Week 14: Science Fiction Parody and Satire

Something satirical science fiction tends to do is make the entire human race look like a bunch of idiots. Futurama, Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, and especially Idiocracy takes the future human race and makes it the least intelligent group of species on earth, and I agree with them completely. We’re a species that kills to create. We destroy species, plants, ecosystems, and even the very air we breathe just for our own personal gain. I see us as a parasitic race. In the end, we will be the cause of our own destruction. When I see parodies of the future like Idiocracy, I see them more as reality than fiction. We may be getting smarter and creating incredible technology but, the more we do the blinder we get.  Before you know it, all the dolphins on Earth will decide to just leave.

I love Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the book, the series, and especially the new movie. There are so many scientific elements thrown into one story and all of it is explained in such a humorous way. The universe is basically transformed into one big joke and Arthur Dent’s reaction to it all is probably how anyone would react. The characters of Hitchiker’s Guide are all so very strange but very likable. Arthur Dent is basically the character you put your own shoes into, having no idea what in the world is going on, Ford Prefect, Arthur’s alien friend who has a strange obsession with towels, Zaphod Beeblebrox, the strange two headed president of the Galaxy, Trillian, also an Earthling, who is probably the only one who takes anything seriously and Marvin, the super depressed about everything paranoid android.  You just don’t see characters like this anymore!

I think what makes Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy so fun is the fact that it branches off from planet Earth, Earth is actually completely destroyed, and focuses on the wonders of the universe. Douglas Adam’s picks fun at science, philosophy, and religion but also includes his own statements and ideas about life. While things are silly, I question whether any of it could be possible seeing how we were possible. Even in the end when the ultimate answer to the question of life, the universe, and everything in between is answered I still wonder…. Why 42?