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Case 3: Forbidden Futures - Science Fiction Foundation Collections

This case displays examples of published works from the Science Fiction Foundation Collections. All of the works here have been subject censorship or criticism by religious or political groups.

View the objects held in Case 3

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Forbidden Futures

Science Fiction has long had a troubled and troublesome relationship to censorship; tales of transgressive science, revealing the instability of sex and gender, and harsh critiques of social structures are just some of the ways in which the genre pushes, questions and unsettles its readers. Perhaps Arthur C. Clarke said it best:

“It has always seemed to me that the limits of censorship are defined by two famous quotations: Voltaire’s ‘I disagree with everything you say - but will fight to the death for your right to say it’ and Chief Justice Holmes’: ‘Freedom of speech does not include the liberty to shout FIRE! in a crowded theatre.’ In real life, one must attempt to steer a course between these two extremes. Thus I can tolerate astrologers purveying their (usually) harmless nonsense, but not anti-Semites and neo-Nazis hawking their poison.”

Case 3: Forbidden Futures: Science Fiction Foundation Collections

THINK: Why do you think a text might be censored or banned? Share your thoughts @LivUniSCA

Think: Look up which texts have been banned in a country of your choice. Are there any texts which surprise you? Why? Share your thoughts @LivUniSCA

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George Orwell

Nineteen Eighty-Four (1954)

Orwell’s devastating novel of totalitarianism warned of ‘fake news’ or ‘newspeak’ as early as 1949. Ironically, it was censored in both the U.S.A. and former U.S.S.R. for being at once pro- and anti-communist!

Animal Farm (1954)

Celebrated as a critique of communism and supported by the CIA in the United States, Animal Farm was, unsurprisingly, banned in the former Soviet Union

Shelf in Case 3 showing Animal Farm; Nineteen Eighty Four

Advanced D&D Monster Manual (1979) by Gary Gygax

Never banned per se, Dungeons and Dragons has nonetheless been the target of many lawsuits, censures and controversies over the years regarding its supposed advocacy of Satanism and demonology. Evil, truly, is in the eye of the Beholder.

His Dark Materials trilogy (1996; 1997; 2001) by Philip Pullman

Pullman’s modern re-telling of the story of Adam and Eve – influenced by William Blake and John Milton, among others – deliberately attracted the ire of the Catholic Church for its ‘atheist,’ or more accurately, agnostic, philosophy. In Pullman’s own words: “belief in God seems to be a very good excuse, on the part of those who claim to believe, for doing many wicked things that they wouldn’t feel justified in doing without such a belief.”

Fahrenheit 451 (1977) by Ray Bradbury

The ultimate excoriation of book censorship, this novel has been banned many times due to its “vulgarity” and generally “offensive” content.

Slaughterhouse-Five (1970) by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

Another distinctly anti-war novel, Slaughterhouse-Five was banned and challenged on at least 18 occasions in the U.S. primarily due to charges of obscenity and anti-American sentiment.

A Clockwork Orange (1972) by Anthony Burgess

Brave New World (1947) by Aldous Huxley

These two dystopias were banned, at various points in time, in multiple countries (including Ireland, India and the U.S.A.) due to charges of profanity, pornography, and promulgation of anti-family and anti-religion ideology.

The Handmaid’s Tale (1989) by Margaret Atwood

Primarily challenged and banned in the U.S. and Canada, this novel has unsettled censors for decades, serving as an abhorrent and inconvenient reminder of how easily democracy can slide into totalitarianism – and how readily civil rights can be taken away.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1967) by Lewis Carroll

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (2003) by Frank Baum

You might be surprised to see these two children’s classics in an exhibit on banned books. Alice’s Adventures was banned in the 1960’s U.S. for promoting drug use – and in China, for featuring talking animals. In 1928, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was banned in many libraries in the U.S. for the ‘ungodly’ sin of “depicting women in strong leadership roles”.

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Continue the story in Case 4: Collections Development...