Beyond Literature: Ray Bradbury's Influence on Popular Culture

March 26, 2013 | M. Elwood

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When I was in public school, I remember reading a story in class about a planet where it rained all the time except for a couple of hours every 7 years. In the story, a group of children lock one of their classmates in a closet so she misses the sun.

The story has haunted me for 30+ years and I just discovered in the past few days that it was written by Ray Bradbury. The story is called "All Summer in a Day" and it has affected others as well. Junot Díaz refers to the story in his Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Director Rian Johnson also cites the story as an influence on his movie Looper.

Brief wondrous life of oscar wao
Looper

If you would like to read the story yourself it is available in these collections:
A Medicine for Melancholy and Other Stories
The Stories of Ray Bradbury

Medicine for melancholy
Stories of ray bradbury
Golden apples of the sun
Illustrated man
Sound of thunder

Bradbury's writing has made an impact on songwriters as well. Perhaps the most famous example is the song "Rocket Man" written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin based on the Bradbury story "The Rocket Man". In fact, Taupin has acknowledged that the song was actually influenced by another song which really was inspired by the Bradbury story.

Eltonjohn1greatest hits
Rocket man number

 

The song appears on:

Elton John Greatest Hits

Rocket Man: Number Ones

 

 

The story is available in these collections:
Golden Apples of the Sun and Other Stories
The Illustrated Man
A Sound of Thunder and Other Stories
The Stories of Ray Bradbury

The Smashing Pumpkins song "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" was inspired by the Bradbury story "A Sound of Thunder".

Melloncollieinfinitesadness

 

The song appears on:

Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

 

 

 

The story is available in these collections:
Golden Apples of the Sun and Other Stories
A Sound of Thunder and Other Stories
The Stories of Ray Bradbury

More recently, deadmau5 produced a song called "The Veldt", featuring vocals from Chris James, based on the Bradbury story of the same name.

Album title goes here

 

The song appears on:

> Album Title Goes Here <

 

 

 

The story is available in these collections:
The Illustrated Man
The Stories of Ray Bradbury

This blog post will go on forever if I begin to list the writers who consider Bradbury an influence on their work. Even Steven Spielberg has acknowledged that Bradbury was a key inspiration for his science fiction films.

If you would like to know more about Ray Bradbury's legacy, Lillian H. Smith library will be hosting a panel discussion on April 2:

Keep Toronto Reading: Ray Bradbury's Legacy

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