Category Archives: Dystopia

Robert Stark interviews Comic Writer Woody Arnold

aesthetics, animation, Anime, Blade Runner, Cities, Comic Books, Cyber Symbiosis, Cyberpunk, Dystopia, Futurism, Science Fiction, Seattle, Space Travel, Woody Arnold

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater interview comic writer Woody Arnold. Woody’s current project is the online cyberpunk comic, Cybersymbiosis. He also operates Minature Dragon Comics and has written Countermay: War of the God King, The Gamers: Alterations, and The Thunderfrogs.

Topics:

Woody’s background in comics, Transformers, Battletech, Space Battleship Yamato, Captain Harlock
RPG Games, Traveller, The Cyberpunk genre, William Gibson, Blade Runner, Johnny Mnemonic, Shadowrun
Akira, Ghost in the Shell, X-men
Eric Vargas, Woody’s comic artist.
Woody’s latest and ongoing cyberpunk comic, Cyber-Symbiosis. The city of Seattle
The architect of cyberpunk cities, underground malls, cyberpunk socio-economics
China vs. Japan ruling the world, Eastern influences in Cyberpunk, Vaporwave, 80’s tech, Mars colonization
Utopian vs. Dystopians societies, Internet cultures, unpredictable futures, progressive technology, storytelling with cyberpunk
The characters in Cyber-Symbiosis, Games and storytelling, influences
Woody’s comic The Thunderfrogs, Usagi Yojimbo, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Archie’s Sonic The Hedgehog
Video games, upcoming movies
Retrowave music, film soundtracks, ABBA
Thunderfrog Studios, Miniature Dragons
Hamlet’s Hit points, Fighting Fantasy gamebooks
Woody’s interested in Heroclix and Mage Knight figures


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Robert Stark interviews James Howard Kunstler

aesthetics, Alex von Goldstein, American Culture, Architecture, Banking, Consumerism, Corporations, Culture, decentralization, Donald Trump, Dystopia, Economics, Environment, Futurism, Globalization, Historic Preservation, History, Immigration, James Howard Kunstler, Literature, localism, Mass Transit, Mid-Century Modern, New Urbanism, New York, overdevelopment, Overpopulation, Peak Oil, Rabbit, Skyscrapers, Suburbia, Urbanism, Wall Street, Water, Zoning

james-kunstler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark, Rabbit, and Alex von Goldstein talk to writer and social critic, James Howard Kunstler

Topics include:

The history of suburbia
James’ theory of history that things happen because they seem like a good idea at the time
How our auto oriented petroleum based society is unsustainable
How bad urban planing has negative psychological and cultural implications
The role of zoning laws, and how zoning can both encourage and prevent suburban sprawl
The future of suburbia, how some will be retrofitted into walkalble communities, while others will be abandoned
The New Urbanist Movement
Mass immigration and overpopulation
Why James does not view skyscrapers and hyper density as viable alternatives to suburbia
Robert’s point that tall structures can have aesthetic value, and how James acknowledges that the early wave of skyscrapers(ex. Singer Building, Woolworth Building, Manhattan Municipal Building) were beautiful structures but historical flukes
How European cities provide the ideal model for urbanism
Examples of sustainable American cities include Portland, Oregon, Charleston, South Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia
Mass Transit, and why James favors investing in existing rail infrastrusture over new high speed rail
The Streetcar suburb, and how they provide a model for New Urbanism
James’ point that even with alternative energy and technological innovation, we still have to downsize and localize our society and economy
How peak oil will lead to economic and political decentralization
How Peak Oil will make Globalization unsustainable
The future of China and the Arab Gulf States
Pre-War Japan as the best example of an advanced civilization without industrialization
The scarcity of water in the future, and how the inland water system will regain it’s value
Historic Preservation, how the movement was started in the 1960’s in response to the demolition of Pennsylvania Station in NYC, and the debate about what should be preserved
Rabbit makes the case for mid century modern
Capital scarcities in the future, and how mass development is dependent upon the financial system
James’ four book series set in a post economic collapse America, the World Made by Hand


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Robert Stark interviews Scott Jackisch

aesthetics, Architecture, Basic Income, California, capitalism, Cities, Consumerism, Dystopia, Economics, Environment, Futurism, Human Bio Diversity, income inequality, Philosophy, Political Correctness, Politics, Psychology, Rabbit, Realpolitik, Retro Futurism, Robert Heinlein, San Francisco, Science, Science Fiction, Scott Jackisch, Skyscrapers, Social Isolation, Social Justice Warriors, Socialism, Sociopaths, Transhumanism, Urbanism, Utopia, War, Wealth, Zoning

Oakland Futurist

 

 

 

 

Scott Jackisch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Rabbit interview Scott Jackisch. Scott is an IT consultant located in Oakland, CA. He blogs at The Oakland Futurist and runs the East Bay Futurists meetup.

Topics include:

Scott’s interest in futurism and science fiction writers including Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, and William Gibson
Scott’s futurist meetup and how there is a strong interest in futurism in the San Francisco Bay Area
How in the modern era people are isolated, and how meetups can fill in that void, and create new communities
How the meetup itself is not political, but rather an open discussion on futurism
The different political factions within futurism including liberals, libertarians, and Neoreactionaries
Scott’s critique of Neoreaction, how his main disagreement is over their rejections of progress, but can sympathize with their reaction to extreme political correctness
Rabbit’s point that he got interested in Neoreaction because the idea of people being able to form their own societies appealed to him, but was turned off by the extreme traditional views
Scott’s political views, and how he is basically a Centrist and Pragmatist
Why Scott accepts Realpolitik, which is a system of politics or principles based on practical rather than moral or ideological considerations
Transhumanism
Scott’s series The Robot Lord Scenario, which he plans on turning into a novel
Trends in warfare,  how the invention of the gun leveled the playing field, but that automative weapons will enforce inequality
Daniel Suarez’s novel Kill Decision
Economic automation and it’s implications
Economics, whether capitalism is necessary for innovation, and how a functional economic needs both capitalism and socialism
The Bay Area’s housing crisis, NIMBYism, and where to build new housing
Vertical Living and urban agriculture
Retro Futurism, dystopian and utopian visions of the future
How science fiction writers can provide narratives for engineers to build their visions(ex. Elon Musk and the Culture series)
The role of sociopaths in society, and how power generally gets concentrated by sociopaths
From a realpolitiks perspective how do you take power away from people in power that are causing harm?
Scott’s message for people to listen to each other instead of demonizing the other side


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Robert Stark, Rabbit, & Alex von Goldstein talk about Future Trends & Scenarios

"1984", aesthetics, Alex von Goldstein, American Culture, Basic Income, California, Cities, Class, Conservatives, Conspiracy Theories, Crime, Culture, Donald Trump, Dystopia, Economics, Environment, Eugenics, Film, Futurism, Hipsters, Immigration, income inequality, James Howard Kunstler, Negative Income Tax, New Urbanism, Oligarchy, overdevelopment, Overpopulation, Peak Oil, Police State, Politics, Prison, Rabbit, Radical Center, Science Fiction, Soft Totalitarianism, Suburbia, Traditionalism, Transhumanism, Urbanism, US Prison System, Utopia, Wealth, welfare state

Future Trends

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Topics include:

The conservative concept of self sufficiency( ex.working for a corporation, driving a car, and owning a home, in the suburbs) vs. the traditionalist one(ex.growing your own food), and the futurist one
The traditionalist Larpy goal of a society where everyone grows their own food, and how local agriculture should be encouraged, but it is unrealistic for everyone to be involved in it
The growth of the suburbs, from the original Railroad suburbs of the 19th Century, to the post war car oriented suburban sprawl
How small towns that have access to both urbanism and wilderness are the ideal place to live for those who can afford them(ex. Marin County, Palo Alto, and East Bay Hills in the SF Bay Area, and parts of  North Jersey)
New Urbanism, which seeks to re-create walkable communities out of car oriented suburbs
James Howard Kunstler‘s theory that Peak oil will lead to the death of suburbia and re-creation of localized communities
Future predictions that Peak Oil will lead to a Mad Max style collapse
Conspiracy Theories, the theory that the elites want chaos vs the frog in the boiling pan theory, and Alex’s comment that the elite’s have a short time frame
A Futurist Utopian model that’s ecologically sustainable, where robots do all the work, and that has a Basic income
How a basic income could create a utopia if implemented the right way, but could also be abused by the elites
How the key problem with society is that the elites control to much of the wealth, and the underclass control a large share of the population, and how to remedy that
Mike Judge’s Idiocracy
Transhumanism
The Nineteen Eighty-Four Police State Scenario
The US Prison System, and how inhumane condition only make people more dangerous
How we have open border combined with a surveillance state
How terrorism, “hate speech”, and the underage sex hysteria have been used to justify complete surveillance of the internet
How every political ideology is tied to a cultural aesthetic
Our upcoming show on Retrofuturism, and how Retrofuturism is the perfect aesthetic for Radical Centrism, because they are both based on fusionism


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Robert Stark talks to Charles Lincoln & Robert Lindsay about LA, the 1980’s, & Blade Runner

1980's, 80's music, aesthetics, American Culture, Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills High, Blade Runner, California, capitalism, Charles Lincoln, Cinema, Cities, Consumerism, Culture, Diversity, Dystopia, Economics, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Film, Futurism, Gambling, hedonism, Immigration, Los Angeles, Malls, materialism, Mexico, Music, Neon, overdevelopment, Overpopulation, Pornography, Robert Lindsay, Ronald Reagan, Science Fiction, Sexuality, Suburbia, The Hunger Games, The Porn Industry

FTRH
BR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a continuation of the discussion on True Stories

Topics include:

The demographic transformation of Southern California
Robert Lindsay’s experience as a substitute teacher
Beverly Hills
The Film Fast Times at Ridgemont High set in the San Fernando Valley in the early 80’s
The depiction of adolescent sexuality in the film
How in the 70’s and early 80’s hedonism existed with less materialism and higher social trust than today
How the rise in hyper materialism coincided with the popularity of Reagan
How Robert Lindsay was involved with the Punk scene in the 80’s
The Film Earth Girls Must be Easy
The Porn Industry in the San Fernando Valley
Southern California Mall Culture
How the decline of traditional Mall Culture symbolizes how all of society is becoming one giant mall
How strip malls in LA are being replaced by higher density development
The debate about density and Urbanism
Mexican Culture vs. Mexican American Culture in California
The Film Blade Runner which is set in LA in 2019
Whether Blade Runner is an accurate depiction of the future
The genre of Dystopian Future Films(ex.Hunger Games, V for Vendetta, Mad Max)
NEON SIGNS OF BLADE RUNNER
The Film “Her” which depicts the future of LA as an eco friendly SWPL utopia
The decline in the quality of products

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