PHILLIP K. DICK

" Any system which says, This is a rotten world, wait for the next, give up, do nothing, succumb--that may be the basic Lie and if we participate in believing it and acting (or rather not acting) on it we involve ourselves in the Lie and suffer dreadfully... which only reinforces that particular Lie."

    While doing research on PKD, I came across this quote. To me, it is the epitome of his science-fiction themes. He is telling his readers to not be stagnant. If you are unhappy with your situation, it is up to you to fix it, you can't give up if you haven't even made an effort.

    I really enjoy this take on society, and this relates to a lot of science-fiction films that I have seen. In Blade- Runner, we see that society has become run-down, only the lower classes still reside on earth. The whole movie is dark and damp, and the robots are strong and new. The system is 'rotten' to the robots as well, forcing them into slave labor. The robots are able to change their situation a little bit by rising against the humans. This is kind of a loose-interpretation on this quote, but there are better examples. 

    I also watched this short video on the appreciation of PKD. He impacted these peoples' lives so much, teaching them to look at the world differently and be a more active part of society. This quote is a perfect example, because you have to look at your surroundings differently in order to deal with the situation. The fans of PKD even compared it to LSD, where you never see your surroundings the same afterwards. 

    Another theme of PKD's is the collapse of reality, which again, is a huge theme in most sci-fi movies. In Blade Runner, Roy's reality around him (and literally himself) collapses when he realizes his own mortality. This is seen in other movies too, like the Abyss, where aliens show their take on humanity and threaten to end the world. 

    PKD was and is a huge influence on the science fiction community, and you can tell because most of these general themes really never get old.