unassuming science fiction for human warmth

The film “Stories of the Loop” pays tribute to two tendencies in science fiction that, of course, are not the ones that score the highest in the major hits of the genre that Disney has been bringing together in its hands for a few years now. ‘Tales from the Loop’ suggests a return to quiet and introspective science fiction, and it does so in small pills that are nearly self-contained. This is in contrast to the noisy and mind-numbing fantasy that has storylines that are extended out in a labyrinthine style, with various spin-offs, sequels, prequels, and instances of self-plagiarism.

With regard to the first aspect, the series that has just been released by Amazon Prime Video, which makes all of the episodes of the first season available to the viewer (a decision that is one of a kind, considering that it is the last series with which one would consider binge-watching), differentiates itself from the style of other recent hits of the genre that have also been broadcast on television. The multi-referentiality of ‘Stranger Things’, which can be a little bit hollow, and the explosive ultraviolence and cyberpunk backdrop of ‘Altered Carbon’ both find a delightful counterbalance in this series written by Nathaniel Halpern.

It is possible that the secret to its originality resides in the genesis of its stories. It is not a story, a novel, or an idea that is ready to be franchised in the event that it is successful; rather, it is the paintings of Simon Stålenhag that are particularly evocative. This is a Swedish artist who, in his own straightforward biography on Facebook, reveals the secret to what makes his work and, by extension, the Amazon Prime Video series so remarkable: “He paints ordinary people in strange settings.” In a strict sense, this is exactly what he does: he uses a computer texture that imitates oil painting, and he combines Swedish natural landscapes with futuristic technology, particularly enormous robots. In addition to this, he adds a touch of ineffable and unending nostalgia to the mix, which is a striking contrast to the machine gun of references to “Stranger Things.”

It is important to note, however, that his entire body of work is organized around a single story. In his book, which bears the same name as the series, he recounts the impact of the construction of a particle accelerator in Sweden during the sixties, using snapshots from a different and more ambiguous past. When this stopped being profitable, and after enormous advancements in artificial intelligence, the innovations that were developed began to fill the landscapes of the eighties that were very different from those that we knew in reality. This occurred during the decade of the 1980s.

It is this nostalgic tone, which yearns for a lost and imagined eighties, that permeates the series and makes its approach more focused toward drama than fantasy, which is a delightfully refreshing approach. Science fiction is frequently another component of everyday life, and it serves to figuratively execute highly intimate topics. These themes include feelings of isolation and loss, which appear very frequently in a number of episodes; life goals that are not accomplished; friendship and love that are frustrated; and everything is enhanced and challenged with wonderful components. The presence of superpowers, disruptions in time and space, and journeys to uncharted realms are not justifications for adventure; rather, they are ways to delve deeper into the drama.

It is often so absorbed in the dramatic (and the evocative soundtrack composed by Philip Glass is partially to blame for this), that the science fiction aspects are sometimes merely an accessory. This is another one of its weaknesses. The object of attention is always the drama of the characters, and in that sense, it is as human and close as any realistic story. Agreed: a quiet story of separation between family members that involves a subplot of jumps in time and parallel universes gives it a certain originality and the hows and whys. However, the story is still a story. Paradoxically, by taking science fiction to such an extreme level of seriousness, it partially devalues its capacity to imagine.

The other one of the science-fiction traditions that ‘Historias del Bucle’ honors is the short story tradition, which is connected to both literary and audiovisual masterpieces. Instead of writing lengthy sagas, which were often artificially created from the very beginning and are now changed into a tedious commercial convention rather than a true narrative necessity, authors of genres were hardened in small distances. Authors such as Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson, Isaac Asimov, Fredric Brown, Arthur C. Clark, and Robert A. Heinlein displayed their inventiveness and brilliance via the creation of concepts and stories that were captivatingly concise and striking.

Classic television also played short distances for science fiction, in renowned works such as “The Twilight Zone” or “Beyond the Limit.” This inheritance was passed down from generation to generation. Exactly as had usually occurred with the short stories that occupied the pages of pulp magazines, these episodic mystery and fantasy series revealed that short tales fit nicely with the genre. This was the case in the same way that it had been the case with the short stories. If science fiction has usually been referred to as “the literature of ideas,” then there is no better space than the one that enables thoughts to be shot in a manner that is concise, precise, and exact.

“Historias del Bucle” represents the continuation of that long-standing era. A series that embraces a straightforward and straightforward concept (of an African-American who enters a different reality to a grandfather who has to face that he has a terminal illness) and squeezes it in with one or two fantastic concepts that are within his reach is a television show that takes into consideration the plots of its stories not only to develop them in one season, but to do so over successive years. The stories, as is customary, do not all shine at the same degree; yet, the same tone, texture, and background of the Loop that provides them all uniformity in the background serves to integrate them and give them coherence.

Both of these components are worthy of being cherished and appreciated. There are so many epic and shouting stories that it is possible that “Historias del Bucle” will go overlooked; yet, it is well worth your time to immerse yourself in its serene environment and its human and non-strident storytelling style. While it is possible that the set is lacking in pizzazz and may benefit from more attention to fantastic parts that are often underexploited, the fact remains that the set is so unique that the experience as a whole is highly good.

unassuming science fiction for human warmth

By nr39r

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