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Why Scifi?
Why Science Fictiion?
Science Fiction provides opportunities for settings, situations, and character development that are not available in other genres. The line between science fiction and other mainstream media has blurred significantly as this has been recognized. Many mainstream stories now include scifi elements. These tales are perhaps not properly “science fiction,” but then again it is difficult to determine definitively just what science fiction is.
As described on the website of the popular science fiction magazine Analog, Science Fiction encompasses “stories in which some aspect of future science or technology is so integral to the plot that, if that aspect were removed, the story would collapse.” At the very minimum, science fiction must contain some hypothetical scientific or technological element that is critical to the essence of a story. The science may be social or natural, and the technology can be from virtually any area. It is not merely spaceships, lasers, and time machines. For instance, the noted writer Orson Scott Card predicted the impact of arising communications technology in his Ender’s Game by anticipating the emergence of the blogosphere. The genera looks at the implications of new technologies, and other possible worlds.
This is perhaps the first reason why science fiction is interesting and unique: it provides a window onto a possible future, or in some cases, even a past that has not yet been uncovered. The possibilities it suggests may never be realized, but in some cases, the genera can serve as a guide for a world that has yet to come. We can prepare for the future in part because of the speculations and ruminations of today.
Even so, in science fiction it is possible to contemplate things that may never come to pass. In such cases, a second virtue of the genre is highlighted. It provides unique situations and settings for character development. By taking away familiar settings, human feeling and intellect can be explored in new ways. Also, non-human characters provide foils for human psychology. The perspectives of fictional extra-terrestrials, transhumans, and artificial intelligences provide a contrast that is not yet available–a mirror for ourselves. Science fiction allows us to explore what it means to be human
Finally, despite all this, there is one overriding question that every audience member or reader should ask to determine the quality of a story: is it entertaining? No matter what the predictive value or philosophical implications of a work, it can only be as powerful as its ability to engage an audience. It is still important to tell a tale well. Given its breadth, science fiction is a powerful genera because it gives the storyteller and the audience the resources of different times and places, other possible worlds, and realities yet unknown. The only limit is the writer’s ability imagine and the reader’s ability to understand.
Top 5 Most Recommended
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Battlefields of Silence by William Tedford (Available on Lulu.com)
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For Writers
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