The slides for today talk about the rise of SF in pulp magazines beginning in the late 1920s and through the 1930s. Judging from the contents of Weinbaum’s stories and the material in the slides, who do you think read these magazines? What would be the likely demographic categories? Men? Women? Old? Young? Black? White? Affluent? Working-class? Feel free to consider other categories. In a paragraph or two, explain how one bit of specific evidence—a moment or language in Weinbaum’s stories or a detail from a particular cover posted in the slides—guides your thinking.
6 thoughts on “Who’s Reading the Pulps? (Group 3)”
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Based upon the material that was in Weinbaum’s stories and the content in the slides, I think that the audience for pulp magazines was geared towards white working class Americans of all age groups living in the United States. I do not think other races, such as African American Americans would read pulp magazines as most of the main characters were white and would often dehumanize and have a negative sentiment towards other races (as mentioned in the slides of the story Tarzan). Judging from the time period in which pulp magazines were most popular (which was from the 1920s -1940s), most Americans during this time were struggling a great deal from the Great Depression. As mentioned in the slides, pulp magazines were very cheap, ranging from 5-25 cents, and allowed the general public to read up on alternative realities while they were going through a rough time. Moreover, the slides mention that pulp magazines were a place for science fiction writers to get their work published if they weren’t able to succeed in getting into bigger magazines and publishers. This being said, writers publishing articles in pulp magazines had various different topics and subjects that they would want to talk about (such as sex, sexuality, crime, mystery as mentioned in the slides) which I think would have gained popularity in pulp magazines in a wide range of white working class Americans.
In terms of the Martian Odyssey, and the setting of the story being on a spaceship landing on Mars with four men, I think the demographic most geared towards this story would be white working class men. Men during this time would work in factories alongside others and I think reading this story set a stage of an alternative reality where they go on a journey encountering fictional creatures. In a similar vein, Parasite Planet seems to also be geared towards white working class men given the positive portrayal of Ham ,the main character and the actions (“springing” into action in frequent danger) that he takes while on his journey through Venus.
After finishing our slides and readings today, I believe that Weinbaum’s pulp stories are directed toward a lower- and working-class American, likely male, audience. From a purely practical standpoint, the common, affordable magazines would be affordable and – as Ben Barry pointed out – desirable particularly to a male reader for their elaborate, exciting covers with scantly dressed women in the arms of rugged hero men. However, looking at the content of each story, we can dig a little deeper.
“A Martian Odyssey” convinced me very quickly that the intended audience for these stories was certainly an English-speaking American. The contrast in the character traits of our American hero, Jarvis, and his sidekicks of different European descent and language use, is stark and honestly quite comedic. Jarvis is portrayed as a cool, brave, prepared leader who is quick on his feet and always correct. His European comrades are portrayed as weaker, less intelligent, less cunning people who provide comedic contrast to Jarvis in order for him to prove them time and time again incorrect to give the audience the truth. The story must be directed at an American audience, as they could place themselves within the alpha male position and look up to the adventurer who is both perfect on his feet and with his intuition where his colleagues are less so. Ironically, the American hero steals the glass orb as booty from the natives, echoing the negative colonial nature of the country which is now widely condemned (at least in Middlebury intellectual circles).
In a similar vein, “Parasite Planet” convinced me with its outdated portrayal of gender roles (outdated when compared to the present day) that the intended pulp audience is not only American but also likely male. The language used to describe Patricia alone – both by the narrator and by Ham – does with words what an old James Bond film does with visuals: creates a brave, clever lone adventurer male hero figure and his cold but emotional, hard-to-get, and most importantly beautiful, dainty damsel who warms up and literally chases after him. Though this argument feels like a beaten horse as I’m writing this as it’s repeated over and over again in this time period of common literature, it does show that the theme here is likely more appealing to a male reader – particularly a younger one.
Based on Weinbaum’s stories and the slides, I think that many people would want to read these stories as a form of entertainment and distraction from reality. When I think of the 1920s and 1930s I think of the end of the first World War and the Great Depression. These are two events were likely traumatic to many and what better way to escape the discomfort of war and poverty than to dive into science fiction. These alternate worlds offer the reader a chance to ponder the ideas of living in another reality. However, they were often realistic enough to make the reader think the stories could be possible, as well as allow the reader to relate their own experiences. The slides state that the science fiction stories were printed on the cheapest type of paper and was sold anywhere from five to 25 cents. Therefore, people of low socio-economic status were still able to buy the magazine as it was affordable to all. This is especially important in times of rationing during World War 1 and the Great Depression. In addition, the slides also say how they had eye-catching covers. Thus, I would assume that children and teenagers were very likely to buy and read these magazines. Bright colors and vibrant covers stand out to the younger generations and make the magazine seem more interesting.
Likewise, I think male teens and young adults are also more likely to read based on the idea that the covers often showed half-naked women. At a time in their lives where their hormones are raging, they would most likely be intrigued by the covers. Similarly, the Pulp had repeat characters that left the reader in suspense in many stories. That is another great marketing strategy to keep the people interested. Finally, based on the evidence from the slides, I would conclude that the most popular demographic for the Pulp would be young white adult men and teenagers. Since segregation and racism was very prevalent in this era, I do not think there would be a large access for black consumers and I do not think main characters in the magazines would be black also limiting interest from this demographic.
The recurring role of the individual amongst nature/the wild frontier makes these short stories distinctly American and the audience as well. Other national literatures with frontier elements (space is the “final frontier” after all ) such as German, Japanese, and Russian works feature themes on cooperation and interdependence on others which is lacking in these two American SF stories. In “Parasite Planet”, Ham harkens back to the mythic past of the settling of the continent (conquering would be an un-American thing to do ofc) due to his similarities to fur trappers with his exploitation of the environment for profit and his life of solitude. His American lifestyle is contrasted with Patricia’s rather British goal of studying and exploring. Jasmine’s comments on “the prowess of the American man” reveals the American exceptionalism present in this pulp SF and the power of the American man over nature central to the story.
“A Martian Odyssey” is less pronounced in its distinctly American tone which might be explained by it’s more mature audience as Erick highlights or by the fact it is based on the original tale by Homer. However, Tweel fills the common American trope of the native sidekick who provides an alternative view for our main wandering. Tweel’s role is in relation to Jarvis and the creature’s agency is not displayed at any point. Jarvis mentions several times how he struggles to understand his companion, but his explanation that they just “think differently” resembles more of a noble savages than a fully-fledged individual.
From the slides and the two short stories the audience for Amazing, Astounding and other sci fi magazines is male youth and older. This is strongly suggested by Parasite Planet more so than A Martian Odyssey because of the difference in their structure. Parasite Planet is more conventional because we find our protagonist constantly facing struggles and saving the damsel in distress. Parasite Planet seems marketed toward a younger male audience because the way life on Venus is visualised is explained simply and is approached in a matter-of-fact manner, there is no exploration into living on Venus, the attention is instead directed toward human survival on Venus and our hero’s journey to solving his problems and following the norm of marrying. In many ways it seems like a superhero magazine.
A Martian Odyssey on the other hand is focused on the creatures of Mars than it is on the humans. A more mature male reader would appreciate A Martian Odyssey because it explores Mars and the relationship it has with its inhabitants, humans in this short story serve to move the story forward. Notice that women are excluded and in large part because in both short stories the characters are all males. One can argue that Parasite Planet’s female character is progressive in that she is a biologist, but she is never a given the scientific voice that the four members of the Ares program have in A Martian Odyssey. Instead, her character is meant to fill in gaps of knowledge that the hero does not possess. Both short stories are written in a style that suggests it was most accessible to affluent white readers because of the futurist scientific jargon used. For example, “Concentrated sulphuric acid will heat water almost to boiling, and so will quicklime, and there’s potassium and sodium—” which comes from A Martian Oddssey to describe how to recreate the weapon that Tweel was using on Earth stops itself, cognizant that such language might be confusing and therefore uninteresting to working class male youth. However, this might not be the case for affluent white youth who may have access to resources to understand or follow Dick’s thinking. In any case, I find it interesting how science is implemented and explored and who the audience was exactly? Futurists? Scientists/Aspiring Scientists? Laypersons?
After reading Weinbaum’s stories and the slides the audience for science fiction in the late 1920s to the 1930s would appear to be working-class white men. Going by how the stories were published and how they were sold it is obvious that the works were supposed to be cheap entertainment, full of shock value to sell more magazines. This points to the audience being the working-class white man since it had to be a man who was interested in technological advancement and lived in an urban environment. With the ability to be shocking and exploratory it allows the working-class white man to explore a world where they take the role of the hero and saves the damsel in a new and exciting world a place that is lawless and not meant for the faint of heart. This allows the reader to maintain a feeling of power, as it upholds the current social dynamics present during the time. This helps ease the fear of the future as shows that while times are changing the American values have not. Which is presented in Weinbaum’s “Parasite Planet”, with Patricia Burlingame, the intelligent, beautiful biologist who becomes dependent on Ham a trader. A rugged frontier man, who evokes the classic western cowboy, but in a technologically advanced setting. Especially with the connections made between Burlingame and the environment of Venus. Weinbaum allows the reader to see the taming of Burlingame as an equivalent of taming Venus. He refers to her as a native and hints at her superior knowledge of the environment only to have her be saved by Ham continuously. Until she is eventually overtaken by Ham as he tames her into submission. Declaring that they are to marry and for her to disregard her nationality as a British citizen, which shows not only the prowess of the American man over unknown territory but also acts as a mode in which the American man can once again overturn British claim on the land. The other story, “A Martian Odyssey”, also had strong colonialist undertones. Jarvis is lead around by a helpful native only to attack and steal from a native Martian species he deemed less intelligent and technologically advanced. Jarvis acknowledges the existence of different worlds, cultures, and customs. It appeared to me as if his interest was in the novelty of the life forms and their possible usefulness to him. Such as when he smashes the silicon-based lifeform’s bricks and him stealing from the cart aliens. I would imagine this would generate a form of escapism to a future where the world is rich with opportunity and advancement, especially during times of war, economic uncertainty, and cultural changes that the 1920s and 1930s brought.