Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep
Phillip K. Dick
241 pages
Read in 9 days


I grew up in a house that was definitely a science-fiction house. Both of my parents loved everything sci-fi. Every Sunday night, as I would be getting ready for bed, I would hear the beginning music to Dr. Who (of course after Dave Allen and Monty Python). They would watch reruns of Star Trek even though they had seen the episodes five times before and followed every generation after. When my dad let me borrow his copy of "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" it was like he was giving me a family heirloom. So, I guess a little bit of that need for a glimpse into the future is always with me. The "what would the world be like..." type of conversations I had as a kid has continued now into my adulthood. I’m still waiting for my rocket-pack, dammit!

After reading Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, I can emphatically state that I do not want the "what-if" world that Phillip Dick has envisioned. A world that in its post-apocalypse haze would rather lure people to Mars (now with your own robot!) than to live on the desolate Earth. A world where a person's status and basic self-worth is judged by whether they have a pet and if said pet is real or fake. A world, where your mood can be programmed for you by using a machine called a "mood-organ".

The novel follows the story of two main characters, Rick Deckard, an android bounty-hunter and John Isidore, a "chicken-head--a man with lower mental faculties--who works as a driver for a robot animal "hospital". Their stories are told in separate chapters until they meet later on. Androids were initially developed as companions to accompany people as they journey to Mars and then act as servants once they are there. Good marketing strategy apparently as it seems that most of the people have taken advantage of the offer, leaving a lonely, empty world. People insisted on more realistic androids and a certain version called the Nexus-6 is so darn close to human, that bounty hunters, like Rick, have to use a test called a Voigt Empathy Test to help make the determination. He has to do this test now since a group of androids have escaped Mars and are trying assimilate themselves back on earth. He is charged with “retiring” them at a price of $1000 per android. Empathy is important as this is the basic belief system of people on earth. They follow the belief system called Mercerism and “transport” themselves into Mercer’s world via empathy boxes. As John Isidore says, “An empathy box is the most personal possession you have. It is an extension of your body; it’s the way you stop being alone.”

There are a couple themes that I got from the reading of this book. One was the emptiness and loneliness that the humans on earth endure. John Isidore’s apartment building is completely empty except for him. Everyone on earth seems to be empty shells of what they used to be. As Deckard takes out the androids, you are left wondering: was it them or the humans who truly lived?

Another theme that I felt was captured in the story was the future’s dependence on technology. The mood organs and empathy machines are just a few examples on how, in Dick’s imagination, that humans need for technology to help them basic human emotions. Truly scary stuff working here.

I don't know if it was the deep-rooted love for science-fiction that made me embrace this book as much as I did, but I couldn't stop reading it. If it weren't for some work events, it would have taken me 3-4 days to read this. I could not wait until I had the time to read it again and I would cruise through the pages when I did. It is a pretty easy read. I know I am only 5 books into the “project” but this is my favorite so far.

Ok, now I am going to admit something that, after my sci-fi love-fest in the beginning, seems unforgivable…I have never seen “Blade Runner”. There, I said it. For those that do not know, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep is the basis for the movie. After reading the book, I went to Netflix and watched the original (not the Directors Cut from a few years ago). You know what? I didn’t like it. With the Phillip Marlowe-esque voice over, and the androids sticking out like sore thumbs, I just could not get into the movie…that and Sean Young, blech. Stick with the book, you will get more out of it. Although, I should say that the visuals of the future world were pretty spectacular.

So, now that I have read this book, I am definitely going to read some more of Phillip Dicks’ books when I am done with this little project. Anyone have recommendations?

Next up, a book Newsweek calls a "model biography...(he) emerges as a quintessential hero of his time, and ours." They are speaking about Edmund Morgan's Benjamin Franklin.

Winchell

Winchell: Gossip, Power and the Culture of Celebrity
Neal Gabler
553 pages
Read in 33 days


Newsweek says in the "What to Read Now and Why" article, that "before there was a Rush Limbaugh - or Us Weekly - there was Walter Winchell: gossip columnist, commentator, McCarthyite, radio celebrity, has-been."

Before reading the book, I didn't know much about Walter Winchell other than his catchphrase that began every radio broadcast: "Good evening Mr. and Mrs. America from border to border and coast to coast and all the ships at sea. Let's go to press." I was surprised at how engrossing this book was for me. Winchell came from humble beginnings to become the voice of America heard or read by 50 million Americans. In 1948, he was the top-rated radio personality (beating out Fred Allen and Jack Benny). He was, at the same time, feared and respected by his peers, politicians, and celebrities. He was also plagued with self-doubt and lack of confidence. When he sided with Senator Joseph McCarthy and Roy Cohn against communism, public opinion turned against him eventually. He was extremely stubborn and would not apologize for statements he made. Indeed. his downfall does seem to be that he would never re-evaluate his views and would rather die than to back-down.

At the end of his career, it was he who was being viciously attacked...his attackers had years of pent up rage and waited patiently for their moment. As the book says, "Winchell's life had become a parable, the lesson of which was: He who operates in the cutthroat world of celebrity where reputations are quickly made and just as quickly broken will have no peace."

He was a guarded, egotistical, and vicious (especially retaliating against people he felt wronged him). At the core, though, was a man that was not self-confident and was constantly questioning his abilities. On the surface was a man that was seemingly unafraid to face the enemies of the world, but underneath, he was always questioning whether he was good enough. My only gripe with this book, and perhaps that is telling on how Winchell protected his public image, was that there was very little to explain his behavior. There were a lot of "perhaps he did this because" in the book.

He defined gossip and to his credit, as the gossip genre became more salacious and sensational, he kept with his formula. One thing I found amusing was that the "rule" was that you never did a story on a married man having affair...oh, how times have changed.

It is hard to imagine, while reading this book, that the roots of Winchell's gossip column would grow into the invasion-of-privacy, multi-million dollar industry that it has become. From US Weekly and People Magazine to TMZ and Perez Hilton, we have become obsessed with celebrities rites. Top-tier stars are hounded constantly by paparazzi and are not given a moment alone. We see stars who melt under the scrutiny and it only feeds our obsession. I can't even imagine my life being played out on a cover of a magazine as these celebrities do every week.

What have we become as a society where we can't get enough of knowing the trivial, private items in celebrities lives. Do we want to be like them? Are we jealous and want to know they can have messed-up lives too? The sad thing is that if was popular in the 1930s, there is no hope of it going away. We have always had the appetite for it.

Winchell popularized gossip and now we are taking it to levels that I think even he would shake his head at.

Up next, a little science fiction with Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Phillip Dick...Loving it so far.