Information AboutEdisonade |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT EDISONADE | |
| science fiction genres | |
| pulp fiction | |
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HISTORY Usually first published in cheaply-printed Dime Novel s, most such stories were written to appeal to young boys, the works of Jules Verne being a notable exception. The Edisonade formula was an outgrowth of the fascination with engineering and technology that arose near the end of the 1800s, and a derivative of the existing Robinsonade formula. One frequent theme in Edisonades was the confrontation of "savage," non-white tribes, and their subsequent and somewhat casual slaughter by the Caucasian hero and/or his inventions. A related theme was the exploration of little-known, "untamed" parts of the world. To that degree, the stories reflected the contemporaneous era of large-scale Colonization and exploration. Early Edisonade novels often include implicit Racism , Sexism , and Imperialism , common to the culture of the time. Notes on League of Extraordinary Gentlemen #2 Clute defines the word in his book: As used here the term ‘edisonade' - derived from Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) in the same way that ‘Robinsonade' is derived from Robinson Crusoe - can be understood to describe any story which features a young US male inventor hero who uses his ingenuity to extricate himself from tight spots and who, by so doing, saves himself from foreign oppressors.and he defines it again in a column referring to "The Plutonian Terror" by Jack Williamson written in 1933: It is an Edisonade, a paradigm kind of science fiction in which a brave young inventor creates a tool or a weapon (or both) that enables him to save the girl and his nation (America) and the world from some menace, whether it be foreigners or evil scientists or aliens; and gets the girl; and gets rich.Clute, John, Yore Is Us , column in Infinite Matrix, 2000 A later adaptation or derivative of the Edisonade was juvenile novels draw from the genre. Edisonade-style novels have continued to be published, though in much smaller numbers. Most uses of the term refer to stories written in the 1930s or earlier. Edisonade at everything2.net EXAMPLES
:#"Electric Bob and His White Alligator; or, Hunting for Confederate Treasure in the Mississippi River" :#"Electric Bob's Big Black Ostrich; or, Lost on the Desert" :#"Electric Bob's Revenue Hawk; or, the Young Inventor among the Moonshiners" :#"Electric Bob's Big Bicycle; or, the Nerviest Boy in the World" :#"Electric Bob's Sea-Cat; or, the Daring Invasion of Death Valley" REFERENCES SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS |
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