LF456 Carl Abrahamsson – The Psychosexual Pathology of Industrial Culture: The World of J.G. Ballard

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Carl Abrahamsson and Greg Moffitt discuss the work of J.G. Ballard

J.G. Ballard (1930-2009) is one of the most celebrated science fiction authors of all time. Although perhaps best known for the film adaptations of his work Crash, High Rise, and Empire of the Sun, his written works span five decades, including nineteen novels and numerous short stories. Eschewing popular sci fi themes, Ballard probes inner rather than outer space, exploring the psychology of societal dysfunction and collapse.

Dystopias are common in Ballard’s writing, as are bleak urban landscapes with their attendant alienation and disconnect. Ballard does not deal in ‘cosy catastrophes’, there is no going back to the way things were. Instead, people are seen adapting to and even embracing post-apocalyptic worlds, undergoing psychic and sometimes physical transformation. Above all, Ballard’s work can be viewed as a meditation on the modern world, the fragility of industrial society, and how easily humans revert to brutality when the thin veil of civilization is ripped apart.

Previous interviews with Carl Abrahamsson