beloved fictional animals dying.

[@feliche2292]

And that actually happened irl, with PKD

[@allibababoo]

That book was maybe my favorite. I just love the "crazy god" above us that we can't see, which cannot see the "perfect God" above them! Also the scene where Horselover Fatts meets the god and then has their revelation (no spoilers)

[@UnreasonableOpinions]

The strongest element of his writing is his incredible ability to generate empathy. It’s the fuel of all his best novels, and at its most effective in Do Androids Dream. I have never been as invested in a fictional animal as in the toad Deckard finds near the end of the book, and more devastated by this toad turning out to be artificial than beloved fictional animals dying.

[@DeclanMBrennan]

1:17 The Rossen Corrporation. I wonder is that a nod to Rossem's Universal Robots ?

[@zvimur]

Even though I don't speak Czech, here's a fun fact Razum in Russian means Mind/Intellect.

[@hemidas]

@@zvimur In Serbian and Croatian it means Reason as in rational.

[@stevetheduck1425]

- and the copy of 'Do Androids... ' I have says Rosen. Eldon Rosen, Rachel Rosen, Priscilla Rosen.

[@CalebWandering]

This is great, but it's way too brief a glance at PKD. Give him his own series!

[@allibababoo]

Omg I would watch it AT LEAST once!

[@xcar0982]

If I were Philip, my catch phrase would be: Thanks mom and dad for make me doubt of my existance.

[@zeikjt]

Better to doubt your existance than your existence.

[@weldonwin]

"I Reject Your Reality And Substitute My Own"

[@finntownsley5144]

I always wondered why in most of his books there is a dark-haired woman that seems to exist semi-outside of reality. Do you think it might be a representation of his sister?

[@virusdumb]

Who is it in 3 stigmata of palmer eldritch?

[@finntownsley5144]

@@virusdumb I don't know, I haven't read that one. I've not read all of them and I'm not saying its universal

[@t.j.rooseevelt6887]

Philip. K. Dick also made Man in the high castle, very interesting book and Series :3

[@weldonwin]

He also wrote Oh To Be A Blobble

[@stevetheduck1425]

@@weldonwin Blobel, but yes.

[@myothersoul1953]

What I got from P.K. Dick books I read wasn't the question "what is real?" but "What is human?" or "what is life?" In Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep the androids are getting closer and closer to humans not only in how they behave but in how they are constructed. Of course the end of the process will be when androids are human but the question is how close to human does the android need to be to get human rights?

[@wustafa1771]

I am just an Ursula boi who is waiting for an Ursula episode. Just kidding great series. Thanks to you I started reading sci-fi again.

[@hexazalea]

how to Mess with your child. Step one: show them their grave

[@WindFireAllThatKindOfThing]

Pretty standard Catholic parenting.

[@gosiahasal182]

i love this channel, i found it when trying to faind out more about the 100 years war an i was not ready for the amount of amazing content that was hidden from me for years!

[@Jamie-MrJam]

What a coincident, I've already asked for a copy of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep for Christmas.

[@MrOmarabdulhadi]

dreadfully distinct, against the dark, a damned good video played . your channel never disappoints, thank you for all of your hard work.

[@TheCreepypro]

welcome back Extra Scifi! I'm so happy to have you back! I knew about the book and the movie but had no idea about this man and it was a trip to find out about him it really puts all his work in a new and more interesting light

[@jannegrey]

Could you do an episode on Stanisław Lem? He is also a Sci-Fi giant that outgrows the scope of Genre.

[@kubajackiewicz2]

As far as i know he was the best known/most published non-english sci fi writer

[@kubajackiewicz2]

And certainly created some interesting works, very varied and creative but unfortunately not all were translated

[@svankensen]

I've read a bunch of Lem's work and it's very hit and miss. But the ones that hit, hit hard. Have you read Cordwainer Smith? Short stories, but incredible. I recommend Mark Elf and Scanners Live in Vain as great introductions into his work.

[@NagbratzNasenbeisser]

Where have these been? By far my favorite series on this channel.

[@ZorlockDarksoul]

I humbly request / enthusiastically demand that "Extra Krudits" be placed upon a shirt so that I may wear it.

[@elvenatheart982]

Finally, I've waited years for this author. Kinda sad it is so brief

[@Caesar_Online]

His works are so inspiring

[@platonsergiu9454]

This explains so much the themes he uses in his novels, how he's constantly challenging both the caharcters and the readers perception of reality. To be able to express his anxiety in such a way is quite remarkable. In the end I find it a bit sad that such great sci fi novels, stemed from his troubled mind.

[@TsunogaiDanshaku]

Geez! And I thought Salvador Dali being named after his own dead brother was messed up.

[@filker0]

You ought to have mentioned "The Eyes Have It", very short, weird, and brilliant.

[@someokiedude9549]

I'm glad you finally covered PKD, he's one of my favorites.

[@richardhommes]

I am hyped for this season!

[@svankensen]

30 seconds in. I am glad I am not the only one that was chilled to his core by the spider chapter. Dick is trully the king of sci-fi.

[@kanukulgood]

The depression goo monsters are weirdly cute

[@weldonwin]

They remind me of the Rebellion Fire Monsters from the Catherine the Great series

[@TheGearhead222]

Philip K. Dick is the BEST of ALL Sci-Fi writers, IMHO-John in Texas

[@CybershamanX]

(0:00) That part always creeps me out. Just re-read this story and many of his other collected stories recently, actually. What a great author. :)

[@sampew1605]

Another of my favorite authors!

[@akarshsharma2870]

So, you're telling me that Phillip K. Dick was the original writer of nisemonogatari?

[@HierophanticRose]

There is a speech that he gave late into his life, when he was in France at that time - looked and sounded defeated by the American literature industry. He was also around the time of being fully convinced that we are in a simulation, and that we can change the simulation from inside. His later talks in his life are truly fascinating,

[@royalanempire2965]

I never knew about this imagine if they added more into the film.

[@doubleg281]

The book had a whole new religion, Mercerism. How humans and replicants perceive this religion is one of the critical parts of the story and it dosen't even exist in the movie

[@zeikjt]

The book is jam packed with ideas, it would have made the film too long and slowed it down.

[@alejandrorivas4585]

I think its best to just think of the two as completely different properties.

[@purpleghost106]

Sounds like he had a serious case of Depersonalization Disorder -- which makes perfect sense, he was basically living with the dual trauma of losing a sibling, and the foreknowledge of his own death (which when we study people who are living with terminal illnesses, is a trauma. Death anxiety for those who aren't terminally ill is also a very real and serious thing)

[@JoshSweetvale]

Aggravated by his parents.

[@milkultraviolence7808]

i love Philip K. Dick Ubik & The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch are one of my favorite sci fi books

[@Numba003]

Man, I didn’t know Dick had a backstory quite like this. I’m still digging the return of extra sci-fi! Jesus Christ be with you friends! Merry Christmas!😊

[@shadoww4818]

Thank you for that reality speech in the New Wave. I finally know how to describe "Serial Experiments Lain" to people.

[@dominicmako4649]

Identity is such a huge part of the PKD catalog. Even cultural identity in The Man in the High Castle plays a huge role in the character's worldview. Some of his stories do get a little hard to follow though, as two realities blend on top of each other, like Flow My Tears.

[@DickHeadsPodcast]

I've been waiting for the PKD episode for about two years and it's great-an excellent primer. Now bring on the new wave. -LJT

[@ShutItKyle]

Eagerly awaiting the new Extra Krudits series.

[@troygaspard6732]

The passage that you read at the beginning describes the Android's amorality from Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. JR, the human who has befriended the renegade droids, looks on in horror as they slowly remove the spider's legs.

[@Nacur]

Really good episode.... however.... We need more Philip K Dick. MOAR!!!

[@thijsjong]

How a f-ed up childhood led to creative genius.

[@jordanloux3883]

Thank god, because there was like a 1-in-3 chance this would turn him into a serial killer.

[@danwroy]

Calling PKD the "anxious uncle" of sci-fi, rather than the Kafka of sci-fi, is par for the course for this channel.

[@johnaucamp7106]

I have felt that you could have spent more time on this author because there is much to explore. This was painfully brief

[@johnburn7000]

"We're owl exterminators"

[@alenbacco7613]

Only one episode? The man had his own cult!

[@michael--a--sometimes]

Yeah the book surprised me very much. Really love the vibes of bladerunner, but while the book is different also love that vibe as well :) makes me want to read more phillip :D

[@tehbeard]

2:06 Futurama reference? :D

[@brianyoung3324]

We're oowwwll exterminators

[@neathizar9743]

Nice Futurama reference there at 2:07 Btw can't wait til the Foundation series is covered

[@almostideal1306]

A very short summary of one of Sci-Fi's most adapted writers.

[@royalanempire2965]

Poor spider Q.Q

[@weldonwin]

Yeah, in the book, the Androids are incapable of empathy, which is what makes them so dangerous, because they are in effect, super strong, hyper intelligent sociopaths

[@Forestxavier20]

I love the futurama reference with the Owls. "We're Owl Exterminators." "You idiot, our cover is already blown"

[@kubaszostak7222]

I love how he is saying philip kdick

[@yodasears]

This seems way too lite a take on PKD. He was so prolific... and then there's the Exegesis of PKD as well.

[@SanDiego_Railfan]

My favorite show, extra krudets

[@BlizzardofKnives]

The ideas of doubting your own reality reminded me Ghost in the Shell, the possibility that anything you experience could be a digital fake.

[@starrs0]

Make a video of E.E "Doc" Smith the man invented the Space Opera with his Skylark of Space and Lensmen series's

[@ssj4jason737]

Fun fact: both Blade Runner and Do Androids dream of Electric Sheep were the main inspirations of Ghost in the Shell

[@stevetheduck1425]

It, like Masamune Shirow's 'Appleseed' before it, is also majorly inspired by 'CI5: The Professionals', a British spy / cop TV show of the 1980s. He saw it on Japanese TV when he was a teen, and mentions it in many of his text interviews, published in the English adaptations of the manga.

[@vazak11]

That opening screwed me up XD Also cool video!

[@Ghidra1104]

He'll yeah! Phillip K Dick is my favorite author.

[@warmachineuk]

The book is worth reading. Doesn't matter if you've watched Blade Runner. My favourite part is where androids debunk the human's new religion but the humans don't care because it's a crutch needed for the spiritual crisis caused by World War Terminal.

[@ahmedengineer5778]

You know ... "Do androids dream of mechanical sheeps" is much better title than "blade runner"

[@ryanmiech2380]

Wow, Blade Runner 2049 drew more inspiration from him then I figured. That's awesome

[@axelprino]

Electric Sheep is really, really depressing. Great book, but the ending is soul wrenching. Ubik in the other hand is just a bit of an existential mindf*ck.

[@wearethebomb42]

Love the 0451 reference!

[@antivalidisme5669]

Never thought my parents were so great!

[@allibababoo]

My favorite author

[@kingbemo6744]

The best part is that spiders can actually adapt to having less legs

[@williemherbert1456]

The same author who made "Man in the High Castle"

[@captaincartoonia9536]

Um,Man in the high castle

[@martinsriber7760]

Also implied that it's not real and characters live in some sort of nightmare.

[@eazy8579]

*Paranoid Starts Playing*

[@NinjaRodent]

I do hope you guys will return to PKD somewhere down the road. Like many are saying this was far too short.

[@erichloehr5992]

I love my floofs, void and otherwise, more than anything as well

[@shawnheatherly]

This puts a lot of his work in a new light for me, and definitely puts a new spin on the Replicants. Is that how he viewed himself?

[@stevetheduck1425]

Best read the book, and what Dick had to say about the 'andys' in that book. They are not the sympathetic victims of 'real' humans, not the 'supermen who couldn't fly' that Ridley Scott was talking about. They, most of all Roy Baty and his wife Mary, who live next door and attempt to fit into normal society, are psychopaths, who are likened to the concentration camp guards who wrote in their diaries. 'It is hard to sleep. The groans of the children keep me awake.' Dick was concerned about 'the real' but he did not equate himself with the 'andys'. That's Rick Dekard's job. His wife, Iran, is also questionably human, as she spends all her time dialing moods for herself on the mood organ. - and watching daytime TV while he goes out to work, killing escaped 'andys'.

[@thepillowmancer]

Wow good video! Glad i came up with it... it maybe even has some real authors in it! i would never know i guess... but now i really need to remeber my pre-simulation life and a stop-code, or i'll be stuck thinking i am watching youtube in 21 century forever! Or maybe you will be stuck thinking that you are reading this comment? i forgot...

[@psycologo121]

Oh God, imagine seeing your grave as a child.

[@openscholar9908]

Phew. Poor fellow.

[@werdna1969]

No, this is not real, it is a dream, not mine but my telepathic sister’s, who is right now dying from drug overdose. But thank you for asking.

[@VCYT]

I dreamt of electric sheep after i saw this video.

[@sudevsen]

PKD's parents get a 10/10 for theatricality.

[@PeseudoAnacleto]

YEEES, FINALLY IS BACK... Or os finish, Maybe never begin...

[@MarkoKostelac]

Ah yes, the writer of the most influential alternate histories The Man in the High Castle. IN ALL THE WRONG WAYS.

[@COOLNAMES3000]

That intro went from 1 to 100 quick

[@TheNN]

Do androids dream of electric sheep? No idea, I own an iPhone.

[@TheRunningRoman]

My favorite door code...

[@buriedghostlady]

YEEEH NEW WAVEEE

[@francissreckofabian01]

I've known for many years that I'm not real. I just can't convince the police and judges.

[@NobleCactus78]

The feel the spider scene is super important because it's when we realise the replicants are the bad guys and any empathy they display is only simulated. The original movie also has this (they kill everyone who tries to help them). It's something I didn't like about the new movie where they try to push "humans are the real monsters" which has been done to death.

[@JoshSweetvale]

The same can be said of kids.

[@beeflumps]

Never clicked on an EC topic so fast.

[@abcdef27669]

Never though I would be sorry for a spider before...

[@binaryblackhole8666]

Do you seriously expect us to believe that James is holding back the new wave science fiction. You know he'd have he's head poking round the door.