Science Fiction history book – “The Technical Delusion” (Duke University Press, 2019) – Jeffrey Sconce interview

Dr. Jeffrey Sconce specializes in radio, tv, and film studies and is an assistant professor in communications studies. He’s written many books on the subject and we discussed his latest book on electricity, paranoia and conspiracy theories.

1:04 – Jeffrey talks about he ended up writing the book.

2:55 – Jeffrey talks about the early days of electricity.

5:16 – Jeffrey talks about the explosion of ideas of being mentally controlled when televisions became commonplace.

13:13 – Jeffrey talks about paranormal tv shows which discuss haunted technology.

23:05 – Jeffrey talks about the increasing overlap between science fiction, conspiracy theories, and delusional psychosis.

31:33 – Jeffrey talks about Philip K. Dick and his writing.

41:11 – Jeffrey talks about what he used for his research including Journals on “Insanity.”

43:41 – Jeffrey talks about the truly delusional versus people pretending to be delusional.

1:04:43 – Jeffrey has a blog at ludicdespair.blogpsot.com

 

Links of interest

https://www.dukeupress.edu/the-technical-delusion

http://ludicdespair.blogspot.com/

For more of “The Art and Design of Sci-Fi and Fantasy, Mystery and Horror” please follow me on Facebook at crisalvarezwlc, on youtube at Cris Alvarez and on Instagram @crisalvarezscifi

Guests: Jeffrey Sconce

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: science fiction, electronics, psychosis, conspiracy theories, supernatural, occult, paranormal, mediums, seance, industrial revolution, anxiety, depression, twilight zone, outer limits, haunted technology, twilight zone, x-files, brain chips, MK Ultra, ray kurzweil, Matrix, Philip K. Dick, targeted individuals

Actress Nora McClellan interview – Far Point 2018 – youtube

Nora McClellan is a Canadian actress who has appeared on my many shows including X-Files, Orphan Black and Killjoys. I met Nora at Far Point 2018 and interviewed her about her work and inspirations.

0:47 – Nora talks about being on Killjoys.

1:26 – Nora talks about having been on Orphan Black and the original X-files. She said that no one thought the show would last. The effects didn’t work and seemed to have various problems. But she still gets residuals for it. She enjoyed working on the show even with the problems. She loves being on a stage regardless.

4:05 – Nora talks about having been an actor since age 8.

4:20 – Nora says that she likes working on tv, film and the stage equally. TV working hours are quite long. She’s inspired by acting because she constantly learns things from people older and younger than her. She likes new opinions.

6:04 – Nora talks about needing to start her day in the bath with the script to calm down for the day. She thinks about her dreams which often are very positive and uplifting.

7:39 – Nora likes being able to play a wide array of characters including Ebenezer Scrooge, a retired vaudeville performer, a retired space bounty hunter. She loves acting and hopes to be on stage even to old age.

9:41 – Nora talks about her first success in acting when she was in an opera at age 8. She likes acting whether performing for a small or large audience. She talks about how big the opera is with the performers, audience, and orchestra. She didn’t have stage fright even when she was young. She’ll even walk off stage if she doesn’t know why her character is doing something she is doing.

12:20 – Nora is inspired working with Tatiana Maslany and Maria Doyle Kennedy. Tatiana’s kindness and generosity was inspiring. She’s always positive and energetic. She said listeners should watch Orphan Black and watch her work.

14:00 – Nora talks about being inspired by things like SpaceX’s car launch. She is amazed by how much we can do scientifically and yet there’s so many things we can’t solve on Earth like drought. She said maybe the world needs to come together like science fiction shows for us to solve our problems.

15:20 – Nora was inspired by Blade Runner 2049 especially since she was waiting for it for so long and she enjoyed it very much. Wonder Woman really moves her. She liked the new Star Wars films too. She loves Star Trek and Star Wars.

16:43 – Nora wished she had a teleporter to help her commute and then she’d want a cloak of invisibility too.

17:35 – Nora would like to do some male Shakespeare roles especially since people are more into gender fluidity now. Falstaff and Lear are two characters that came to her mind.

18: 15 – Nora likes that D&D is coming back since people can come together without a tablet. She likes role-playing and Settlers of Catan. She really likes groups of friends binge watching shows.

19:35 – Nora is on @McClellanNora on twitter and she uses it often and talks to her sci-fi and tv show fans by tweet. She’ll meet fans who tweet with ehr.

 

Links to things mentioned

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3952222/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2234222/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106179/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1856101/

https://www.catan.com/

 

For more “Creating Sci-Fi and Fantasy – An Inside Look” please follow me on Facebook at crisalvarezwlc, on youtube at Cris Alvarez and on Instagram @crisalvarezscifi

 

Guests: Nora McClellan

Host: Cris Alvarez