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== Influence and legacy ==
== Influence and legacy ==
Dick has influenced many writers, including [[William Gibson]],<ref>[http://www.philipkdickfans.com/articles/william%20gibson.htm William Gibson on PKD], philipkdickfans.com</ref> [[Jonathan Lethem]],<ref>[http://www.sff.net/people/richard.horton/gunwith.htm Gun With Occasional Music Review], sff.net</ref> and [[Ursula K. Le Guin]].<ref>[http://www.sfsite.com/04a/lh173.htm The SF Site Featured Review: The Lathe of Heaven], SF Site</ref> Dick has also influenced filmmakers, his work being compared to films such as the [[Wachowski brothers]]'s ''[[The Matrix]]'',<ref name="modwor">[http://www.themodernword.com/SCRIPTorium/dick.html Scriptorium - Philip K. Dick], [[The Modern Word]]</ref> [[David Cronenberg]]'s ''[[Videodrome]]'',<ref name="dailytele">[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2006/07/14/bfdick14.xml&page=4 How Hollywood woke up to a dark genius], [[The Daily Telegraph]]</ref> ''[[eXistenZ]]'',<ref name="modwor"/> and ''[[Spider (film)|Spider]]'',<ref name="dailytele"/> [[Spike Jonze]]'s ''[[Being John Malkovich]]'',<ref name="dailytele"/> ''[[Adaptation]]'',<ref name="dailytele"/> [[Michel Gondry]]'s ''[[Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind]]'',<ref>[http://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/dvd_review.asp?ID=460 Slant Magazine DVD Review: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind], [[Slant Magazine]]</ref><ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2004/apr/30/dvdreviews.shopping4 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind], [[The Guardian]]</ref> [[Alex Proyas]]'s ''[[Dark City (1998 film)|Dark City]]'',<ref name="modwor"/> [[Peter Weir]]'s ''[[The Truman Show]]'',<ref name="modwor"/> [[Andrew Niccol]]'s ''[[Gattaca]]'',<ref name="dailytele"/> [[Terry Gilliam]]'s ''[[12 Monkeys]]'',<ref name="dailytele"/> [[Wes Craven]]'s ''[[A Nightmare on Elm Street]]'',<ref name="nytpkdsworld">[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D00E5DC1730F937A15752C1A9649C8B63 On Writers and Writing; It's Philip Dick's World, We Only Live in It], [[New York Times]]</ref> [[David Lynch]]'s ''[[Mulholland Drive (film)|Mulholland Drive]]'',<ref name="nytpkdsworld"/> [[David Fincher]]'s ''[[Fight Club (film)|Fight Club]]'',<ref name="dailytele"/> [[Cameron Crowe]]'s ''[[Vanilla Sky]]'',<ref name="modwor"/> [[Darren Aronofsky]]'s ''[[Pi (film)|Pi]]'',<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn//A6396-2002Jul26 Philip K. Dick's Future Is Now], [[Washington Post]]</ref> [[Richard Kelly (director)|Richard Kelly]]'s ''[[Donnie Darko]]''<ref>[http://archive.salon.com/ent/movies/review/2001/10/30/donnie_darko/ Donnie Darko], [[Salon.com]],</ref> and ''[[Southland Tales]]'',<ref>[http://www.cinema-scope.com/cs27/int_peranson_kelly.html Richard Kelly’s Revelations: Defending Southland Tales.], Cinema Scope</ref> and [[Christopher Nolan]]'s ''[[Memento (film)|Memento]]'' <ref>[http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.12/philip_pr.html The Second Coming of Philip K. Dick], [[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]</ref> and [[Inception]] <ref>[http://http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/540040/could_inception_trigger_a_new_wave_of_scifi_cinema.html Could Inception trigger a new wave of sci-fi cinema?], [[Den of Geek]]</ref>.
Dick has influenced many writers, including [[William Gibson]],<ref>[http://www.philipkdickfans.com/articles/william%20gibson.htm William Gibson on PKD], philipkdickfans.com</ref> [[Jonathan Lethem]],<ref>[http://www.sff.net/people/richard.horton/gunwith.htm Gun With Occasional Music Review], sff.net</ref> and [[Ursula K. Le Guin]].<ref>[http://www.sfsite.com/04a/lh173.htm The SF Site Featured Review: The Lathe of Heaven], SF Site</ref> Dick has also influenced filmmakers, his work being compared to films such as the [[Wachowski brothers]]'s ''[[The Matrix]]'',<ref name="modwor">[http://www.themodernword.com/SCRIPTorium/dick.html Scriptorium - Philip K. Dick], [[The Modern Word]]</ref> [[David Cronenberg]]'s ''[[Videodrome]]'',<ref name="dailytele">[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2006/07/14/bfdick14.xml&page=4 How Hollywood woke up to a dark genius], [[The Daily Telegraph]]</ref> ''[[eXistenZ]]'',<ref name="modwor"/> and ''[[Spider (film)|Spider]]'',<ref name="dailytele"/> [[Spike Jonze]]'s ''[[Being John Malkovich]]'',<ref name="dailytele"/> ''[[Adaptation]]'',<ref name="dailytele"/> [[Michel Gondry]]'s ''[[Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind]]'',<ref>[http://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/dvd_review.asp?ID=460 Slant Magazine DVD Review: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind], [[Slant Magazine]]</ref><ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2004/apr/30/dvdreviews.shopping4 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind], [[The Guardian]]</ref> [[Alex Proyas]]'s ''[[Dark City (1998 film)|Dark City]]'',<ref name="modwor"/> [[Peter Weir]]'s ''[[The Truman Show]]'',<ref name="modwor"/> [[Andrew Niccol]]'s ''[[Gattaca]]'',<ref name="dailytele"/> [[Terry Gilliam]]'s ''[[12 Monkeys]]'',<ref name="dailytele"/> [[Wes Craven]]'s ''[[A Nightmare on Elm Street]]'',<ref name="nytpkdsworld">[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D00E5DC1730F937A15752C1A9649C8B63 On Writers and Writing; It's Philip Dick's World, We Only Live in It], [[New York Times]]</ref> [[David Lynch]]'s ''[[Mulholland Drive (film)|Mulholland Drive]]'',<ref name="nytpkdsworld"/> [[David Fincher]]'s ''[[Fight Club (film)|Fight Club]]'',<ref name="dailytele"/> [[Cameron Crowe]]'s ''[[Vanilla Sky]]'',<ref name="modwor"/> [[Darren Aronofsky]]'s ''[[Pi (film)|Pi]]'',<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn//A6396-2002Jul26 Philip K. Dick's Future Is Now], [[Washington Post]]</ref> [[Richard Kelly (director)|Richard Kelly]]'s ''[[Donnie Darko]]''<ref>[http://archive.salon.com/ent/movies/review/2001/10/30/donnie_darko/ Donnie Darko], [[Salon.com]],</ref> and ''[[Southland Tales]]'',<ref>[http://www.cinema-scope.com/cs27/int_peranson_kelly.html Richard Kelly’s Revelations: Defending Southland Tales.], Cinema Scope</ref> and [[Christopher Nolan]]'s ''[[Memento (film)|Memento]]'' <ref>[http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.12/philip_pr.html The Second Coming of Philip K. Dick], [[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]</ref> and [[Inception (film)|''Inception'']] <ref>[http://http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/540040/could_inception_trigger_a_new_wave_of_scifi_cinema.html Could Inception trigger a new wave of sci-fi cinema?], [[Den of Geek]]</ref>.


The Sonic Youth album ''[[Sister (Sonic Youth album)|Sister]]'' was in part inspired by Dick. The "sister" of the title was Dick's fraternal twin, who died shortly after her birth, and whose memory haunted Dick his entire life.
The Sonic Youth album ''[[Sister (Sonic Youth album)|Sister]]'' was in part inspired by Dick. The "sister" of the title was Dick's fraternal twin, who died shortly after her birth, and whose memory haunted Dick his entire life.

Revision as of 11:14, 22 September 2010

Philip Kindred Dick
Philip K. Dick
Philip K. Dick
Pen nameRichard Philips
Jack Dowland
OccupationNovelist, essayist, short story writer
NationalityAmerican
GenreScience fiction
Speculative fiction
Social science fiction
Postmodernism
Notable worksUbik, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and The Man in the High Castle
Website
http://www.philipkdick.com

Philip Kindred Dick (December 16, 1928 – March 2, 1982) was an American novelist, short story writer, and essayist whose published work was almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments, and altered states. In his later works, Dick's thematic focus strongly reflected his personal interest in metaphysics and theology. He often drew upon his own life experiences and addressed the nature of drug abuse, paranoia and schizophrenia, and transcendental experiences in novels such as A Scanner Darkly and VALIS.[4]

The novel The Man in the High Castle bridged the genres of alternate history and science fiction, earning Dick a Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1963.[5] Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said, a novel about a celebrity who awakens in a parallel universe where he is unknown, won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best novel in 1975.[6] "I want to write about people I love, and put them into a fictional world spun out of my own mind, not the world we actually have, because the world we actually have does not meet my standards", Dick wrote of these stories. "In my writing I even question the universe; I wonder out loud if it is real, and I wonder out loud if all of us are real."[7] Dick referred to himself as a "fictionalizing philosopher."

In addition to 44 published novels (as of January 2010),[8] Dick wrote approximately 121 short stories, most of which appeared in science fiction magazines.[9] Although Dick spent most of his career as a writer in near-poverty,[10] nine of his stories have been adapted into popular films since his death, including Blade Runner, Total Recall, A Scanner Darkly and Minority Report. In 2005, Time magazine named Ubik one of the one hundred greatest English-language novels published since 1923.[11] In 2007, Dick became the first science fiction writer to be included in The Library of America series.[12][13][14][15]

Early life

Dick's father worked for the United States Department of Agriculture.[16] Philip Kindred Dick and his twin sister, Jane Charlotte Dick, were born six weeks prematurely to Dorothy Kindred Dick and Joseph Edgar Dick in Chicago.[17] Jane died five weeks after her birth (January 26, 1929). The death of Philip's twin sister profoundly affected his writing, relationships, and every aspect of his life, leading to the recurrent motif of the "phantom twin" in many of his books.[16]

The family moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. When Philip turned five, his father was transferred to Reno, Nevada. Dorothy refused to move, and she and Joseph divorced. Joseph fought her for custody of Philip but did not win the case. Dorothy, determined to raise Philip alone, took a job in Washington, D.C. and moved there with her son. Philip K. Dick was enrolled at John Eaton Elementary School from 1936 to 1938, completing the second through the fourth grades. His lowest grade was a "C" in written composition, although a teacher remarked that he "shows interest and ability in story telling." In June 1938, Dorothy and Philip returned to California. It was around this time that he became interested in science fiction.[18] Dick states that in 1940 at the age of twelve he read his first science fiction magazine entitled "Stirring Science Stories".[18]

Dick attended Berkeley High School in Berkeley, California. He and Ursula K. Le Guin were members of the same high school graduating class (1947), yet were unknown to each other at the time. After graduating from high school he briefly attended the University of California, Berkeley as a German major, but dropped out before completing any coursework rather than participate in mandatory ROTC training. At Berkeley, Dick befriended poet Robert Duncan and poet and linguist Jack Spicer, who gave Dick ideas for a Martian language. Dick claimed to have been host of a classical music program on KSMO Radio in 1947.[19] From 1948 to 1952 he worked in a record store. In 1955, Dick and his second wife, Kleo Apostolides, received a visit from the FBI. They believed this resulted from Kleo's socialist views and left-wing activities. The couple briefly befriended one of the FBI agents.[20]

Career

Dick sold his first story in 1951. From that point on he wrote full-time, selling his first novel in 1955. The 1950s were a difficult and impoverished time for Dick. He once said "We couldn't even pay the late fees on a library book." He published almost exclusively within the science fiction genre, but dreamed of a career in the mainstream of American literature. During the 1950s he produced a series of nongenre, non-science fiction novels. In 1960 he wrote that he was willing to "take twenty to thirty years to succeed as a literary writer." The dream of mainstream success formally died in January 1963 when the Scott Meredith Literary Agency returned all of his unsold mainstream novels. Only one of these works, Confessions of a Crap Artist, was published during Dick's lifetime.[21]

In 1963, Dick won the Hugo Award for The Man in the High Castle.[5] Although he was hailed as a genius in the science fiction world, the mainstream literary world was unappreciative, and he could publish books only through low-paying science fiction publishers such as Ace. Even in his later years, he continued to have financial troubles. In the introduction to the 1980 short story collection The Golden Man, Dick wrote: "Several years ago, when I was ill, Heinlein offered his help, anything he could do, and we had never met; he would phone me to cheer me up and see how I was doing. He wanted to buy me an electric typewriter, God bless him—one of the few true gentlemen in this world. I don't agree with any ideas he puts forth in his writing, but that is neither here nor there. One time when I owed the IRS a lot of money and couldn't raise it, Heinlein loaned the money to me. I think a great deal of him and his wife; I dedicated a book to them in appreciation. Robert Heinlein is a fine-looking man, very impressive and very military in stance; you can tell he has a military background, even to the haircut. He knows I'm a flipped-out freak and still he helped me and my wife when we were in trouble. That is the best in humanity, there; that is who and what I love."

In 1972, Dick donated manuscripts, papers and other materials to the Special Collections Library at California State University, Fullerton where they are archived in the Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Collection in the Pollak Library. It was in Fullerton that Philip K. Dick befriended budding science-fiction writers K. W. Jeter, James Blaylock, and Tim Powers. The last novel written during Dick's life was The Transmigration of Timothy Archer. It was published shortly after his death in 1982.

Unusual experiences

On February 20, 1974, Dick was recovering from the effects of sodium pentothal administered for the extraction of an impacted wisdom tooth. Answering the door to receive delivery of extra analgesic, he noticed that the delivery woman was wearing a pendant with a symbol that he called the "vesicle pisces." This name seems to have been based on his confusion of two related symbols, the ichthys (two intersecting arcs delineating a fish in profile) that early Christians used as a secret symbol, and the vesica piscis. After the delivery woman's departure, Dick began experiencing strange visions. Although they may have been initially attributable to the medication, after weeks of visions he considered this explanation implausible. "I experienced an invasion of my mind by a transcendentally rational mind, as if I had been insane all my life and suddenly I had become sane," Dick told Charles Platt.[22]

Throughout February and March 1974, he experienced a series of visions, which he referred to as "2-3-74", shorthand for February-March 1974. He described the initial visions as laser beams and geometric patterns, and, occasionally, brief pictures of Jesus and of ancient Rome. As the visions increased in length and frequency, Dick claimed he began to live a double life, one as himself, "Philip K. Dick", and one as "Thomas", a Christian persecuted by Romans in the 1st century A.D. Despite his history of drug use and elevated stroke risk, Dick began seeking other rationalist and religious explanations for these experiences. He referred to the "transcendentally rational mind" as "Zebra", "God" and "VALIS." Dick wrote about the experiences, first in the semi-autobiographical novel Radio Free Albemuth and then in VALIS, The Divine Invasion and The Transmigration of Timothy Archer, i.e., the VALIS trilogy.

At one point Dick felt that he had been taken over by the spirit of the prophet Elijah. He believed that an episode in his novel Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said was a detailed retelling of a story from the Biblical Book of Acts, which he had never read.[23]

Marriages and children

Dick married five times, and had two daughters and a son; each marriage ended in divorce.

  • May 1948, to Jeanette Marlin – lasted six months divorced 1948
  • June 14, 1950, to Kleo Apostolides – divorced 1959
  • April 1, 1959, to Anne Williams Rubinstein – divorced October 1965
    • child: Laura Archer, born February 25, 1960
  • July 6, 1966, to Nancy Hackett – divorced 1972
    • child: Isolde Freya Dick (now Isa Dick Hackett), born March 15, 1967
  • April 18, 1973, to Leslie (Tessa) Busby – divorced 1977
    • child: Christopher Kenneth, born July 25, 1973

Death

File:Philip K Dick android head2.jpg
Philip K. Dick Android in the Nextfest Exhibition at Navy Pier

Philip K. Dick died in Santa Ana, California, on March 2, 1982. He had suffered a stroke five days earlier, and was disconnected from life support after his EEG had been consistently isoelectric since losing consciousness. After his death, his father Edgar took his son's ashes to Fort Morgan, Colorado. When his twin sister Jane died, her tombstone had both their names carved on it, with an empty space for Dick's death date. Brother and sister were eventually buried next to each other.

Dick was recreated by his fans in the form of a remote-controlled android designed in his likeness.[24] The android of Philip K. Dick was included on a discussion panel in a San Diego Comic Con presentation about the film adaptation of the novel, A Scanner Darkly. In February 2006, an America West Airlines employee misplaced the android's head, and it has not yet been found.[25]

Biographical treatments

Books

Main article: Bibliography of Philip K. Dick § Biographies

Lawrence Sutin's 1989 biography of Dick, Divine Invasions: A Life of Philip K. Dick, is considered the standard biographical treatment of Dick's life.[26]

In 1993, French writer Emmanuel Carrère published Je suis vivant et vous êtes morts which was first translated and published in English in 2004 as I Am Alive and You Are Dead: A Journey Into the Mind of Philip K. Dick, which the author describes in his preface in this way:

The book you hold in your hands is a very peculiar book. I have tried to depict the life of Philip K. Dick from the inside, in other words, with the same freedom and empathy – indeed with the same truth – with which he depicted his own characters.[27]

Critics of the book have complained about the lack of fact checking, sourcing, notes and index, "the usual evidence of deep research that gives a biography the solid stamp of authority."[28][29][30] It can be considered a non-fiction novel about his life.

Films

Writer-director John Alan Simon is making a semiautobiograhical film based on Dick's novel Radio Free Albemuth starring Shea Whigham as the author.[31]

A 2008 film titled Your Name Here, by Matthew Wilder, features Bill Pullman as science fiction author William J. Frick, a character based on Dick.

BBC2 released in Template:Ytv a biographical documentary as part of its Arena arts series called Arena - Philip K Dick: A day in the afterlife.[32]

The Gospel According to Philip K. Dick was a documentary film produced in 2001.[33]

The Penultimate Truth About Philip K. Dick was another biographical documentary film produced in 2007.[34]

Style and works

For complete bibliography, see Bibliography of Philip K. Dick.

Pen names

Dick had two professional stories published under the pen names, Richard Phillips and Jack Dowland. "Some Kinds Of Life" in Fantastic Universe, October, 1953 was published as by Richard Phillipps apparently because "Planet For Transients" was published in the same issue under his own name.[35]

The short story "Orpheus with Clay Feet" was published under the pen name "Jack Dowland". The protagonist desires to be the muse for fictional author Jack Dowland, considered the greatest science fiction author of the 20th century. In the story, Dowland publishes a short story titled "Orpheus with Clay Feet", under the pen name "Philip K. Dick".

The surname Dowland refers to Renaissance composer John Dowland, who is featured in several works. The title Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said directly refers to Dowland's best-known composition, "Flow My Tears". In the novel The Divine Invasion, the 'Linda Fox' character, created specifically with Linda Ronstadt in mind, is an intergalactically famous singer whose entire body of work consists of recordings of John Dowland compositions. Also, some protagonists in Dick's short fiction are named 'Dowland'.

Themes

Dick's stories typically focus on the fragile nature of what is "real" and the construction of personal identity. His stories often become surreal fantasies as the main characters slowly discover that their everyday world is actually an illusion constructed by powerful external entities (such as in Ubik[36]), vast political conspiracies, or simply from the vicissitudes of an unreliable narrator. "All of his work starts with the basic assumption that there cannot be one, single, objective reality", writes science fiction author Charles Platt. "Everything is a matter of perception. The ground is liable to shift under your feet. A protagonist may find himself living out another person's dream, or he may enter a drug-induced state that actually makes better sense than the real world, or he may cross into a different universe completely."[22]

Alternate universes and simulacra were common plot devices, with fictional worlds inhabited by common, working people, rather than galactic elites. "There are no heroes in Dick's books", Ursula K. Le Guin wrote, "but there are heroics. One is reminded of Dickens: what counts is the honesty, constancy, kindness and patience of ordinary people."[36] Dick made no secret that much of his ideas and work were heavily influenced by the writings of Carl Jung.[37][38] The Jungian constructs and models that most concerned Dick seem to be the archetypes of the collective unconscious, group projection/hallucination, synchronicities, and personality theory.[39] Many of Dick's protagonists overtly analyze reality and their perceptions in Jungian terms (see Lies Inc.), while other times, the themes are so obviously in reference to Jung their usage needs no explanation.[citation needed] Dick's self-named "Exegesis" also contained many notes on Jung in relation to theology and mysticism.[citation needed]

"Phil Dick's third major theme is his fascination with war and his fear and hatred of it. One hardly sees critical mention of it, yet it is as integral to his body of work as oxygen is to water." -- Steven Owen Godersky[40]

Mental illness was a constant interest of Dick's, and themes of mental illness permeate his work. The character Jack Bohlen in the 1964 novel Martian Time-Slip is an "ex-schizophrenic". The novel Clans of the Alphane Moon centers on an entire society made up of descendants of lunatic asylum inmates. In 1965 he wrote the essay titled Schizophrenia and the Book of Changes.[26]

Drug use (including religious, recreational, and abuse) was also a theme in many of Dick's works, such as A Scanner Darkly and The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch. Dick was a drug user for much of his life. According to a 1975 interview in Rolling Stone,[41] Dick wrote all of his books published before 1970 while on amphetamines. "A Scanner Darkly (1977) was the first complete novel I had written without speed", said Dick in the interview. He also experimented briefly with psychedelics, but wrote The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, which Rolling Stone dubs "the classic LSD novel of all time", before he had ever tried them. Despite his heavy amphetamine use, however, Dick later said that doctors had told him that the amphetamines never actually affected him, that his liver had processed them before they reached his brain.[41]

Selected works

The Man in the High Castle (1962) occurs in an alternate universe United States ruled by the victorious Axis powers. It is considered a defining novel of the alternate history sub-genre,[42] and is the only Dick novel to win a Hugo Award. Philipkdickfans.com recommends this novel, along with Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and Ubik, as an introductory novel to readers new to the writing of Philip K. Dick.[43]

The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch (1965) utilizes an array of science fiction concepts and features several layers of reality and unreality. It is also one of Dick's first works to explore religious themes. The novel takes place in the twenty-first century, when, under United Nations authority, mankind has colonized the solar system's every habitable planet and moon. Life is physically daunting and psychologically monotonous for most colonists, so the UN must draft people to go to the colonies. Most entertain themselves using "Perky Pat" dolls and accessories manufactured by Earth-based "P.P. Layouts". The company also secretly creates "Can-D", an illegal but widely available hallucinogenic drug allowing the user to "translate" into Perky Pat (if the drug user is a woman) or Pat's boyfriend, Walt (if the drug user is a man). This recreational use of Can-D allows colonists to experience a few minutes of an idealized life on Earth by participating in a collective hallucination.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968) is the story of a bounty hunter policing the local android population. It occurs on a dying, poisoned Earth de-populated of all "successful" humans; the only remaining inhabitants of the planet are people with no prospects off-world. Androids, also known as andys, all have a preset "death" date. However, a few andys seek to escape this fate and supplant the humans on Earth. The 1968 story is the literary source of the film Blade Runner (1982). It is both a conflation and an intensification of the pivotally Dickian question, What is real, what is fake? Are the human-looking and human-acting androids fake or real humans? Should we treat them as machines or as people? What crucial factor defines humanity as distinctly 'alive', versus those merely alive only in their outward appearance?

Ubik (1969) uses extensive networks of psychics and a suspended state after death in creating a state of eroding reality. A group of psychics is sent to investigate a group of rival psychics, but several of them are apparently killed by a saboteur's bomb. Much of the novel flicks between a number of equally plausible realities; the "real" reality, a state of half-life and psychically manipulated realities. In 2005, Time magazine listed it among the "All-TIME 100 Greatest Novels" published since 1923.[11]

Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said (1974) concerns Jason Taverner, a television star living in a dystopian near-future police state. After being attacked by an angry ex-girlfriend, Taverner awakens in a dingy Los Angeles hotel room. He still has his money in his wallet, but his identification cards are missing. This is no minor inconvenience, as security checkpoints (manned by "pols" and "nats", the police and National Guard) are set up throughout the city to stop and arrest anyone without valid ID. Jason at first thinks that he was robbed, but soon discovers that his entire identity has been erased. There is no record of him in any official database, and even his closest associates do not recognize or remember him. For the first time in many years, Jason has no fame or reputation to rely on. He has only his innate charisma to help him as he tries to find out what happened to his past and avoid the attention of the pols. The novel was Dick's first published novel after years of silence, during which time his critical reputation had grown, and this novel was awarded the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel.[6] It is the only Philip K. Dick novel nominated for both a Hugo and for a Nebula Award.

In an essay written two years before dying, Dick described how he learned from his Episcopalian priest that an important scene in Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said – involving its other main character, Police General Felix Buckman, the policeman of the title – was very similar to a scene in the Book of Acts.[23] Film director Richard Linklater discusses this novel in his film Waking Life, which begins with a scene reminiscent of another Dick novel, Time Out of Joint.

A Scanner Darkly (1977) is a bleak mixture of science fiction and police procedural novels; in its story, an undercover narcotics police detective begins to lose touch with reality after falling victim to the same permanently mind altering drug, Substance D, he was enlisted to help fight. Substance D is instantly addictive, beginning with a pleasant euphoria which is quickly replaced with increasing confusion, hallucinations and eventually total psychosis. In this novel, as with all Dick novels, there is an underlying thread of paranoia and dissociation with multiple realities perceived simultaneously. It was adapted to film by Richard Linklater.

VALIS (1980) is perhaps Dick's most postmodern and autobiographical novel, examining his own unexplained experiences (see above). It may also be his most academically studied work, and was adapted as an opera by Tod Machover.[44] VALIS was voted Philip K. Dick‘s best novel at the website philipkdickfans.com.[45] Later works like the VALIS trilogy were heavily autobiographical, many with "two-three-seventy-four" (2-3-74) references and influences. The word VALIS is the acronym for Vast Active Living Intelligence System. Later, PKD theorized that VALIS was both a "reality generator" and a means of extraterrestrial communication. A fourth VALIS manuscript, Radio Free Albemuth, although composed in 1976, was posthumously published in 1985. This work is described by the publisher (Arbor House) as "an introduction and key to his magnificent VALIS trilogy."

Regardless of the feeling that he was somehow experiencing a divine communication, Dick was never fully able to rationalize the events. For the rest of his life, he struggled to comprehend what was occurring, questioning his own sanity and perception of reality. He transcribed what thoughts he could into an eight-thousand-page, one-million-word journal dubbed the Exegesis. From 1974 until his death in 1982, Dick spent sleepless nights writing in this journal, often under the influence of prescription amphetamines. A recurring theme in Exegesis is PKD's hypothesis that history had been stopped in the 1st century A.D., and that "the Empire never ended". He saw Rome as the pinnacle of materialism and despotism, which, after forcing the Gnostics underground, had kept the population of Earth enslaved to worldly possessions. Dick believed that VALIS had communicated with him, and anonymous others, to induce the impeachment of U.S. President Richard M. Nixon, whom Dick believed to be the current Emperor of Rome incarnate.

In a 1968 essay titled "Self Portrait", collected in the 1995 book The Shifting Realities of Philip K. Dick, Dick reflects on his work and lists which books he feels "might escape World War Three": Eye in the Sky, The Man in the High Castle, Martian Time-Slip, Dr. Bloodmoney, The Zap Gun, The Penultimate Truth, The Simulacra, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch (which he refers to as "the most vital of them all"), Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, and Ubik.[46] In a 1976 interview, Dick cited A Scanner Darkly as his best work, feeling that he "had finally written a true masterpiece, after 25 years of writing".[47]

Awards and honors

During his lifetime, Dick received the following awards and nominations:

The convention Norwescon which each year presents the Philip K. Dick Award.

Influence and legacy

Dick has influenced many writers, including William Gibson,[53] Jonathan Lethem,[54] and Ursula K. Le Guin.[55] Dick has also influenced filmmakers, his work being compared to films such as the Wachowski brothers's The Matrix,[56] David Cronenberg's Videodrome,[57] eXistenZ,[56] and Spider,[57] Spike Jonze's Being John Malkovich,[57] Adaptation,[57] Michel Gondry's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,[58][59] Alex Proyas's Dark City,[56] Peter Weir's The Truman Show,[56] Andrew Niccol's Gattaca,[57] Terry Gilliam's 12 Monkeys,[57] Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street,[60] David Lynch's Mulholland Drive,[60] David Fincher's Fight Club,[57] Cameron Crowe's Vanilla Sky,[56] Darren Aronofsky's Pi,[61] Richard Kelly's Donnie Darko[62] and Southland Tales,[63] and Christopher Nolan's Memento [64] and Inception [65].

The Sonic Youth album Sister was in part inspired by Dick. The "sister" of the title was Dick's fraternal twin, who died shortly after her birth, and whose memory haunted Dick his entire life.

The Philip K. Dick Society was an organization dedicated to promoting the literary works of Dick and was previously led by Dick's longtime friend the music journalist Paul Williams. Williams also served as Dick's literary executor for several years after Dick's death and wrote one of the first biographies of Dick, entitled Only Apparently Real: The World of Philip K. Dick.

The 2010 science fiction film "15 Till Midnight" cites Dick's influence with an "acknowledgment to the works of" credit.[66]

Adaptations

National Library for the Blind

In response to a 1975 request from the National Library for the Blind for permission to make use of The Man In The High Castle Dick responded, "I also grant you a general permission to transcribe any of my former, present or future work, so indeed you can add my name to your 'general permission' list."[67] A number of his books and stories are available in braille and other specialized formats through the NLS.[68]

Ebooks

As of July 17, 2010, eleven of Philip K. Dick's early works in the public domain in the United States are available in ebook form from Project Gutenberg. See Dick, Philip K., 1928-1982 at Project Gutenberg.

Films

A number of Dick's stories have been made into films. Dick himself wrote a screenplay for an intended film adaptation of Ubik in 1974, but the film was never made. Many film adaptations have not used Dick's original titles. When asked why this was, Dick's ex-wife Tessa said, "Actually, the books rarely carry Phil's original titles, as the editors usually wrote new titles after reading his manuscripts. Phil often commented that he couldn't write good titles. If he could, he would have been an advertising writer instead of a novelist."[69] Films based on Dick's writing have accumulated a total revenue of over US $1 billion as of 2009.[70]

  • Blade Runner (1982), based on Dick's 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford. A screenplay had been in the works for years before Scott took the helm, with Dick being extremely critical of all versions. Dick was still apprehensive about how his story would be adapted for the film when the project was finally put into motion. Among other things, he refused to do a novelization of the film. But contrary to his initial reactions, when he was given an opportunity to see some of the special effects sequences of Los Angeles 2019, Dick was amazed that the environment was "exactly as how I'd imagined it!", though Ridley Scott has mentioned he had never even read the source material.[71] Following the screening, Dick and Scott had a frank but cordial discussion of Blade Runner's themes and characters, and although they had incredibly differing views, Dick fully backed the film from then on. Dick died from a stroke less than four months before the release of the film.
  • Confessions d'un Barjo (1992), titled Barjo in its English-language release, a French film based on Dick's non-science-fiction novel Confessions of a Crap Artist. Reflecting Dick's popularity and critical respect in France, Barjo faithfully conveys a strong sense of Dick's aesthetic sensibility, unseen in the better-known film adaptations. A brief science fiction homage is slipped into the film in the form of a TV show.
Future

Future films based on Dick's writing include the animated adaptation King of the Elves from the Walt Disney Animation Studios, set to be released in the winter of 2012; Radio Free Albemuth, based on Dick's novel of the same name, which has been completed and is currently awaiting distribution; and a film adaptation of Ubik which, according to Dick's daughter, Isa Dick Hackett, is in advanced negotiation.[72]

In February 2009, it was reported that Dick's 1954 short story "Adjustment Team" will be developed as a film titled The Adjustment Bureau starring Matt Damon.[73] In May 2009, The Halcyon Company, known for developing the Terminator franchise, announced that after Terminator Salvation, they will next adapt Dick's Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said.[74] Halcyon acquired the first-look rights to the works of Philip K. Dick in 2007.

Stage and radio

At least three of Dick's works have been adapted for the stage. One was the opera VALIS, composed and with libretto by Tod Machover, which premiered at the Pompidou Center in Paris on December 1, 1987, with a French libretto. It was subsequently revised and readapted into English, and was recorded and released on CD (Bridge Records BCD9007) in 1988. Another was Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said, adapted by Linda Hartinian and produced by the New York-based avant-garde company Mabou Mines. It premiered in Boston at the Boston Shakespeare Theatre (June 18–30, 1985) and was subsequently staged in New York and Chicago. A play based on Radio Free Albemuth also had a brief run in the 1980s.

A radio drama adaptation of Dick's short story "Mr. Spaceship" was aired by the Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yleisradio) in 1996 under the name Menolippu Paratiisiin. Radio dramatizations of Dick's short stories Colony and The Defenders[75] were aired by NBC in 1956 as part of the series X Minus One.

Comics

Marvel Comics plans to adapt Dick's short story "The Electric Ant" as a limited series to be released in 2009. The comic will be produced by writer David Mack (Daredevil) and artist Pascal Alixe (Ultimate X-Men), with covers provided by artist Paul Pope.[76]

Also in 2009, BOOM! Studios will publish a 24-issue miniseries comic book adaptation of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?[77] Blade Runner, the 1982 film adapted from Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, had previously been adapted to comics as A Marvel Comics Super Special: Blade Runner.

The comics magazine Weirdo published The Religious Experience of Philip K. Dick by artist R. Crumb in 1986. Though this is not an adaptation of a specific book or story by Dick, it incorporates elements of Dick's experience which he related in short stories, novels, essays, and the Exegesis.

Since his death, Dick has appeared as a character in a number of novels and stories, most notably Michael Bishop's The Secret Ascension (1987; currently published as Philip K. Dick Is Dead, Alas), which is set in an alternative universe where his non-genre work is published but his science fiction is banned by a totalitarian USA in thrall to a demonically possessed Richard Nixon.

Other fictional post-mortem appearances by Dick include:

Contemporary philosophy

Few other writers of fiction have had such an impact on contemporary philosophy as Dick. His foreshadowing of postmodernity has been noted by philosophers as diverse as Jean Baudrillard, Fredric Jameson and Slavoj Žižek.[79] Žižek is especially fond of using Dick's short stories to articulate the ideas of Jacques Lacan.[80] Jean Baudrillard offers this interpretation:

"It is hyperreal. It is a universe of simulation, which is something altogether different. And this is so not because Dick speaks specifically of simulacra. SF has always done so, but it has always played upon the double, on artificial replication or imaginary duplication, whereas here the double has disappeared. There is no more double; one is always already in the other world, an other world which is not another, without mirrors or projection or utopias as means for reflection. The simulation is impassable, unsurpassable, checkmated, without exteriority. We can no longer move "through the mirror" to the other side, as we could during the golden age of transcendence."[81]

Bibliography

Main article: Bibliography of Philip K. Dick

See also

References

  1. ^ "Replies to 'A Questionnaire for Professional SF Writers and Editors", 1969, (The Shifting Realities of Philip K. Dick, 1995)
  2. ^ Terry Gilliam's Unresolved Projects
  3. ^ "Salon.com Interview by Michael Sragow". Retrieved 2009-11-03.
  4. ^ Behrens, Richard (2003-03-21). "Philip K. Dick". The Scriptorium. The Modern Word. Retrieved 2008-04-14. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ a b c "1963 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved 2009-06-26.
  6. ^ a b c d "1975 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved 2009-06-26.
  7. ^ Bernstein, Richard (1991-11-03). "The Electric Dreams of Philip K. Dick". The New York Times Book Review.
  8. ^ Williams, Paul. "Introduction to the Novels Page". Novels and Collections Bibliography. The Philip K. Dick Estate. Retrieved 2010-01-27.
  9. ^ Williams, Paul. "Short Stories". Introduction. Philip K. Dick Trust. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
  10. ^ "Philip K. Dick". kirjasto.sci.fi. 2004. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
  11. ^ a b Grossman, Lev (2005-10-16). "Ubik - ALL-TIME 100 Novels". Time. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
  12. ^ Stoffman, Judy "A milestone in literary heritage" Toronto Star (February 10, 2007)
  13. ^ Library of America Philip K. Dick: Four Novels of the 1960s
  14. ^ Library of America H.P. Lovecraft: Tales
  15. ^ Associated Press "Library of America to issue volume of Philip K. Dick" USA Today (November 28, 2006)
  16. ^ a b Kucukalic, Lejla (2008). Philip K. Dick: canonical writer of the digital age. Taylor and Francis. p. 27. ISBN 0415962420.
  17. ^ Sutin, Lawrence (2003). "Philip K. Dick". Author - Official Biography. Philip K. Dick Trust. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
  18. ^ a b Sutin, Lawrence (2005). Divine Invasions: A Life of Philip K. Dick. Carroll & Graf. p. 3. ISBN 0786716231.
  19. ^ Sutin, Lawrence (2005). Divine Invasions: A Life of Philip K. Dick. Carroll & Graf. p. 53. ISBN 0786716231.
  20. ^ Sutin, Lawrence (2005). Divine Invasions: A Life of Philip K. Dick. Carroll & Graf. pp. 83–84. ISBN 0786716231.
  21. ^ Gillespie, Bruce (1990). "The Non-Science Fiction Novels of Philip K. Dick". Nova Mob Meeting; brg, No. 1, ANZAPA (Australia and New Zealand Amateur Publishing Association). philipkdickfans.com. Retrieved 2008-04-14. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  22. ^ a b Platt, Charles (1980). Dream Makers: The Uncommon People Who Write Science Fiction. Berkley Publishing. ISBN 0-425-04668-0.
  23. ^ a b "The Religious Affiliation of Science Fiction Writer Philip K. Dick". Famous Science Fiction Writers / Famous Episcopalians. Adherents.com. 2005-07-25. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
  24. ^ "About The Philip K. Dick Android Project: A Note from Laura and Isa" (Press release). Philip K. Dick Trust. June 24, 2005. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
  25. ^ Waxman, Sharon (2006-06-24). "A Strange Loss of Face, More Than Embarrassing". Movies. The New York Times. Retrieved 008-04-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  26. ^ a b Sutin, Lawrence (2005). Divine Invasions: A Life of Philip K. Dick. Carroll & Graf. ISBN 0786716231.
  27. ^ Carrère, Emmanuel (2004). I Am Alive and You Are Dead: A Journey Into the Mind of Philp K. Dick. New York: Metropolitan Books. p. 315. ISBN 0-8050-5464-2.
  28. ^ O'Hagen, Sean (2005-06-12). "What a clever Dick". London: The Observer. Retrieved 2008-04-15.
  29. ^ Taylor, Charles (2004-06-20). "Just Imagine Philip K. Dick". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-15.
  30. ^ Berry, Michael (2004-07-04). "The dead no longer lie in grave silence". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-04-15. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  31. ^ Timberg, Scott (2010-01-24). "Philip K. Dick: A 'plastic' paradox". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
  32. ^ Arena - Philip K Dick: A day in the afterlife
  33. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0273244/
  34. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1461696/
  35. ^ Levack, Daniel (1981). PKD: A Philip K. Dick Bibliography, Underwood/Miller, pp. 116, 126 ISBN 0-934438-33-1
  36. ^ a b "Criticism and analysis". Gale Research. 1996. Archived from the original on 2007-03-07. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
  37. ^ A Conversation With Philip K. Dick
  38. ^ Carrère, Emmanuel (2004). I Am Alive and You Are Dead: A Journey Into the Mind of Philp K. Dick. New York: Metropolitan Books. ISBN 0-8050-5464-2.
  39. ^ Op. cit.
  40. ^ The Collected Stories Of Philip K. Dick, Volume 1, The Short Happy Life of the Brown Oxford, (1990), Citadel Twilight, p. xvi, ISBN 0-8065-1153-2
  41. ^ a b Williams, Paul (1975-11-06). "The Most Brilliant Sci-Fi Mind on Any Planet: Philip K. Dick". philipkdickfans.com. Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2008-04-14. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  42. ^ The Man in the High Castle by Philip K Dick - an infinity plus review Adam Roberts, Infinity Plus
  43. ^ "Overview". philipkdickfans.com. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
  44. ^ Machover, Tod. "Valis CD". MIT Media Lab. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
  45. ^ "PKD Race Results". philipkdickfans.com. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
  46. ^ Philip K. Dick, "Self Portrait", 1968, (The Shifting Realities of Philip K. Dick, 1995)
  47. ^ AN INTERVIEW WITH PHILIP K. DICK Daniel DePerez, September 10, 1976, Science Fiction Review, No. 19, Vol. 5, no. 3, August 1976
  48. ^ a b "1965 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved 2009-06-26.
  49. ^ "1968 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved 2009-06-26.
  50. ^ "1974 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved 2009-06-26.
  51. ^ "1982 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved 2009-06-26.
  52. ^ "1978 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved 2009-06-26.
  53. ^ William Gibson on PKD, philipkdickfans.com
  54. ^ Gun With Occasional Music Review, sff.net
  55. ^ The SF Site Featured Review: The Lathe of Heaven, SF Site
  56. ^ a b c d e Scriptorium - Philip K. Dick, The Modern Word
  57. ^ a b c d e f g How Hollywood woke up to a dark genius, The Daily Telegraph
  58. ^ Slant Magazine DVD Review: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Slant Magazine
  59. ^ Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Guardian
  60. ^ a b On Writers and Writing; It's Philip Dick's World, We Only Live in It, New York Times
  61. ^ Philip K. Dick's Future Is Now, Washington Post
  62. ^ Donnie Darko, Salon.com,
  63. ^ Richard Kelly’s Revelations: Defending Southland Tales., Cinema Scope
  64. ^ The Second Coming of Philip K. Dick, Wired
  65. ^ Could Inception trigger a new wave of sci-fi cinema?, Den of Geek
  66. ^ [1], IMDb
  67. ^ The Selected Letters of Philip K. Dick, 1975-1976. Novato, California : Underwood-Miller, 1993 (Trade edition) ISBN 0-88733-111-4 p. 240
  68. ^ http://www.loc.gov/nls/index.html Home Page of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS)
  69. ^ Knight, Annie (2002). "About Philip K. Dick: An interview with Tessa, Chris, and Ranea Dick". Deep Outside SFFH. Far Sector SFFH. Retrieved 2008-04-14. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  70. ^ "Philip K. Dick Films". Philip K. Dick Trust. August 11, 2009. Retrieved 2010-09-03.
  71. ^ Kermode, Mark (2000-07-15). On the Edge of Bladerunner (TV documentary). UK: Channel 4.
  72. ^ calendarlive.com
  73. ^ Studios weigh star packages MICHAEL FLEMING, Feb. 24, 2009, Variety
  74. ^ Philip K. Dick's 'Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said' Being Adapted Alex Billington, FirstShowing.net, 12 May 2009
  75. ^ The Defenders at Gutenberg.org
  76. ^ ""MARVEL BRINGS PHILIP K DICK'S ELECTRIC ANT TO LIFE IN NEW SERIES"". philipkdick.com. July 24, 2008.
  77. ^ Philip K. Dick Press Release - BOOM! ANNOUNCES DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP? philipkdick.com
  78. ^ "Core Member Profile Victoria Stewart". The Playwrights' Center. 20 May 2008. Retrieved 4 March 2010.
  79. ^ Myriam Díaz-Diocaretz, Stefan Herbrechter (2006). The Matrix in theory. Rodopi. p. 136. ISBN 904201639. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: length (help)
  80. ^ Žižek, Slavoj. "'The Desert and the Real'". Lacan.com. Retrieved 2007-05-26.
  81. ^ Baudrillard, Jean. "'Simulacra and Science Fiction'". Science Fiction Studies. Retrieved 2007-05-26.
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