Ray Bradbury Remembered

Ray Bradbury was, and still is, a legend of science fiction and fantasy. Sadly in this world even legends may pass, as Bradbury did on June 5 at the age of 91.

But he will never be forgotten, and his visions of the future and altered reality will be remembered by all who read some of his most influential works.

Fahrenheit 451, written by Bradbury in 1954, presents some of Bradbury’s greatest fears for the future of mankind – many that have come to pass.

In his dystopia citizens have incredibly short attention spans and only care for pleasure. They view thinking and knowledge as unnecessary. As a result books, one of the greatest gateways for knowledge, have been outlawed and are burned on sight by firefighters. Bradbury describes how men and woman sleep walk while listening to the media in their ear and the alienation from others it brings. He describes TV screens on every wall of a room, so that people at home are constantly bombarded by the media and outside world.

If you really think about it, Bradbury was right, way back in 1954. He could see the signs leading to a society based on “factoids” rather than knowledge, entertainment rather than living. Today you are hard pressed to find somebody who doesn’t use an IPod or have less than two or three televisions in their home. Wikipedia and Spark notes are used by many students, even at the college level, to “learn” material. This is the future that Bradbury foresaw, and one that partially came to pass. Who is to say that Bradbury won’t be completely right one day?

Bradbury’s other most well-known collection of works is known as The Martian Chronicles and tells the story of the colonization of Mars, conflict with the native Martians and the destruction of Earth. The story is obviously influenced by the settling of Europeans in North America, intending to turn the “New World” essentially into Europe 2.0. Accidently the germs they bring with them across the sea wreaks havoc on the Native Americans already living there.  The history lesson plays out almost identically in the colonization of mars, with one notable exception. When the Mars settlers are cut off from Earth after nuclear war on the human home world, humans essentially become the new Martians.

Though he is no longer here, Ray Bradbury’s legacy lives on in his works and won’t soon be forgotten by the millions who have found truth in his works like Fahrenheit 451 or The Martian Chronicles.

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