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The Guardian - UK

The Martian is all about growing potatoes – what’s happened to big ideas in sci-fi?

Big ideas … the monolith in Stanley Kubrick's film of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Photograph: c.MGM/Evere — Big ideas … the monolith in Stanley Kubrick’s film of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Photograph: c.MGM/Everett/Rex Features

Sci-fi used to be about wonder and big ideas (Arthur C Clarke’s 2001: A Space Odyssey); now it’s the appliance of science and growing potatoes (Andy Weir’s The Martian). What’s going on?

Philip Harris, Manchester

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