Dream World -A New Kind of Fiction?

 

Dream World, which ran for three issues in 1957, was, in effect, a spin off from another Ziff-Davis title: Fantastic.  That magazine had run a couple of issues themed around dreams and psionic powers which had proven popular, so Dream World was conceived as a new magazine specialising in such subject matter.  It shared its editor, Paul W. Fairman, not to mention most of its writers (many hiding behind house names and pseudonyms), with Ziff-Davis' science fiction titles, Fantastic and Amazing.  Despite this first, February 1957, issue boasting of stories from two non-genre authors, PG Wodehouse and Thorne Smith, the bulk of the content was provided by the Ziff-Davis stable.  Moreover, while the inclusion of material by Wodehouse and Smith might imply a degree of class and sophistication with regard to the magazine's content, the reality was that it tended toward the sleazier (by 1957 standards) end of the spectrum.

As the cover, (illustrating 'The Man With the X-Ray Eyes'), indicates, the material tended toward male wish-fulfilment and sexual fantasies.  Subsequent issues amplified this trend, with stories about men who can conjure up their 'dream women', sculptors who can bring their female sculptures to life, cameras that can photograph clothed women naked - you get the idea.  The main variations on the theme were the power fantasies about meek men getting even with their bosses via hidden powers, or using such powers to gain wealth.  Despite the masthead's claims that the magazine was delivering 'A New Kind of Fiction', the reality was that it was simply serving up age-old male fantasies.  The format was, ultimately, very limited, making the publication's cancellation after just three issues unsurprising. Another problem doubtless lay with the fact that the subject matter meant that the magazine cut across genres, at a time when pulps tended to specialise in a single genre.  Moreover, while the stories tended toward sleaze, by the late fifties readers could get it in stronger doses from men's magazines, which catered to the same male fantasies, but presented them as being real, making them seem much more accessible to their readers.  

(It should be noted that the story 'The Man With X-Ray Eyes' was not, (officially, at least), the source for the 1963 film of the same name, despite obvious similarities in concept and plot).