'Future Shock,' Pop Futurism, and the Pandemic
Link Copied The pandemic, which has seemed stranger than science fiction in so many ways, has occasioned much debate about the role of speculative fiction in imagining the future: The possibilities of such stories have felt, to some, like answers amid uncertainty, even as others have questioned the limits of dystopian visions. But perhaps an equally relevant literature to revisit is speculative nonfiction: the constantly evolving genre we might call “pop futurism.” What are the telltale signs of a “pop futurist” book? It sketches out possible tomorrows, highlights emergent trends to ...