Ignore the pointy ears and flying saucers – science fiction is an intelligent, insightful and thought-provoking section of literature.
Sometimes writing is dangerous. Throughout history writers have sometimes had to hide their meaning behind symbolism and metaphor, for to say openly what they really meant could easily mean persecution or death. Thankfully this isn’t the case too often in modern Western culture, but even in our relatively open and tolerant society, writers sometimes choose, for a variety of good reasons, to mask their thoughts in allegory. Science fiction is tailor-made for this sort of hidden meaning, and this is the second reason why it’s great.
There are some well-known examples of sci-fi stories taking on social or political issues, and George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four is perhaps the most famous of all. His portrayal of a ruthlessly oppressive society resonated deeply with the anti-Communist hysteria of the Cold War, but even today the reader is chilled by the manipulation and control imposed upon virtually helpless members of society. A modern reader might even see in it a reflection of our media-dominated, superficial popular culture just as easily as a paranoid Red-hunter would have spotted Uncle Joe in the 50’s.
Science fiction, by its very nature, takes place in a world that is somehow different from ours. It could be set far in the future, or on a distant world, or in downtown Seattle where magic is real. This ability of the genre to exist as close to, or as far away from, our real world as the author wants gives it a unique ability to comment on the human condition. If an author wants to comment on the dangers of genetic engineering, he might have a modern-day lab bring prehistoric creatures to life, like Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park. If instead the author wants to explore human mortality he might do so with robots like Isaac Asimov in his I, Robot collection. Or an author could provide unique insight into the wisdom of the elderly by giving his aged characters powerful new bodies as John Scalzi did in Old Man’s War. In every case, the science fiction author has the freedom, if she so chooses, to explore complex and insightful aspects of our humanity without necessarily getting bogged down in real-world politics or potentially divisive issues.
In my novel, Virtues of War, one of the themes I wanted to explore was this: what is it really like to be a soldier? What happens psychologically to regular men and women when they see combat for the first time? And what are the very real consequences of the split-second decisions they make under extreme stress? As a military veteran it’s an idea dear to my heart, but the last thing I wanted to do was set the story in a modern day conflict like Afghanistan or Iraq. I have no interest in wading into the reasons behind why those real wars started, nor do I have any interest in taking sides. My story isn’t about the reasons for war, nor is it about either American or Arab grievances. My story is about the people: it’s about the soldiers. I certainly drew on my real-life experiences in Syria and Lebanon, but by setting Virtues of War nearly 500 years in the future and on another world, I freed myself from any real-life cultural baggage that could easily have accompanied my desired theme.
Being allegorical, a science fiction story can endure far beyond what the author originally intended. Just as Nineteen Eighty-Four has outlived the political movement that inspired it, perhaps James Cameron’s Avatar will still resonate long after the dangers of reckless environmental exploitation have faded to a happy irrelevance. Not only does this give science fiction a potential for longevity not necessarily enjoyed by other genres, it only adds to the broad appeal it already commands.
So that’s the second reason why science fiction is great: it provides the perfect vehicle for the pure exploration of real and relevant aspects of the human condition without causing offense. Or to put it in a less pompous way: science fiction is not only cool, it makes you think.
Read The Next Part Of This Series
Science Fiction And Why It’s Great – Part 1
Science Fiction And Why It’s Great – Part 2
Science Fiction And Why It’s Great – Part 3
Science Fiction And Why It’s Great – Part 4
Science Fiction And Why It’s Great – Part 5 – The Finale
Photo Credits
Carina Nebula – Public Domain, NASA via Wikipedia
North America From Space – Public Domain, NASA via Wikipedia
Recent Bennett R. Coles Articles:
- A No-BS Tour of Modern Publishing Part 4 – The traditional industry: the bookstores (and distributors)
- A No-BS Tour of Modern Publishing Part III – The Traditional Industry: The Publishers
- A No-BS Tour of Modern Publishing Part II – Making sense of the lingo
- A No-BS Tour of Modern Publishing Part I – Author Motivations
- Star Wars: The Next Generation
Bang on Bennett. I’ve been a science fiction fan since I was ten years old and saw the first Star Trek episode (the old series). Roddenberry did a consummate job for this time period in dealing with socially relevant issues without alerting the censors as did Rod Serling before him in “The Twilight Zone”. The special effect were a little hokey but not bad for the technology of the time period. I still remember and marvel a character using a program which functioned like the “Dragon” dictation program and the crew of the Enterprise all using these farfetched little flip up cell phones!
I went on to read all the big writers of my childhool: Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein and found the boundaries of my inmagination further expanded. I’m convinced that most scienftific advances are firsts imagined by SF writers then invenetd and engineered by SF fans who believe IT can be done.
Thanks for your comment, George. It’s interesting that you mention Star Trek – that oh-so-controversial juggernaut of the science fiction world. You’re spot-on that Roddenberry used sci-fi to explore a great number of forbidden topics like racism, drugs, communism and more. Star Trek brought a depth to science fiction TV that was almost unheard of in its day. And yet, unfortunately, it’s the Klingon college courses, crazy costumes at movie premiers and endless mockery of Capt. Kirk’s “inappropriate pauses” speech that contribute so much to the marginalization and mockery that science fiction endures. I’ve actually shied away from using Star Trek as an example in my two articles so far because of the stereotypes it evokes, but you’re right that many of its episodes, from all the series, contain some outstanding, intelligent analysis of the human condition.
And as for your final comment about science fiction inspiring ideas to become science fact – you’re getting ahead of me! That’s the very topic of the next article.
BRC