The Beauty of Science Fiction

Originally Printed September 2019

I want to explore science fiction more. I have read a few books in this genre including a book by Octavia Butler, “Kindred,” which really was not science fiction, but it was a start. It was a strange, yet interesting take on time travel in the modern day, but set in the era of slavery. I also have read Isaac Asimov, and “Black Panther” has this element, too. It’s great to be able to imagine what the world could be with technology, or what can be done to connect the past with the present with givens in a story that allow for time travel. There is a certain possibility with this genre that is akin to fantasy.

In fact, as a genre, science fiction allows freedom to envision new possibilities. It is marked by how it imagines a world that has been impacted by change, and a world that stands apart from what we know in this realm. Also included is a world with a different set of rules and structures.

I like this quote about sci fi from Beshero-Bondar, an associate professor of English at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg:

“Sci Fi” is the genre that considers what strange new beings we might become-what mechanical forms we might invent for our bodies, what networks and systems might nourish or tap our life energies, and what machine shells might contain our souls.”

Now let us take a deeper dive into the genre.

The Origins

Science fiction is a modern genre whose roots can be traced back to antiquity, during the times when the lines between myth and fact could not clearly be drawn. A few examples of science fiction roots can be seen in “A True Story’ by the satirist Lucian, “The Arabian Nights,” “Theologus Autodidactus” and “The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter.” As a more modern genre, sci-fi really began to make inroads in the 17^thand 18^thcenturies in novels such as “Gulliver’s Travels” and “Frankenstein.” The genre is not just for books, it also exists in film. “Star Wars” is an example. More recent examples include the “Marvel Cinematic Universe,” “A.I.” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.” Therefore, the idea of merging the real with the imagined is a popular idea found in many different formats.

The Magic of Science Fiction

As technology has played a larger role in society the past few centuries, science fiction has been a means to think of new ways to improve the world. So naturally, it makes sense that an author might unintentionally predict a new technology before it even exists. For example, the author of “The Time Machine,” helped to predict the soon-to-come tech airplanes, nuclear weapons, space travel and satellite TV. Even more, science fiction is interesting in its ability to take what is happening and analyze it in a more gripping format than the depression of reality.

I would much rather have a drama that analyzes government in a novel such as “1984” than a presentation on the horrors of government in society. A book should tell a story, and then allow us to be onlookers as the characters play out their roles. And, within this experience, we would learn lessons more clearly.

In short, science fiction is a genre that is growing in popularity due to technology’s rising influence in the world. As human life starts to connect with what is also imagined, we’ll be able to develop new scenarios and observe society as it changes. In addition, using storytelling to build a narrative around the world that we live in today and could live in tomorrow – or should have lived in in the past – is all that we can ask as we strive to make the world a better place.