Harlan Ellison Discusses “The Glass Teat” Live Thursday Jan 19th
Ellison in 1977. via Dangerous Minds
This Thursday in L. A. famous Sci-Fi author Harlan Ellison will discuss his opinions on television and the effect it has on society at large. The title comes from his previous column of the same name. The Glass Teat appeared regularly in the underground newspaper The Los Angeles Free Press from 1968-1970, and was later collected into a book of essays.
Most well known for his Sci Fi and speculative fiction, Ellison also wrote a few well-known televesion episodes, including work on The Outer Limits, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and the Star Trek episode The City On The Edge Of Forever, which went on to become the most popular original series episode. He is known as a scathing critic of many forms of media, and his essays from The Glass Teat hold up to modern criticism of television.
According to Dangerous Minds, tickets are sold out, but the event will be streamed live Thursday, Jan 19th, at 8PM (PST) on The Cinefamily blog. The show will be moderated by screenwriter Josh Olson.
I leave you with a challenge: If you love Sci Fi but haven’t read I Have No Mouth Yet I Must Scream, read it now. No, don’t read the wikipedia article. Read the story first. It’s short. If it doesn’t give you chills, you may not be human.
Wow! Thanks for this heads up! Harlan was the writer that really turned me on to Science Fiction and Fantasy waaaay back when I was young. There are so many great stories that he’s written, and his non-fiction essays are excellent as well.
There’s a great Documentary about Harlan that came out a few years ago called Dreams With Sharp Teeth that was made by the guy that did Grizzly Man. I highly recomend that as well as a few of his other short stories: The Man Who Rowed Christopher Columbus to Shore, Repent Harlequin Said the Tick Tock Man…
I actually haven’t read anything except I Have No Mouth Yet I Must Scream. I didn’t realize until writing up this event that he had written extensive literary criticism, which I definitely want to check out. I love the anecdote of his one day working for Disney.
The Disney story is a great one, and is just the tip of the iceberg. He also has a book of Movie Reviews/Criticism called Harlan Ellison’s Watching, which might still be in print. Like the Glass Teat books it still rings true today.