I was just looking into this book because of this video when I found out Netflix is making a movie about it. I sincerely hope it delivers even half of the world that this incredible book displays!
What I really like is how the main villain, the Intracerebral Intelligence, is only spoken of like 4 times, nothing is known about it except that it exists and it's trying to create a physical body to manifest in the organic world. No explanation as to why it does this, what it wants, what its end goal is. Just it's a thing that is there, and it's not going to leave
Why it does: What it wants: And it's end goal is to be able to replicate itself, just like humans. Parasites are we on Earth(as humans killing the organism we live on[the reality]); Parasitic it wants to be[Just like you and me].
i mean hell for all we know it could be trying to transform humanity into robotic bodies. we know it essentially has all human brains and emotions downloaded into itself, it could genuinely still see itself as human and wanting the best for humanity. of course being a bio-technological hivemind means its ways of doing so will be strange and borderline grotestque but still. i personally think that's even more strange, scary and offputting. not some malicious hivemind AI (which has been overdone in terminator and in so many others) but an hivemind AI made up of human brains that wants to transcend humanity. something that does the grotesque because it sees it as good for the whole. a hivemind that wants to do what it sees as help humanity. not only does it grey the moral lines but it make the reason for all this be.. strange. the catastrophe that ended a nation has melded said nation's minds together into something alien but still thinking. for me that's even stranger and more off putting as its like seeing something you were at a long time ago but different.
I like how it's just kind of in the background of this world while the story focuses on the main character's journey, somewhat ironically since it's implied there's a connection between them and the hive mind
The concept of people losing themselves in addictive virtual realities is older than many may realize. The first work of fiction to explore this idea was a series of short stories, later condensed into a novel, called "The Man Who Awoke" by Laurence Manning. It was published in 1933. A similar work, "Pygmalion's Spectacles", was written by Stanley G. Weinbaum in 1935. This is certainly not to take away from Stålenhag's magnificent artwork and concepts. Quite the contrary, his work is breathtaking. I just mention it as a point of interest.
@@marzupalami I don't think the Allegory of the Cave is about losing oneself in an alternate reality, but rather having a blindness to reality. Similar concepts that overlap at times, but not exactly the same.
I find the idea of people losing themselves in an addictive virtual world to be fascinating. I'm a big fan of space exploration and for the search for intelligent life elsewhere in the Cosmos. I happen to think that the Fermi Paradox might be solved if intelligent life ends up creating virtual lives that are much more compelling than 'real' lives.
Oh my God, I just realized that 16:56 and 18:32 are a direct before and after of the same scene, probably only seconds apart given the man is still in the same position. It even shows the birds flying away just before the colossal machine wakes up followed by bits of debris falling off the monster after it stands up. That's how fast these things can come to life and move around, that is the most terrifying thing ever
This is an artist with some incredible understandings of lighting, light transport, and how photography functions with these elements. I’m amazed by how accurate his lighting is. Even the dynamic range of his hypothetical camera that’s taking these images seems accurate.
agreed the lighting ambient its invoke the mystery feel and unknown.i heard russo brothers gonna make a movie or series out of it...i dont even know they can do justice about it though...
Aliens land a gargantuan ship in the middle of the East River of New York. It is totally automatic. It starts to broadcast a signal calling for the best of Earth's racers to come participate in the Alien Race on their home planet.
As someone who spent their childhood living in the Mojave, I think it's the perfect setting for this. There's... nothing out there. Barely any towns, and what towns there are, it's as if they're just clinging to life. There's hundreds of square miles of nothing at all. I love this. In a terrible way, I'd love to explore this world
I'm mostly just grateful that Simon doesn't feel the need to explain or explore every single detail of the lore and backstory of the world he's created through his incredible art. So many game developers, writers, illustrators, and filmmakers leave nothing to the imagination when it comes to the worlds they create. But that sense of mystery and intrigue regarding the unknown is exactly what makes these worlds so captivating.
i think there is room for both. Part of what makes 40k interesting is that literally any question you could possibly have has an in lore explanation, and it makes the setting feel extremely fleshed out and real. But there is something to be said of the allure of the unknown.
@@alejandrorivas4585 Good point! I was mainly thinking about the Star Wars universe, where the lore is no longer cohesive, there is extremely detailed information about some things and no explanation for other things, and where any sense of mystery has disappeared because literally anything can happen without following any pre-established rules.
I've never seen this "leave nothing to the imagination" thing. Every time I hear about world-building it's in the context of "good" or "I'm not reading a million in-game books just to know what the eff is going on here."
@@Selrisitai Then you've been extremely lucky. I got fed up with Star Wars precisely because they decided to try to explain and explore every single part of it, only revealing how nonsensical it really is.
A lot of this reminds me of the imagery seen in Half-Life 2. Specifically the idea of old urban areas being overtaken by a sort of alien looking technology, wires, high tech doors built over tenement buildings, abnormal power sources, the awe and fear you get the first time you see the giant Striders (which are essentially huge robots themselves) Top tier stuff all around.
This is exactly what I was thinking! What makes the imagery so dramatic isn’t the technology, which looks like reasonably standard sci-fi engineering, but the fact that everything around it is so… normal. It almost seems old fashioned. Of course central to this is Stålenhag’s art. I have seen very few illustrations that give such a convincing impression of light.
@@kenrickbaughman992 No, the the plot is about an alien take-over, the imagery has a lot more going on artistically and thematically, and as I said there are robots in it e.g. the Manhacks, Dog, and the Striders. I said the imagery here reminds me of some things in Half-Life 2, not that they were the same. You don't need to be an internet tough guy. Think before you type.
@@drewcifer1754 dude im an retired 20 year travelling tattooer and artist, Stalenhag story to this movie is the Electric State retard it has nothing to do with Half Life and im not gonna play patty cake with some dork talking about video games pffft.... Watch the movie!!
Your videos are becoming increasingly artistic over time, your passion for the material really shines through. One note though- Raw Fury is the publishing company for Norco, but the developers were Geography Of Robots.
This is probably by far my favorite piece of printed art in the last decade. Its very nuanced tale about our current obsession with interconnectivity and the very human things that might get lost with it are just topped by stålenhags iconic art. Every single artwork makes you stop and pulls you in. I have it standing visible in my bookshelf together with things from the flood. Thank you for covering this. It really can’t hurt if it gets a more wider public range. Let’s hope the upcoming TV-Series can draw some more people in. Again Thank you a lot. Great work👍
i mean yes the internet has its issues and isolation and other problems are at a high but that's not really just the internet's fault. its more of a lack of social boundries and norms around the internet because its so new. give it 100 years and we will have traditions and certain areas to be respected which will make people fair better. also societal trauma from post WW2 area has effected a lot of countries negatively (see declining european birthrates/religocity as a good example) so overall the internet will be a net good once society and social norms catch up to it.
I found this book once in a library when I was too young to understand all of it, but even at the time, I felt that it was something absolutely amazing. I didn't get the book, and just read it in the corner. I left and went home, and I didn't think about it for so long that I completely forgot the details, and I had no idea what it was called, so I couldn't search for it either. I didn't even know how to describe it, and I was beginning to wonder if it was even real. Today I found this video, and it's amazing to see these things that I was starting to wonder if they were just a dream. Now, as somebody with more interest in storytelling, I truly realize how incredible this book is. As somebody raised in the early 2000s, these images have an almost GMod like feel to them.
I have a similar experience with a different, but similar book from my childhood. In the eighties I remember a school friend having a large coffee table type book full of illustrations of long since crashed and decayed Alien Spaceships on far flung planets. I have no idea what the book was called or who the artist was, but I remember being captivated by it and I'd love to find out more and maybe even track down a copy.
@@nickmaclachlan5178 Look up Stewart Cowley's "Terran Trade Authority" books, I bet that's what you were looking for. I had one of them in the 80s and a few years ago I found two more my local library was trying to get rid of. Cowley is a Brit who compiled a bunch of unrelated space art works and compiled them into these volumes that loosely tie them together as part of a future history. One of the books is called "Spacewreck" and sounds like what you describe.
I remember buying this book in 2019. As a photographer I was astounded by Simon’s use of atmospheric lighting, especially when the protagonist reaches Linden Point. By far my favorite artist so far.
What a fascinating segment this was, sci-fi needed an incredible work like this lately..if anyone was curious, the main car that the characters are driving is a 92-94 Oldsmobile Delta 98 which was a great car and considered quite high-end in the 90’s! 🤠
This really reminds me of the original Siren Head video. I know it seems kind of stupid because of how the internet obsessed over that video, but it really gives off the same feeling of nostalgic dread and of looming lifeless machinery. It shares the sense that whatever these things in the sky are have somehow gone unnoticed for so long despite their incredible size, and only now make their presence known.
I was thinking the same thing, especially seeing all the lose wires and stationary structures that may or may not remain stationary and just waiting for someone to get to close.
This story has horrified and enchanted me beyond any description of words. I absolutely love Stalenhag’s work here as well as “Tales from the loop” and he has quickly become the artist that inspires me the most.
@scumbasket wow guy, you've got such a good outlook and perspective to be able to correct someone's spelling of their fav author the way you do. No one will pity you. And no one will recall what you've done or said. Or even how you've made them feel. Fade away little person.
@T r C Holy shit that's the biggest overreaction I've ever seen. All they did was say some (probably sarcastic) dumb thing about a misspelling, and you're telling them to "fade away", and that they're insignificant and worthless? Calm down and touch some grass.
During the bit where the Neurocasters were compared to the internet, I momentarily felt like the internet was being judged too harshly because I would argue that it's a tool to be used and that we use it for our livelihoods, but now I wonder if the people in the Electric state similarly had to depend on the neurocasters in a similar fashion
Dystopias always make a comment about the society they were created in. Obviously we haven’t had an apocalypse yet, but it’s fun and maybe even necessary to consider.
Blame on capitalism is like blame your parents for giving birth to you. Just look at the countries that practice capitalism vs countries that worship socialism, you will see a huge different. People were more free and happy when america was practicing capitalism. Now you find yourself working 12 hrs a day to pay for your car to get you to work because america is socialism. Look at china were socialism had always been at their core. People there are practically slaves. Capitalism is at fault just like your parents at fault for giving birth to something so stupid that bites the hand feeding it. Kinda ironic.
Washing machine is the result of Capitalism. Don't worry, thanks to the progressive socialism you will get to experience hand washing soon and not by choice.
Having visited Norco during a trip through Nola, its the spitting image of “painful industrialism.” It’s so surreal to drive through those streets, to smell the fumes of the factories, the rust in the air even miles away. You can smell the gas even from Kenner. Where we live, we consider the entirety of the Nola side of Pontchartrain as part of New Orleans, but to say the parts of it like Norco are part of New Orleans is a strange contradiction to the picturesque beliefs people have towards New Orleans. In reality, New Orleans is the real life equivalent of a catholic and gothic Night City from cyberpunk. High crime included. It feels the same as these games and images. Its a city gone wrong. Nola screams decay. Norco just happens to be the best example of how it does so. But just like the images… the billboards and commercial chains stand defiant against the decay around it. Theres a few McDonalds in Norco and New Orleans that are surrounded by rusting sheds and rundown houses probably older than the United States itself. Its, creepy.
There is a visual adventure also called Norco, set in the close future. I didn't even knew the place existed irl but your description matches the game.
I agree that McDonalds is creepy. The hideous, mechanized and traumatizing cruelty to animals at the core of their product, the horrific destruction of the planet for profit... one of the most creepy things I've ever seen.
As impressive as this art is…so is your ability to explain it, to put into words the *feeling* of it all. I wouldn’t have been able to explain how this art makes me feel, but you did. And you did it with such accurate poignancy that it blows me away as much as the art does. Thank you.
Does anyone else think that something like this would make an amazing futuristic-dystopian souls like game? Like you've got the gigantic monsters and the weird zombie-like humans. Combined with a few stranded survivors and upgrades with cybernetic or digital upgrades. I would sell my soul for that game.
yeah, id love to capitalize on a free market economy, selling cola to any consumer, using money printers and hoping the government doesn't stop them, by making a labyrinth with a building system and armed guards
Simon has been my favorite visual artist for years. The landscapes he recreates invoke a kind of nostalgia and familiarity I have yet to see elsewhere. Growing up in the New York/New Jersey region, I find a lot of his pieces to be very reminiscent of the sights I see on a daily basis. Thinking about it now, i’m pretty sure he inspired me to pursue an art career.
I was about to post this. I've been aware of this group of sci-fi paintings for almost a decade, and about 4-5 years ago found a load of his paleoart on his website. Very cool renditions of traditional favorite dinos/prehistoric reptiles. I actually use those as slideshow wallpapers for my laptop. 😄
Watching this for the second time and it's very good. The local cancer clinic where I live has video advertisements running in the exam rooms on flatscreen 2'x4' monitors. They run ads for various commercial messages about drugs and treatments while sometimes terminal patients sit trapped in a tiny room alone with the screen, probably wondering WTF am I in this scenario? IDK but this video just reminded me of it.
Simon's work is absolutely groundbreaking. Even without knowing the story and seeing some of the images on their own, my imagination was able to run wild. I may have to get hold of the book after watching this.
🏳️🌈⚠️Warning ⚠️ 🏳️🌈 A big chuck of this book is just the protagonist having flashbacks of her and her girlfriend. She goes into detail about her relationship (kissing, rubbing). It really didn’t seem to have anything to do with the plot so if you’re not interested in a lesbian love story, just enjoy the video!
@@fireblade295 Netflix is making an Electric State movie, full of big name actors (as far as we know). I really wish it was more similar to the Amazon Tales from the Loop adaptation where most of the actors weren't too recognizable, cause imo that makes it fun to see new people instead of the same person we've seen act 500 times. No shade at the casting (maybe Chris Pratt because...really?) but I don't know, could be good, could be really bad.
@@oriyo899 I 100% agree that "fresh" actors are best. There are about a zillion talented actors out there and you 100% buy into a world more if you haven't seen the person 10 times before, and the effect triples if they've made idiotic comments on social media. There are a few stars I look at in a completely different light because as soon as I see them I'm instantly taken back to their real world lunacy instead of focussing on their current character.
I ready need to check out more of Simon’s art, just simply due to his sense of scale and atmosphere. That liminality conveyed with his lighting and color is friggin’ phenomenal.
Wim Wenders 1991 movie To the End of the World has a neuro-device that records one's dreams. This is so fascinating that people get addicted and lose all interest in active life.
I went to the library to get Tales from the Loop and found Electric State instead. Very fascinating concept. She can't use neurocasters due to something being wrong with her eyes.
i picked up 'The Electric State' at the library after watching this video and i cannot recommend reading it enough. There's a wonderful humanity in the story told to us by the protagonist that i'm glad Curious Archive didn't spoil, but I fully sobbed through. there is a familiar and haunting parallel in the main narrator's backstory and the world she's traveling through. Can't thank this channel enough for dissecting the book and inspiring me to read it!
i was up all night, i have never seen or herd anything about this author or book, and watching this short overview has me compleatly captivated. The way you Narrated this, covering all of the major points was spectacular. You are very skilled at this Narrative. Thanks for this, you have brought me a new obsession. This type of sci-fi isnt really so far from our actual reality is it.
I love the way the artwork is rendered. There are many different sections that are rendered differently, giving rise to complexity mixed with photographic accuracy, especially when it comes to light and colour reflection on surfaces. It's as if the artist is aware of Ray-Tracing tech as it is evident in the artwork. Then you see a simplistic interpretation- level quality afforded to the background, such as in mountain ranges and the sky. It's also as if the artist has been influenced by Japanese Anime, such as Appleseed, Gundam or Akira. Love it!
I got this book after watching your video on Tales from the Loop, and I'm so glad you made a video on it. The story is incredibly haunting but hopeful in a kind of singular way for the protagonist. It feels like she deserves the ending she gets after her background and the twist at the end of the book are revealed. How you narrate and talk about these stories makes them resonate with the mysteriousness and dread that seems so inherent in most of Stålenhag's work. So thank you for covering these stories and introducing me to a new world of fantastical settings.
I just wanna say, thanks for making the captions yourself! It makes your already amazing videos accessible to more people and although I don’t need captions to enjoy videos, they improve the experience for me a great deal.
What captions? @solus_ren? I don’t need captions too? I just wanna say, thanks for making the captions What captions? Netflix is making a movie. It is already in production, release date estimated January 2024. ##@@?This story has horrified and enchanted me beyond any description of turds.
I loved Amazon's Tales from the Loop. It was so sad. The feel I got was of loss. Loss of loved ones, loss of time and the loss of reality. Just sad and dark.
As an artist, I'm glad you didn't give away the end cause I was really contemplating stopping the video to buy the book but didn't, but now I'm going to
oh hey, i own this book! its truly heartwrenching, and i feel it's way scarier in a more psychological way than his other books. the artwork is incredible and the story is written in a way that really captures the reader... i still think about how haunting the images of the people in headsets looked!!
Simon Stålenhags art is so special especially when you’re Swedish, all the settings are so familiar(the ones set in Sweden) I feel like I’ve been in most of his pictures, and the creepy feeling mixed with nostalgia and dejavú is just so… One of the coolest artists ever according to me
I've never heard of who this is, nor have I heard of this art but this seems really cool. The story is really interesting, and the art is stunning. I'll need to give this a look.
You have a real talent for highlighting excellent artists I have never even heard of, and showing why their visions are worth examination. Thank you for doing that! This was another eye-opener for me. Amazing work! And yes, his work IS better than a hug from Stalin!
The irony. I stumbled onto this video and became intrigued by the narration, visuals, and story. This couldn't have happened without the net. As one who does not enjoy reading, I was a little disappointed by not finding out the end of the story. But I do understand the concept of spoilers. Good video production!
id totally be interested in a series about surviving the leftovers of humanity, with the everlooming temptation of submitting to a force that makes you feel at peace in return for your freedom.
@@MitchellDouglas4933 i would argue the matrix doesn't really take your freedom, you can still move around and live in the late 20th century life as you would. you think and do things of your own devices. hell that's why at the end of the matrix the deal between humans and robots was "ok you can live in real life if you want and anyone can chill in the matrix should they choose" because living in first world country standards even if its fake is nice than living like a refugee in the real world.
Thank you so much for bring this title and author to my attention. Stunning artwork and gripping gritty dialogue. Haven't seen anything like this in many years.
I dig when this script veers off from being about the Electric State specifically, and becomes more about a peculiarly specific aesthetic rising in prominence. I started watching your channel for the spec evo, but I would love to see more of that popular art criticism out of ya
Because of your vids I purchased all of Simon Stalenhag's books. Set time aside for myself to read through them with music to accompany the reading. I have to say in my honest opinion that your videos were a far better experience than reading the actual books. I'm glad I financially supported Mr. Stalenhag but as far as value, your vids far outstrip the actual source material. Maybe I'm just brain rotted by watching too many RU-vid vids but that's how I feel. thanks for making these.
Great video, always enjoy coverage of Simon Stålenhag. Clarification: both films of "Village of the Damned" are adaptations of the book "The Midwich Cuckoos", by John Wyndham, better known for writing sci-fi horror stories like "The Day of the Triffids" and "The Crysalids". "The Midwich Cuckoos" is set in England, like most of his books.
Hey Curious Archive, it’s Ernesto Marrero one of your first subscribers. You’ve grown like crazy! I love your channel. Hope you continue in your success! PS: I changed my name, lol.
I love how you've evolved beyond just showing off artwork, and now you're actually comparing and contrasting it with other forms of artwork, and really making something tangible here instead of a video-form of their original work. Really impressive stuff, keep it up, CA!
I must tell you how much I enjoy your work. Do you write your own scripts or does someone prepare them for you? Your explanations and observations are often so poignant and deep that I have come to expect to see your videos every month or so. I am very proud to know about someone such as yourself who takes the journeys for us, and then returns to our world to give us your report (that's how it feels!) Thank you once again for a very exciting foray into "Electric State."
12:03 Side note these films are based on John Wyndham's novel The Midwitch Cuckoo - lovers of sci fi will know him as the writer of The Day of the Triffids.
I've been into this type of art since probably the late 70s. I remember a couple album covers my brother had that were very similar to this and I was always transfixed by the images. I can't believe I've never seen this guy's work!
I didn't get a notification, but thankfully I found this video. Keep up the good work man! You deserve every sub and like you get. And also Simon S. is one of my favourite artists covered on this channel.
His art borders on the “ai” look because despite his constant pleas that people not use his art without permission a bunch of dicks trained their ai models on his art.
That’s some incredible imagery around 3:30, as the dirt and sand engulf the husks the neuromancers they still wear become their grave markers and tombstones
I absolutely love artists that can build a whole world just from art. This one seems extremely interesting. It makes me think of how many incredible stories are out there that have yet to be discovered. I almost wish this would become a movie or something, but with the way most modern films are, I doubt anyone could do this justice. Maybe a graphic novel or something lol.
There were actually a few images shown here that weren't in the hardback edition I borrowed from my library. The image of the scrappers picking up materials, in particular. Anyone else have a similar experience?
Yes I did too, there is also one of "the agent" talking to a cop that doesn't seem to be in my library copy either, yet I don't see any mentions of an expanded edition or anything online?
What fantastic artwork and the fact he pegged the internet back in the 90's as the electric state is unreal, like he had a vision of the future. Beautiful work.
Simon Stalenhag is one of the best artists I've ever heard about, and I'm trying to get a hold of all of his books (I recently got Things from the Flood). I love what you did in this video. Great work!