Interview
The Right Stuff - Redefined: AN INTERVIEW WITH Jan Millsapps
BY John Gross, Rachel Saltzman, & Christina Thomas
“I grew up with the space age: the Soviet Sputniks launched just as I started elementary school and the first Apollo moon landing happened just as I finished high school, but these were times when girls were not encouraged to study science, math and technology. Instead I was routed into the arts and humanities, where I've certainly been content and productive, but I've always had that unfulfilled hunger to know more about space science and space exploration. Studying cosmology and other space sciences has not only answered this need, but has also provided me the foundation I needed to think and write more effectively about all things beyond my Earth-bound experiences.”
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Jan Millsapps’ crossing of multimedia boundaries has left an impact on film, digital media, and writing. Professor Emeritus of Cinema at San Francisco State University, her creative work exemplifies her passion for the space sciences and her advocacy for women’s advancement in STEM careers and space exploration. We were happy to be able to talk with Millsapps about her contributions to both digital and print media, her fascination with Mars, and her efforts to ensure gender equality in space exploration.
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Glassworks Magazine (GM): Space exploration has played a significant part in your life. What about Mars, or space in general, has influenced your life, your novel Venus on Mars, and your feature documentary, Madame Mars: Women and the Quest for Worlds Beyond?
Jan Millsapps (JM): The idea of writing speculative fiction where I can blend themes of off-world exploration (mental, emotional, physical, metaphysical) with my long-held feminist values intrigues me and has propelled my recent thinking, writing and filmmaking.
Mars moved front and center in my creative arena when I saw a photo of an elegantly-clad Victorian woman peering into a giant telescope at Lowell Observatory, about the same time I read Sally Stephens' statement on a "women and astronomy" website that women were not allowed to look through the world's largest telescopes until the 1960's. I had contradictory evidence in front of me, and so looked farther into it and found that Sally Stephens was correct (astronomer Vera Rubin of "dark matter" fame confirmed it), but also that the woman looking through the telescope was a serious amateur astronomer, Wrexie Louise Leonard, secretary to astronomer Percival Lowell at his new observatory dedicated to planetary studies, specifically Mars. I realized that women have long been unacknowledged in their efforts to study and explore space, and that I needed to find - or in some cases invent - such stories and bring them to light.
How ironic that Mars, long represented by the male god of war and associated with aggression, violence and bloodshed, became the focus of my current research. Just as humans are actively re-imagining Mars as a possible new home, I think I'm working to re-orient traditional thinking of the planet as "red and dead." My novel Venus on Mars, a feature article on women and Mars for the not-yet-published Encyclopedia of Mars, presentations at the Mars Society Conventions in 2014 (“Making a Case for the Female Martian”) and 2017 (“How to Get More of Us to Mars”), my work-in-progress documentary, Madame Mars: Women and the Quest for Worlds Beyond, and a presentation on “Space for All” I’ll be giving at a United Nations “Women and Space” event on October 5 - that's a lot of product coming out of a supposedly dead planet.
GM: You were also selected as a "round two" candidate to possibly be one of the first humans to colonize Mars in the near future by Mars One. What encouraged you to apply?
JM: My Mars One adventure was more of a sidebar; the call for applicants was the first opportunity I'd ever had (or probably ever would have) to become an astronaut. Although it was unlikely I'd get selected or would actually chose to go if selected (primarily because of my age), I was compelled to do it anyway. My brief experience with even the remote idea that I might live on another world shifted my mental orientation and expanded my knowledge about space exploration through contacts and experiences, not only with those connected to the program, but with many throughout the larger space community. All this came at a time when Mars, and the possibility of human missions to Mars, suddenly grew to enormous proportions in the human imagination, which makes me think that what inspires me also inspires others, and that the work I am doing will have a place in the ongoing meta-story of the human quest to expand beyond Earth's boundaries.
Jan Millsapps (JM): The idea of writing speculative fiction where I can blend themes of off-world exploration (mental, emotional, physical, metaphysical) with my long-held feminist values intrigues me and has propelled my recent thinking, writing and filmmaking.
Mars moved front and center in my creative arena when I saw a photo of an elegantly-clad Victorian woman peering into a giant telescope at Lowell Observatory, about the same time I read Sally Stephens' statement on a "women and astronomy" website that women were not allowed to look through the world's largest telescopes until the 1960's. I had contradictory evidence in front of me, and so looked farther into it and found that Sally Stephens was correct (astronomer Vera Rubin of "dark matter" fame confirmed it), but also that the woman looking through the telescope was a serious amateur astronomer, Wrexie Louise Leonard, secretary to astronomer Percival Lowell at his new observatory dedicated to planetary studies, specifically Mars. I realized that women have long been unacknowledged in their efforts to study and explore space, and that I needed to find - or in some cases invent - such stories and bring them to light.
How ironic that Mars, long represented by the male god of war and associated with aggression, violence and bloodshed, became the focus of my current research. Just as humans are actively re-imagining Mars as a possible new home, I think I'm working to re-orient traditional thinking of the planet as "red and dead." My novel Venus on Mars, a feature article on women and Mars for the not-yet-published Encyclopedia of Mars, presentations at the Mars Society Conventions in 2014 (“Making a Case for the Female Martian”) and 2017 (“How to Get More of Us to Mars”), my work-in-progress documentary, Madame Mars: Women and the Quest for Worlds Beyond, and a presentation on “Space for All” I’ll be giving at a United Nations “Women and Space” event on October 5 - that's a lot of product coming out of a supposedly dead planet.
GM: You were also selected as a "round two" candidate to possibly be one of the first humans to colonize Mars in the near future by Mars One. What encouraged you to apply?
JM: My Mars One adventure was more of a sidebar; the call for applicants was the first opportunity I'd ever had (or probably ever would have) to become an astronaut. Although it was unlikely I'd get selected or would actually chose to go if selected (primarily because of my age), I was compelled to do it anyway. My brief experience with even the remote idea that I might live on another world shifted my mental orientation and expanded my knowledge about space exploration through contacts and experiences, not only with those connected to the program, but with many throughout the larger space community. All this came at a time when Mars, and the possibility of human missions to Mars, suddenly grew to enormous proportions in the human imagination, which makes me think that what inspires me also inspires others, and that the work I am doing will have a place in the ongoing meta-story of the human quest to expand beyond Earth's boundaries.
"I get a lot of satisfaction out of inventing stories that might have been told, or were told but not preserved, or told to those who weren't even listening."
GM: In Venus on Mars you focus on the space race, but also incorporate time travel, which allows you to explore a variety of time periods. What was the reasoning behind the time periods you focused on? And why from a female’s perspective?
JM: Venus on Mars is not about time travel, but rather what I'd call "timeless travel," the idea that once we leave Earth (which does not have to be a physical act), we are no longer constrained by time as we know it (as relativity teaches us). My story blends multiple timelines, specifically the Victorian era, the era just before and after WW2, and the late sixties/early seventies. In all three, women's societal status, and the experiences they sought and lived, went through dramatic changes. My novel incorporates a meta-timeline in which all times and the events in my characters' lives are essentially the same. The theme I'm exploring is that awareness of self beyond any specific time-place is a liberating human experience. Embracing multiple times/places is absolutely mind-blowing.
Both of my novels are full of actual history, but present these actualities as stories told by females who were more peripheral than integral to the events taking place. History is incomplete and selective at best, and I get a lot of satisfaction out of inventing stories that might have been told, or were told but not preserved, or told to those who weren't even listening. Developing and providing a voice for Laika the space dog and the sisters who try to save her, for Wrexie the Victorian astronomer, for Venus the JPL employee who discovers her quest for gender equality when confronted with workplace discrimination are all stories that serve to move women from the back seat into the driver's seat.
GM: Over the years you’ve created works in both print and digital media. As technology advances, we are more and more able to blend different mediums in order to tell a story. Venus on Mars draws on multiple formats to project its narrative, from print to music playlists. How do you think this multimedia storytelling and the continuing advances of technology will affect how we read in the future?
JM: Because the Venus on Mars story is based on historical events and, in some cases, actual persons, I uncovered a lot of information that provided background for story, but were sometimes interesting in their own right. So I came up with the strategy of allowing readers to explore online elements as they wanted or needed to, but I kept these additional materials separate and voluntary. The story makes sense without them, but can be richer and more rewarding with them. For the print version, readers access these "augmented moments" via scannable QR codes; the e-book uses simple links.
What multimedia opens up for artists in all disciplines is an easy way to blend many elements in one piece. While a novel is mostly words, or still pictures with words if a graphic novel, and a movie has moving images plus a soundtrack that may have spoken words, music and sound effects, digital media allows us to combine literally anything that can be built with bits and bytes - movement, texture, printed text, photos, animation, sounds - certainly anything we can see or hear - and to present these potent blends in almost any format, or in various formats. The "transmedia" movement seeks to spread one story or expression over multiple platforms and devices, so the reader doesn't get everything in one place; part of the fulfillment of reading this way is to self-assemble the parts into a meaningful arrangement.
GM: Authors like yourself are starting to explore the potential of multimedia novels. Do you think multimedia novels are the way of the future?
JM: I think the trick with multimedia storytelling is to maintain the integrity of the story, and the way the story is experienced; are we still "reading" or are we doing something else (reading + viewing + listening)? When does the multimedia enhance a story and when might this material interfere with the process of reading and enjoying it?
My opinion is this: the printed novel is a fixed and limited expression whose time perhaps has passed (although the big publishing houses so far have found a way to hold on to a profitable tradition). E-books are like baby steps, offering much potential that is just beginning to be explored. I think e-books can become much more than a convenient way to carry books around and read them anywhere we go. They can also become multimedia marvels.
JM: Venus on Mars is not about time travel, but rather what I'd call "timeless travel," the idea that once we leave Earth (which does not have to be a physical act), we are no longer constrained by time as we know it (as relativity teaches us). My story blends multiple timelines, specifically the Victorian era, the era just before and after WW2, and the late sixties/early seventies. In all three, women's societal status, and the experiences they sought and lived, went through dramatic changes. My novel incorporates a meta-timeline in which all times and the events in my characters' lives are essentially the same. The theme I'm exploring is that awareness of self beyond any specific time-place is a liberating human experience. Embracing multiple times/places is absolutely mind-blowing.
Both of my novels are full of actual history, but present these actualities as stories told by females who were more peripheral than integral to the events taking place. History is incomplete and selective at best, and I get a lot of satisfaction out of inventing stories that might have been told, or were told but not preserved, or told to those who weren't even listening. Developing and providing a voice for Laika the space dog and the sisters who try to save her, for Wrexie the Victorian astronomer, for Venus the JPL employee who discovers her quest for gender equality when confronted with workplace discrimination are all stories that serve to move women from the back seat into the driver's seat.
GM: Over the years you’ve created works in both print and digital media. As technology advances, we are more and more able to blend different mediums in order to tell a story. Venus on Mars draws on multiple formats to project its narrative, from print to music playlists. How do you think this multimedia storytelling and the continuing advances of technology will affect how we read in the future?
JM: Because the Venus on Mars story is based on historical events and, in some cases, actual persons, I uncovered a lot of information that provided background for story, but were sometimes interesting in their own right. So I came up with the strategy of allowing readers to explore online elements as they wanted or needed to, but I kept these additional materials separate and voluntary. The story makes sense without them, but can be richer and more rewarding with them. For the print version, readers access these "augmented moments" via scannable QR codes; the e-book uses simple links.
What multimedia opens up for artists in all disciplines is an easy way to blend many elements in one piece. While a novel is mostly words, or still pictures with words if a graphic novel, and a movie has moving images plus a soundtrack that may have spoken words, music and sound effects, digital media allows us to combine literally anything that can be built with bits and bytes - movement, texture, printed text, photos, animation, sounds - certainly anything we can see or hear - and to present these potent blends in almost any format, or in various formats. The "transmedia" movement seeks to spread one story or expression over multiple platforms and devices, so the reader doesn't get everything in one place; part of the fulfillment of reading this way is to self-assemble the parts into a meaningful arrangement.
GM: Authors like yourself are starting to explore the potential of multimedia novels. Do you think multimedia novels are the way of the future?
JM: I think the trick with multimedia storytelling is to maintain the integrity of the story, and the way the story is experienced; are we still "reading" or are we doing something else (reading + viewing + listening)? When does the multimedia enhance a story and when might this material interfere with the process of reading and enjoying it?
My opinion is this: the printed novel is a fixed and limited expression whose time perhaps has passed (although the big publishing houses so far have found a way to hold on to a profitable tradition). E-books are like baby steps, offering much potential that is just beginning to be explored. I think e-books can become much more than a convenient way to carry books around and read them anywhere we go. They can also become multimedia marvels.
"E-books are like baby steps, offering much potential that is just beginning to be explored... they can also become multimedia marvels."
GM: We are fascinated by the content and prospects of your current film-in-progress, Madame Mars: Women and the Quest for Worlds Beyond. What inspired you to get involved/create such a project? When do you expect the film to be released?
JM: The movie, due out in early 2018, emerged from the research I did both for the novel Venus on Mars and for a companion book my publisher and I were writing/designing (which was never completed because the press was sold), an interactive, non-fiction e-book about Mars, those who have studied and explored it, and its enduring presence in our lives. Our intended audience for the e-book were girls and women in the next generation of space scientists and explorers who are still underrepresented in all the STEM disciplines.
The interviews intended for the ebook that are now a part of the film emerged from research and writing I completed for the still-unpublished Encyclopedia of Mars. I started interviewing women who were interested in exploring Mars, and in some cases, living there, and women working to enable successful human missions to Mars - engineers, nutritionists, fitness experts, astrobiologists, climatologists, and ecologists. Once I found out about so many women whose stories deserve to be told, I wanted to talk to them in depth.
Many of the multimedia components I'd created for the e-book are now part of the film's "B roll," and also serve as visual elements for the larger Madame Mars project, which is not just the movie, but also a collection of online, interactive educational components that will amplify and expand the material in the film. These additional materials, online games and apps, will be geared toward the audience originally targeted by the e-book - girls and women interested in space exploration and in pursuing careers in all STEM subject areas.
We've decided to wrap the whole project in a retro-space-age style, sleek and futuristic, with vibrant colors primarily conveyed by classic sci-fi movies illustrating a past in which women were more decorative than integral to space exploration efforts. The retro style serves as an ironic counterpoint to the stories of real women whose lives and careers have or will propel efforts to explore Mars, both remotely and in person.
GM: Science fiction has been a popular literary genre for decades, and still continues to shape modern readers and writers. Is there a particularly recent scientific discovery, especially regarding space, that you would want to write about in the future?
JM: The movie, due out in early 2018, emerged from the research I did both for the novel Venus on Mars and for a companion book my publisher and I were writing/designing (which was never completed because the press was sold), an interactive, non-fiction e-book about Mars, those who have studied and explored it, and its enduring presence in our lives. Our intended audience for the e-book were girls and women in the next generation of space scientists and explorers who are still underrepresented in all the STEM disciplines.
The interviews intended for the ebook that are now a part of the film emerged from research and writing I completed for the still-unpublished Encyclopedia of Mars. I started interviewing women who were interested in exploring Mars, and in some cases, living there, and women working to enable successful human missions to Mars - engineers, nutritionists, fitness experts, astrobiologists, climatologists, and ecologists. Once I found out about so many women whose stories deserve to be told, I wanted to talk to them in depth.
Many of the multimedia components I'd created for the e-book are now part of the film's "B roll," and also serve as visual elements for the larger Madame Mars project, which is not just the movie, but also a collection of online, interactive educational components that will amplify and expand the material in the film. These additional materials, online games and apps, will be geared toward the audience originally targeted by the e-book - girls and women interested in space exploration and in pursuing careers in all STEM subject areas.
We've decided to wrap the whole project in a retro-space-age style, sleek and futuristic, with vibrant colors primarily conveyed by classic sci-fi movies illustrating a past in which women were more decorative than integral to space exploration efforts. The retro style serves as an ironic counterpoint to the stories of real women whose lives and careers have or will propel efforts to explore Mars, both remotely and in person.
GM: Science fiction has been a popular literary genre for decades, and still continues to shape modern readers and writers. Is there a particularly recent scientific discovery, especially regarding space, that you would want to write about in the future?
JM: The absolutely biggest space news would be irrefutable evidence that life exists elsewhere in the universe, and this could be announced any day (we could receive signals from a distant world, or one of our Mars rovers could detect Martian microbes), proving that life can evolve on more than one world, in more than one timeline, and that humans are not unique beings.
While many sci-fi stories and books have been written about alien life forms, I'd be more interested in writing about the enormous implications for humanity as creatures who would then need to consider life as less "worldly" - i.e. belonging to one world - and more "otherworldly." This realization would represent a dramatic paradigm shift in human consciousness, and one I'd love to explore.
While many sci-fi stories and books have been written about alien life forms, I'd be more interested in writing about the enormous implications for humanity as creatures who would then need to consider life as less "worldly" - i.e. belonging to one world - and more "otherworldly." This realization would represent a dramatic paradigm shift in human consciousness, and one I'd love to explore.
GM: Madame Mars: Women and the Quest for Worlds Beyond focuses on the challenges women have faced in space exploration. Do you feel we are moving in the direction of gender equality in this area? How do you think we can still improve?
JM: I think we are not moving nearly fast enough to insure gender equality in all areas of space science, technology and exploration, not just those involved in the physical experience of exploring space, but also those populating the "village" it takes to enable even one human to leave the Earth: coders, designers, fitness experts, nutritionists, planetary scientists, space policy experts, communicators, technical writers, psychologists, artists and visionaries in all disciplines. If today's educators are not committed to ensuring diversity in all STEM areas, we are already failing our next generation.
Part of the problem is that we're still looking backward, remembering the glory of past space successes, which involved another mindset, tuned to different goals. We are not going to Mars, for example, just to look around, plant a flag and then come home. We are increasingly committed to settling, developing, perhaps even greening the planet to ultimately become a second home for Earthlings. The future of space exploration, in particular, planetary colonization, demands a new version of what is needed to meet the goals of the new space age - the right stuff, redefined.
JM: I think we are not moving nearly fast enough to insure gender equality in all areas of space science, technology and exploration, not just those involved in the physical experience of exploring space, but also those populating the "village" it takes to enable even one human to leave the Earth: coders, designers, fitness experts, nutritionists, planetary scientists, space policy experts, communicators, technical writers, psychologists, artists and visionaries in all disciplines. If today's educators are not committed to ensuring diversity in all STEM areas, we are already failing our next generation.
Part of the problem is that we're still looking backward, remembering the glory of past space successes, which involved another mindset, tuned to different goals. We are not going to Mars, for example, just to look around, plant a flag and then come home. We are increasingly committed to settling, developing, perhaps even greening the planet to ultimately become a second home for Earthlings. The future of space exploration, in particular, planetary colonization, demands a new version of what is needed to meet the goals of the new space age - the right stuff, redefined.
Find out more about Jan Millsapps on her website: janmillsapps.com/
