1984–2001

[Image: From 2001, directed by Stanley Kubrick].

I'm participating in a panel discussion later today (Sunday), over in Brooklyn at a place called Smack Mellon. The topic is 1984–2001, and it's a look at utopian and dystopian visions in science fiction—with, in my case, a specific focus on architecture. The other participants are Ed Halter, Carrie Hintz, Brian Francis Slattery, and Deborah Taylor; Matt Borruso will moderate.

[Image: From the film 1984, directed by Michael Radford].

Here's an excerpt from the day's description:

George Orwell's 1984 was written during the Second World War and Stanley Kubrick's 2001 was released in 1968. That these moments of cultural upheaval produced two such extreme visions of the future is hardly a surprise; sometimes referred to as speculative fiction, science fiction is premised on a radical re-imagining of the cultural moment. Whether optimistic or cautionary, any representation of a set of social conditions that differs from the author's own are bound to that author's aspirations for the present, making science fiction a genre often read for its political import.

It starts at 3pm, and is free and open to the public. Here's a map.