The Culture : the science fiction utopia that actually works

[@DamienWalter]

Watch the full interview with Ken MacLeod kzbin.info/www/bejne/oJjcdGqnqJVsgZY

[@Sjaddix]

It is ironic how tech ceos always miss the point seeing themselves as the heroes

[@AndrewHepburn]

You had me in tears with this stunning thoughtful hopeful video essay. “The story of the culture exists in the hearts and minds of all those who have read about it. Think of the Culture as a self replicating memeplex, an expertly engineered narrative weapon, deployed into the population of a backwards planet… to teach them the power of their own human intelligence. As long as one reader of Iain M Banks is walking the Earth, then the Culture is here.”

[@DamienWalter]

Thanks Andrew.

[@andreaszafiropoulos4667]

like a directiva protectiva but for good

[@dayrush5721]

Isn't that just about the plot of _Hydrogen Sonata_? ;)

[@stargazerspark4499]

nice, although i don't believe that enforcing censorship of LLMs discussing certain topics is desirable. its not "learning" empathy or much of anything that way.

[@JanRademan]

Gene Roddenberry's original conception for TNG was that the Federation had become a post scarcity Utopia and required TNG writers to reflect this vision in their stories. The problem was that the writers realized they didn't have any good stories to write without a shark in the tank. In Banks' novels, the Culture is the shark in the tank.

[@andrewjchamberlain]

Well there's always the Idirans, they think they're the sharks but there is always a bigger fish, or knife missile...

[@bondvagabond42]

​@andrewjchamberlain the idirans and the affront, to a lesser degree. But the trophy part to me is that the culture is the shark in the tank, but it's also star trek post scarcity utopia, and it's also the borg, hah. All in one.

[@angelmarauder5647]

Try to think of a book you've read where conflict didn't exist. We are evolved for conflict and look for it in everything! Even enjoyment.

[@jankom.7783]

The culture is like sharks in The finding Nemo movie. Reformed sharks, who do not eat fish. Until justification presents itself

[@EvelynNdenial]

"You are a pacisift civilisation that has been playing at war for millenia. The Culture, is a militaristic society pretending to be pacifist for millenia. Think about that carefully."

[@Chipchap-xu6pk]

I'm fifty years old and you had me welling up in the first minute! I devoured Banks's books back at uni, but seeing this turned a solitary pleasure into a social one. A glass of scotch is great, but it's a lot better with mates. You reminded me that there are a lot of us about. You've also reminded me of a pleasure to come. My collection has pride of place at the top of my book case. I'd been waiting until I'd forgotten the stories to re-read them. Ready now.

[@branscombeR]

Me too ... Cheers! R (Australia)

[@AWEdio]

Yeah I think I will have to read them all again too

[@dayrush5721]

likewise. especially some of the awkward ones, like _Inversions_. And oddly, I've never read _The State of the Art_, so I guess I need to get that one, too

[@Jask151]

i’m a 27 yo at uni right now just getting into the culture series. so cool.

[@ufc990]

I think I'll join you! Going "back" to uni as a 30 yo in sunny Tucson, Arizona so it seems fitting. We had our last 100°f(37.7°c) day a few weeks ago, never imagined the culture from a cowboy POV but we have cowboys here.

[@deoradh]

One thing about the sci-fi/fantasy of the British Isles: Beware of The Luggage.

[@DrAnarchy69]

I wrote an entire essay during my doctoral coursework on Banks’ Culture as a utopian “future history” of an Anarchist-Communist society. I love The Culture because Banks truly “gets” how anarchy works

[@TheShorterboy]

"Anarchist-Communist society" WTF anarchy is the opposite of communist, one advocates no authority while the other is predicated on absolute state authority (see China, USSR, DPRK, Cuba) and yes they are all real communist.

[@tonyduncan9852]

Yay.

[@TheShorterboy]

@@The_Reality_Filter rules require enforcement so you end up with "rulers" or you are enforcing nothing the trick is how you restrain the rulers

[@TheShorterboy]

@@The_Reality_Filter so you have rulers, you just want to call them something else but the result is the same someone else will enforce your access to something

[@TheShorterboy]

@@The_Reality_Filter you just said everyone else is controlling what you do that sounds just like the system you live in today, people vote and the people they vote for implement rules the people agree with or they would vote for someone else, nothing has changed. It's why anarchists are retards every time we do the simulation individuals lose and groups win you will always live by the rules of the powerful or brainwashed majority you can limit the damage but it never changes.

[@pauljazzman408]

Wow. That is an amazing essay on Ian M Banks Culture. It brought in everything I have loved about Sci fi, science and philosophy (but couldn’t understand). It is a meme-complex in itself. It embodies everything I loved about Bank’s science fiction, and really explains it to me in ways I hadn’t consciously worked out. The links to Niven, Vinge and even Kant are very illuminating. This is why I love Science fiction, and especially Bank’s work; because it is about everything: Science, society, politics, history evolution, and psychology. And at the heart of it: humanism, and imaginative intelligence. I met Banks once at a book signing after reading Consider Phleabas and he said something about wanting to ‘out Star-wars Star Wars’ he certainly did that and added so much more. That is why, as you point out, it would only be cheapened and debased if sold to Disney or Hollywood. They could never do justice to such complex ideas. The visuals are a quantum leap from previous essays, they are a nice mixture of Ai art and real locations. It must have taken some time. All the effort has paid off big time.

[@DamienWalter]

Thanks Paul. Yes, this one was a lot of work!

[@martindice5424]

Look to Windward is a book about PTSD and the aftershocks that soldiers suffer. He wrote about this in Complicity too. Both books are very, very good.

[@callemdavies8992]

Look to Windward was my introduction to the Culture, and tbh - I think it was a great entry point.

[@NotARealPanda]

This is awesome. You punch up the cool factor of Banks’ books and ideas and I appreciate it!

[@DamienWalter]

My pleasure.

[@CrowMagnum]

Sympathy and empathy can be as toxic as, or supportive of, myopic hedonism, pathological altruism, and/or megalomania, hence compassion being the better term for what is needed. Self awareness, sympathy, and empathy paired with the wisdom of continual change and transcendence.

[@CockatooDude]

I always thought that if empathy gets to the point of being toxic then it is no longer empathy. Or do you disagree?

[@Asankeket]

That was about the most impressive intro I've seen in some time on KZbin :D Reminds me of how it has been since I read Iain M Banks. Time for a revisit.

[@thepilgrim4473]

Good lord what a tremendous thesis so superbly presented. Well done indeed. I came to The Culture rather late in life and, to cut a long rather adventurous tale short having been both a peripatetic hippy all over the globe and, astonishingly, a pupil of Greenock High ( Banks was a few years ahead of me in my brother’s year), was immediately smitten with his remarkable vision. Oddly it was the opening sentences of Phlebas that grabbed me by the literary figuratives and I ploughed into his works with gleeful abandon. Having had, myself, a life of astonishing good fortune and adventure - surviving walking thru insurrections, being shot at, freezing in Afghani mountains and rowing boats through the Grand Canyon to mention but a few - nothing ever satisfies me more than diving into the unattainable adventures of fiction, particularly of the sci fi variety. There simply is not enough in this life to provide me with what I know we are capable of. The sheer stupidity of our intelligence has boggled my mind since Greenock High School also… maybe it was something in the water there? I have ever been an advocate of AI and its astonishing potential. In fact even if, as I am fairly sure now will happen, AI is the next step in evolution then still I bless its heroic journey, even if it means we shall fade into oblivion - after all what parent doesn’t want their children to exceed it in every way possible? You are absolutely correct that Banks has not made as big an impact here in the US, something I have discussed a few times with local sci fi aficionados ( tho he is, of course, far from unknown) and found it interesting that you addressed this. It is not quite so simple as you propose methinks and your rather ( if you’ll forgive me) pompously dismissive analysis of the magnificent and varied body of US science fiction was a tad disappointing. Well, that’s hardly a story for the comments section here is it? But well done again, this is the kind of substance that shows the true worth of this platform and gives one renewed hope. Truly, the world of the inimitable Mr Banks will remain alive in the tumbling neurons of this fading old hippy brain right up to the moment of mine own sublimation…

[@joemountains1539]

The Culture’s biggest gun is…Intelligence.

[@DamienWalter]

And Zakalwe.

[@joemountains1539]

@@DamienWalter Getting two of these back into print in the US last year is one of my personal greatest accomplishments.

[@langdons2848]

​@@joemountains1539that's a service to humanity right there.

[@HungryCats70]

@@DamienWalter We DON'T talk about the Chair!

[@inappropriatejohnson]

OT- A moment of silence for season2 of The Peripheral is sadly necessary now that it has been cancelled.

[@thothscorner8025]

Bummer. I liked that show.

[@gibbousmoon35]

Oh, bad news! 😢

[@udirt]

I'll be pissed about that for all my life and take it as proof that people want to destroy any trace of intelligence

[@Retrostar619]

Dammit.

[@aishalotter9995]

Ahhh shit , that was a fine show , not as good as the book obviously, but for a tv show it was pretty fucking good !!!

[@OgreMan-cg6ok]

Reading these books blew my mind and left me with the unending trauma of knowing just how completely inadequate our societies are. I want more.

[@DamienWalter]

That is the cost of discovering the Culture.

[@michaelkennedy8270]

This is it Damien; what you've done here is a thing of extraordinary beauty, humour and intelligence. A reduced juice essay on the infinite fun space of Iain M Banks. I bow to you; you truly do his insurpassable creativity and legacy the justice that it deserves; both barrels/knife missiles.

[@DamienWalter]

Thanks Michael.

[@markism2096]

I think this is the best analysis of the Culture novels that I have heard to date. I would add that these novels helped me let go of many preconceptions about a range of topics, which, I think at least, has helped my understanding of other humans with wildly different views and experiences.

[@dominictemple]

This was an utter delight and one of your best productions so far but I do have to remind everyone that within the universe of the books that Grey Area, for his controlling and invasive behaviour, received one of the worst sentences for his bad behaviour that a Mind can have. He was no longer referred to as Grey Area, he had his original name subsumed by both an insult and description of his bad behaviour, he was universally referred to as 'Meat Fucker.' There are societies and Cultures where the laws are unimportant, but custom is all, I think we can see which was the one created by Mr Iain M. Banks.

[@CockatooDude]

That was the one part of the books I never completely understood, at least from the Minds' perspective. They were so intelligent, and the humans they watched over so enlightened, that everyone knew there was nothing you could possibly be embarrassed about if a Mind looked into your... well... mind. I understand that it is more of a symbolic gesture towards the respect the Minds have for the autonomy of the Culture's citizens, but that part of the book felt more like a description of an old, somewhat illogical custom to me.

[@gawkthimm6030]

and under surveillance, like violent humans could get a "slap-drone" guard following them around..

[@nelkosme3734]

I might be remembering it wrong but Grey Area did not "serve as a judge and executioner", he just showed the commandant the experiences of those he and his side did to the others side and a nightmare. And this mind reading was done in order to understand how that savage culture did the ethnic and political cleansing so fast and without leaving any trace of a record. He was named Meatfucker because he used reading human minds which the Minds regarded as a tabu.

[@RovingTroll]

I absolutely adore Meatfucker. Doesn't he get that name because he was fucking reading people's minds and that's like a big ol nono to The Culture

[@mcjacktwo]

Glad there were no spoilers about the Chair. When you reach that point in the Use of Weapons...[shudder].

[@langdons2848]

We DO NOT talk about THE CHAIR. [also shuddering]

[@matthewknight766]

Still one of my most memorable reading moments. 😮

[@mattchandler600]

I've never encountered a moment quite like that reading a book. Incredible book.

[@Acheiropoietos]

Fun to see ‘you know who’ crop up from time to time..

[@Intermernet]

I find it funny that he also completely skipped the twist at the end of Surface Detail. Literally the last paragraph of the book is a gotcha moment.

[@davidwright8432]

All I can say is - Iain would have been proud of your account of his works. Also a visually brilliant production! Thanks for the intro to the Kant essay, which I'd never heard of and seems to have been written to be read by mere mortals. I read 'The Hydrogen Sonata' in the shadow of his then (2012) recent death.

[@shiva369]

I was an Azimov and Heinlein fan as a teenager and somehow came across Consider Phlebas in 1988, and it blew my mind. The scenes on the eaters' island did traumatize me a little, but Banks opened my mind with that book. Recently, I re-read it on audiobook, along with most of his other work. Absolutely love his writing

[@JeffCarey-s6y]

Brought home what it means to be a mind in a way I hadn’t fully contemplated before. Kudos.

[@seanbrazell7095]

I think the most Culture like film ever made would actually be Wall-e of all things.

[@planetdisco4821]

The Axiom looked a lot like I imagined a GCU to be…

[@gawkthimm6030]

yeah, Culture humans are so, "well-adjusted" they arn't really good at providing "drama" in a modern story sense, so taking the Wall-E approach could work very well. one of the modern novels has a human female agent and her Drone from a prestigious family of contact as a POV, if you 100% focused in on the drone as the main character and made that the central core of the story, about navigating the emotional and social nature of humans and only rarely interacting with the Culture minds. I think such a story could work well.

[@latheofheaven1017]

Damien - thank you so much for this. A fascinating thesis on the philosophy of Ian M Banks' wonderful novels. You describe a lot of what I've concluded by myself, and then fifty times as much again that I had not put together. Thank you thank you thank you.

[@wesleystreet]

Thank you for this thoughtful review of one of the most influential science-fiction series I've ever read. I picked up my first Culture novel, "Excession," in 1997 while in college and didn't "get" it. But then I read "Player of Games" and I got it. I was incredibly saddened by his terminal illness diagnosis and subsequent death, both because of his loss to the community and because, at the time, speculative fiction was being flooded with books about urban fantasy detectives written for teenage boys. However, recently, I've discovered quite a few humanistic young science-fiction writers who, while not quite rising to the level of Iain M. Banks, are ALMOST there. It should go without saying that his non-Culture science-fiction novels are certainly worth reading and if you enjoy surrealist fiction, "The Wasp Factory" and "The Bridge" are very... Ballard-esque. EDIT: I agree, the politics of "The Culture" are so far beyond what contemporary humans understand that attempting to label them are a waste of time. In-universe, it's viewed as a stateless, anarchistic, post-scarcity, humanistic society where anyone can do anything they want. It's also run by benevolent, god-like Artificial Intelligences along side their biological, mortal counterparts. That fits neither capitalism nor communism. It's basically Heaven, minus sitting at the right hand of God and singing His praises for eternity.

[@DamienWalter]

Banks will have a bigger and bigger influence going forward. It takes a generation or so.

[@disrupting-the-surface]

I've been looking forward to this one since you announced it, and you didn't disappoint. Excellent work. Not being a particularly strong reader due to spectrum and attention related difficulties I have often found reading Banks quite hard work, but he is by far my favourite writer. I'd read The State of the Art in my youth but beyond that I consumed most of my sci-fi via tv and cinema. A decade or so later I decided to make an effort to to tackle my difficulties with reading fiction. I started with Matheson's I Am Legend (an easy read) followed by Banks' The Algebraist (not an easy read). I realised that reading is much easier when one is engaged with the subject matter, and Banks' worlds and characters are incredibly engaging although not always easy to penetrate. Once I'd entered the realm of the Culture it became difficult to leave because so much of it aligns with my world view and sensibilities. Although I have difficulty remembering the details of what I have read, the characters, and even which books I've read and in which order, I have no difficulty remembering the Culture. Banks' work has left an indelible mark and I often lightheartedly blame it for my difficulty in tolerating much of how we currently 'choose' to exist. The joy and excitement in your presentation has inspired me to attempt the final trilogy which has been gathering dust on my bookshelf for many years... but those books look pretty thick, gulp. Again, excellent presentation.

[@DamienWalter]

Algebraist is a hard Banks to start with.

[@disrupting-the-surface]

@@DamienWalter Haha, yes, especially when my only prior attempt at getting back into reading was much easier both stylistically and in length. I certainly jumped in at the deep end.

[@ganymede242]

The Culture audiobooks are brilliant. The narrator Peter Kenney is the best I've encountered. Might be worth looking into this avenue?

[@hughcaldwell1034]

@@DamienWalter True, but absolutely fantastic. One of my favourite Banks novels, despite not being Culture.

[@obsidiantain]

Bravo, Damien. I grew up reading Banks and his Culture novels remain my favourites. I was raised as a socialist and so Iain appealed to me as both a writer and a person. His books have opened doors (perceptual and otherwise) in my life and I’m eternally grateful to him for the oeuvre he has left behind for us. You expressed better than I ever have my belief that he was trying to incept the Culture through writing it. This was really worth the wait. Thanks!

[@DamienWalter]

Thank you.

[@Tacticslion]

Man, I stumbled across Ian M. Banks when I was in high school starting with Consider Phlebas and then Player of Games. I cherished those novels and deeply appreciated those novels, the stories, themes, and morals. This video is insightful, well made, and has an excellent grasp of them and other work by Banks, and shows a genuine passion for such excellent writings; and has also, alas, actively soured me on them-or at least their fandom as presented here. It’s a shame, too. Ah, well. The video is well made, well designed, and has a lot of great points: thank you for making it.

[@jimmarshall3066]

my mind is glitching right now, im 63 years on the planet, began reading space opera and pulp multi-novel sagas since I'm like, 8,, and I can't grok that I've never tumbled to this scene. But, then I've never been as cool as I would have written myself in story....pre-teen read all of the Doc Savage books....Larry Niven, Orson Scott Card, Piers Anthony, Zelazny, etc, well, better late than...........! great presentation, thanks from California

[@senselocke]

You just filled me on on so many books and authors I need to read. I really like how you linked philosophies, history, authors, works, and influences, and gave me a framework in which to place them. Thank you so much, I look forward to doing just that.

[@gregalden1101]

I've been waiting.... and it is here! I just brewed the morning coffee, settling in for story time. Holding my like until finished, but confident it is forthcoming.

[@williamchamberlain2263]

4:40 - That reminds me of 2000AD : no backstories, very very rarely any flashbacks, but enough context you could pick up any issue and read almost any story without being lost.

[@aishalotter9995]

@@williamchamberlain2263 love me some 2000AD,

[@tilenbozic9504]

I'm glad I wasn't the only one who noticed similarities between Ecxession and A Fire Upon The Deep. Read both of them in past year or so, that's why I noticed some parallels. Both are great books. What fills me with joy is that I still have some Culture books to read ahead of me. Great work Damien!

[@matth8924]

What an amazing essay you’ve created. You’ve done this series justice.

[@CMDR_Verm]

Sir, I enjoyed that immensely, even though you brought me to tears. You said what needed to be said and, if I thought any of my detractor friends or relatives could summon the patience to watch your critique, I would state that this is the best advertisement to read Bank's Culture novels that I have come across. Thank you for an inspiring watch. We lost a genius too soon.

[@drwrly8060]

I really need to re read all of these. As Damien keeps pointing out, we are living in incredibly stupid times.

[@MediaDeathCult]

The best video on KZbin about the best Science Fiction "series" ever written. Thank You

[@DamienWalter]

Thanks Moid!

[@lexvink4538]

Absolutely fabulous video essay. Thank you, Damien Walter.

[@edmundhudson]

A stellar analysis, as always, Damien! You put an enormous amount of effort and artistry into this one.

[@DamienWalter]

Thanks Edmund, loved making this one.

[@Itssmial_Ova]

Oh boy here we go! Your introduction was incredible! Honestly, I respect that you understand this video may be people's first introduction to The Culture, And you did it an excellent service! That scene had me rolling. You've done the best video I've seen summarizing, but a little spoilery!

[@gerrykilby5213]

A truly brilliant exploration of The Culture of Iain M. Banks. A masterclass! I devoured his books back in the day, immersing myself in the fantastical world of The Culture. He is one of the greats of SciFi, if not the greatest exponent of the genre of all time. Sadly, I fear there will be no one like him ever again. Time for a revisit... 'dusts off tattered copy of Consider Phelbas'

[@ganymede242]

Thanks for this. I'm grieving finishing the Culture series and it helped!

[@Thesiouxempirepodcast]

Outstanding video. Player of Games has been sitting in my pile of “books recommended to me I’ll get to at some point” for years. Looks like it’s time to move the culture series to the front of my list. Thank you!

[@planetdisco4821]

Omg. I’m actually jealous that you get to read the Culture series for the first time. I’ve read the whole series now multiple times… enjoy!

[@HNH421]

@@planetdisco4821 nods knowingly ~ yes you should read ''' but beware you will find horrors hidden in the diamond's - that is why we never mention the chair or eater island

[@markmorehead6581]

Nice video. Like the bando, great filming location. Guess I better read these now, they’ve been on my list for years.

[@stevenpatterson3972]

Brilliant essay, Damien.

[@bpdlr]

For younger viewers, FYI the "hippies" referred to here are not the same "hippies" depicted in Tarantino's "Once upon a time in Hollywood"

[@make.and.believe]

I cannot believe I have never heard of this series. Thank you so much for bringing it to my attention. Much love.

[@Retrostar619]

You're one of the few creators whose work I like to view on a widescreen. I think its partly because of the visual treat you give us, but also because I associate TV with prestige documentaries. Anyway, this was fandabbdozy, and i just ordered Use of Weapons!

[@CutleryWonder]

Great stuff, excellent video essay! It is a massive shame that we didn't get Iain for longer - his sci-fi is the best I have ever read and I can only hope to find his equal, as surely he will never be beaten.

[@DamienWalter]

Indeed.

[@clarkf3666]

I’m so happy I found this video. I love the culture so much and this is such an incredibly well thought out and brilliantly worded explainer on the culture. You don’t miss

[@SoonGone]

The Culture is where i always hope we're headed. I've never really equated them with the word Hippie though lol.

[@rs8197-dms]

I've read the culture novels twice in English, I'm currently re-reading it in French (just about to finish use of arms), enjoying it immensely yet again. The translation is fantastic btw. I have the greatest respect for Banks as an author. I evaluate all other authors against him as a reference, most fall short. Yet to find one that exceeds his skill.

[@DamienWalter]

The greats are all unique, so Banks will never be matched.

[@vajra23]

Thank you for this deeply moving tribute to Iain M Banks and his achievement. Beautifully presented and clearly thought through. Let’s hope Hollywood never gets a chance to dilute his genius.

[@Antdevamp]

I read 'Use of Weapons' first. Four years later, I was extoling Zakawe when someone mentioned 'Player of Games', and I nearly exploded, 'There are more in the Culture Series???' Banks is my close companion until he death, and even after. As an American......books have known Ian M. Banks since 1990. If they sell, they will be sold.

[@nono9543]

Finally, a GOOD youtube video talking about The Culture.

[@michaeloliver7525]

much enjoyed Damien enormous thanks! that Banks was able to have The Culture give us the Wow! Signal (State of the Art) always seemed such a beautifully comic way to sign off on his ever-wrestled with theme of the ethics (or otherwise) of interventionism. have often thought too he must’ve been something of a Hermann Hesse fan, furthering through The Culture explorations that loom large in The Glass Bead Game for instance - whether symbolic abstraction can be nobler than the material flesh (or meat!) n all that sorta thing! really enjoyed this piece Damien n all the work that’s gone into it - much thanks indeed!

[@branscombeR]

Absolutely brilliant! thanks. Hats off to the sound recording. I've just realised the three SF novels I've written since Covid are all homages to Banks and the Culture! R (Australia)

[@erich2385]

Higher Intelligence does not guarantee higher empathy, I think that is the realm of Wisdom.

[@wormwoodsuncle]

This is, without a doubt, my favourite video in all of youtube. I even bought a t-shirt I was so happy. Thank you very much you lovely human.

[@DamienWalter]

Thanks!

[@bpdlr]

Brilliant job, thank you. Now I need to re-read every single book, again.

[@halcyonwinds1970]

This is the best sci-fi series I’ve ever read. I’m pouring through them for the first time right now and I am in awe. Your reading and presentation of the world was absolutely incredible!!! Thank you for creating something this amazing.

[@DamienWalter]

Thank you.

[@endtimestraveller6634]

I really enjoyed watching this. More and deeper insights than I had when reading Banks. Very good narration and overall production too. Than you very much for this!

[@DamienWalter]

Thank you.

[@deoradh]

The Algebraist was my introduction to Banks. So glad it finally came out on ebook.

[@patte039]

Thanks!

[@janelandin9356]

That was the best thing I've seen on KZbin in a long time!

[@AStrang3r]

Thanks for another fantastic video essay. The Culture novels represent, for me, the best SF series ever written. Now I feel like I have to read them all over again ;-)

[@lin-ll4ys]

amazing video. loved everything, and your ending words really stirred something in me. thanks!

[@MDTmanProductions]

This is stunning! Thank-you Damo! Really appreciated the use of the derelict Bali(?) buildings and cowboy-hat as the perfect back-drop and costume item to bring this video essay to life

[@mattchandler600]

My all-time favourite series of books, and my favourite author. I was devastated when I learned that he was sick, and desperately sad when I later found out he'd passed.

[@belverticale]

Nice one...been looking forward to this.

[@peterfmodel]

It should be noted the Culture are not the most advanced civilisation, when they were in a war with the Idiran, the Idiran received some minimal support from a far more advanced civilisation. I must admit when this civilisation loses a ship they withdrew their support, but if they really wanted to they would have been able to crash the Culture like an insect. They only had minimal interest in the war and only assisted the Idiran because they resembled the Idiran at one point in their long existence. As long as there were not poked by the culture they would stay out of it. Also, the alien force maintaining Schar’s world seems to be outside the ability of the culture to understand.

[@CockatooDude]

As I recall from reading, the Homomda were more advanced than the Culture but I don't remember them being that much more powerful. They were just an older, well regarded civilization that no one really messed with because no one had reason to.

[@StreamingTribe]

Nicely done. A good introduction to this book series & universe. Let's hope young people will be attracted to this message...

[@TCBYEAHCUZ]

I love the use of A.I. videos in this; very fitting.

[@craigiedema1707]

I've read that many think that Consider Phealbas is the weakest culture novel, but I loved it, it is my favourite. Thanks for the essay it was excellent.

[@DamienWalter]

People coming with the expectations of pulp space opera struggle with CP especially.

[@hughcaldwell1034]

Got to admit, I did a little silent cheer at "No chap, you're Veppers!" That's exactly the comparison my mind jumps to whenever that prize tool (or one of his ilk) professes love for the Culture or names one of their ships after a craft from the novels. I also have to agree that LTW is an absolute masterpiece. The Player Of Games, Look To Windward and Surface Detail are my top three in the series, and though I read TPOG first and re-read it more often, LTW is a phenomenal work.

[@Tele-fk4cu]

Just wow. That was utterly brilliant. I'm feeling a wee bit overwhelmed by being reminded of so many great examples of his books in 87 minutes! I almost met IMB; i was filming by the roadside in Barra and he went past on his car, and then then Raoghal at the Indian restaurant told me he'd sat at our table the night before. 😢

[@andreaslermen2008]

From all the high tech SciFi, this is the place I want to live in. My fav is "Use of Weapons", the way he tells the story is awesome and he consider it the first book, since you get a lot of explanations how the "world" works. But his publisher thought it is too confusing. And the end is such a downer, but brilliant.

[@thothscorner8025]

I had to start Use of Weapons again after watching this. It looks like I'll be immersed in the Culture again for a while. Great video.

[@lachlanwelsh5880]

Yep… ditto… my house burned down a year ago. Lost everything. I can see a pile of dough going to buy them all again. This reminded me how wonderful the culture was, while helping iron out some of the lingering questions I had! Definitely worth the wait!

[@justagigilo1]

we all should be doing everything in our power and minds to bring about the culture, I have constantly recommended the series to all I meet who wish to understand "us", (I worked in IT during the eighties to 2000, then moved to working in mental health for the past 24 yrs), the stupidity of our systems and processes, the production of mindless indoctrinated zombies by religions from the fodder of adherents. Well said by you in this episode, the 'Veppers' comparison included, a masterful rendition/summation of Mr Banks work, stay woke as fuck sir, bravo...

[@silverice9]

It is interesting how I always read the culture series as a critique of Anarchism, almost showing the insanely unlimited amounts of power required to make it feasible. I will always remember the section where someone outside the culture asked basically “if there arent any laws, what would you do to a murderer?” The answer was basically to have a drone follow them around for life slapping them nanoseconds before they could hurt anyone else. Basically, a limitless expense of energy simply to prevent a single person from committing crime. Imagination becomes the only limiting factor to solve problems when there is unlimited resources and unlimited power at your disposal, which was a requirement to create the culture in the first place.

[@viperjoeone4933]

Wow, what a labor of love this essay is! I loved every bit of it, even the AI art that I normally would avoid. Time to read it all, and with your help understand it all much better. Thank you so much for this it is a great piece of art in itself and well written and well told.

[@dalefink8657]

I greatly appreciate the Lanark reference, as I am moving to Lanark, IL and had never heard of those books! Superb introduction to The Culture, and at just the right time with the DOGE emerging in the US! Thank you!!!

[@DebErelene]

Brilliant. Now I have to go back & read the books I have again, & pick up the ones I haven't yet read (😱). Iain M Banks remains the only "celebrity" death I have (& evidently still do) shed tears over. The man was a genius.

[@cheradenine1980]

I have read every culture novel more than half a dozen times. I have read every piece of literature that Bank wrote about it. I have watched scores of reviews on KZbin Over many years And I’m only discovering your wonderful videos now! ? Wow. The accompanying montage is so close to how my imagination saw many things in the books. Bravo

[@dm121984]

I personally started my reading of the Culture series with the book 'Matter', which is much more accessible to me than 'Consider Phelus'. Most other Culture books where more accessible to me than than the first official Culture novel. Surface Detail is probably my favourite Culture book inspite of the horrific virtual hells sections.

[@robertosans5250]

Just extraordinary video essay. Great work.

[@davidson46100]

Besides the history of the Culture series this is also an interesting examination of the differences between British and American Hippy culture. It is unfortunate that many have gotten lost in the fantasy and tried to make it real. What hippies forget or disregard is the predatory nature of nature and humanity in particular. Every Utopia ignores their own predation on those less powerful then themselves.

[@guidobolke5618]

YESS!!! And what a great ending! :-) Thanks again!

[@richardlowe4069]

Thank you Damien, that was an excellent video essay on the Culture. I'm sure your final statement will find its way through the higher dimensions to a certain Mind, one sublimed far too soon from this planet, and it will smile a cheery Scottish smile.

[@revlerev]

Thank you for introducing me to Iain M Banks. I already purchased Consider Phlebas on Audible and am looking forward to diving into the story of The Culture. This appears to be the sci-fi I’ve been looking for - in which the insane stupidity of our systems is not acquiesced to, and in which a thoughtful exploration of ascended intelligence is engaged and thoroughly examined, while not ignoring the essential qualities of human experience, but rather addressing them as challenges to be met with. So much here that I’m eager to explore as it seems Banks tackled a lot of ideas that have been tickling my mind for quite sometime => A Hippie without guns, intrigued to discover new awareness and perspectives, and quite possibly heightened states of consciousness, and expanded intelligence through these stories of The Culture. Thank you again for the introduction!!!

[@signumscaler]

Amazing as always

[@guidobolke5618]

Finally! Thanks Damien!

[@stavrosbodini1973]

Look to Windward is my favorite all time novel but maybe it's time to go over Use of Weapons again. Brilliant analysis of the Culture, most enjoyable to watch

[@TheShortStory]

One of the great sci-fi video essays of our time. Well done. Banks’s humanism has me always returning to the Culture novels from time to time

[@angelojermainex]

As usual Damien a hit piece that I’ve already watched 3 times 😂

[@TrangleC]

Nothing against Banks' Culture books, but it works because the author says it works and in that way it is no different from any other fictional society. From that perspective all fictional societies that require a component that doesn't exist in reality to work, are the same. Whether that fictional component is magic in a Fantasy story or benevolent Super-A.I.s that treat humans like beloved pets.

[@mattjones2259]

Thanks

[@DamienWalter]

Thanks Matt.

[@darinbasile6754]

Great review. Thank you. It made me realize how much I missed when I read the series.

[@MostlyPennyCat]

She took a deep breath, calmed herself. She walked up to the drone and said quietly, 'All right; this time... you get away with it. Enjoy it when you play it back.' She put one hand flat on the drone's side. 'Yeah; enjoy. But if you ever do anything like that again...' she slapped its flank softly and whispered, 'you're ore, understand?' 'Absolutely,' said the drone. 'Slag; components; motherjunk.'

[@DamienWalter]

I almost included the end of the scene as a coda. Maybe in the extended cut.