An illustration from the Folio Society edition
Are you a Ray Bradbury fan?
Rereading his SF classic, The Martian Chronicles, is like time-travel to the future of space travel as imagined in the 1940s. The atmosphere is strictly pulp-fiction, but the politics and psychology are historically-based and perspicacious. In this brilliant collection of linked short stories, published in 1950, Bradbury imagines the consequences of American colonization of Mars.
Bradbury poses the questions, What is real and what is unreal? as he depicts the illusions and disillusions of the colonists. The first crew of Americans on Mars are dismissed by Martians as psychotics, because the mentally ill on Mars can project visual and sensory hallucinations. A later group of Americans has the illusion of walking through Midwestern towns, joyously but with dire consequences. And the Martians gradually disappear and are forgotten.
A friend recently sent me the link to Rachel Bloom’s 2010 video, “Fuck Me, Ray Bradbury,” which was a finalist for the 2011 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form. Bloom, a comedian, singer, writer, and the ultimate Bradbury groupie, is co-creator and star of the TV show, Crazy Ex Girlfriend. This video is hysterically funny!
mirabile dictu 
Oh Lord, this video made me laugh so loud I scared the cat.
Back in the 70s I was getting a master’s in lit at Trinity College in Hartford. I proposed writing my thesis on Bradbury but no one on the faculty would admit to having read him.
I agree with you about the Martian Chronicles. Each story is a faceted gem.
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The Martian Chronicles holds up–and Bloom is hilarious.
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The only Bradbury I can be sure I’ve read is a short piece in the recent British Library SF anthologies – and I liked it very much so I reckon I should read more!
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He wrote so much! I love The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Many.
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Oh, my gosh, that video had me rolling on the floor! Fantastic!
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It’s hilarious!
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You have no idea how many friends I’ve sent the link to this post to. But, damn you, I can’t get the song out of my head. I wander around the grocery store, Home Depot, the post office singing ‘Fuck me, Ray Bradbury, you’re the greatest Sci Fi writer in history …’ under my breath!
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Oh, I do have to laugh! It is the craziest and strangest song ever. Now if only it had won that Hugo award…
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I have said many times that I love Ray Bradbury. But, apparently, it is only in moderation.
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LOL!
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