The Re-emergence of Science Fiction as a Reckonable Literary Genre
Author: Arthur Edgar E. Smith
Category: Arts and Entertainment
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Science fiction has emerged as acceptable in the literary cannon with the inclusion of a wide selection of science fiction writers as worthy of studying. At least this was one of the facts I learnt of a genre which I had for long associated with popular thrillers when we discussed Contemporary American Literature in the US a year ago
Science fiction is a broad genre of fiction often involving speculations on current or future science or technology usually found in books, art, television, films, games, theater, and other media. In the age of the television, the computer and other technology, the fascination of contemporary fiction writers with technology has become a legitimate sphere of social realism.
Science fiction though akin to fantasy differs from it in that, its imaginary elements are largely possible within scientifically postulated laws of nature though some elements might still be pure imaginative speculation.
Science fiction is largely then writing entertainingly and rationally about alternate possibilities in settings that are contrary to known reality.including:
- A setting in the future, in alternative time lines, or in a historical past that contradicts known facts of history or the archeological record
- A setting in outer space, other worlds, or one involving aliens
- Stories that contradict known or supposed laws of nature
- Stories that involve discovery or application of new scientific principles, such as time travel or psionics, or new technology, such as nanotechnology, faster-than-light travel or robots, or of new and different political or social systems
We see imaginative extrapolations of present day phenomena, such as the thoughtful projection forward of contemporary medical practices such as organ transplants, genetic engineering, and artificial insemination or the evolving social changes such as the rise of the suburb and the growing disparity between the rich and poor.
Science fiction includes a wide range of subgenres and themes. Science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein defines science fiction as "realistic speculations about possible future events, based solidly on adequate knowledge of the real world, past and present, and on a thorough understanding of the nature and significance of the scientific method." For Rod Serlin whilst: "fantasy is the impossible made probable. Science Fiction is the improbable made possible.There are thus no easily delineated limits to science fiction, , For even the devoted fan- has a hard time trying to explain what it is.Therefore, there could not be a fully satisfactory definition.
Hard science fiction, gives rigorous attention to accurate detail in quantitative sciences producing many accurate predictions of the future , but with numerous inaccurate predictions emerging as seen in the late Arthur C. Clarke who accurately predicted geostationary communications satellites,but erred in his prediction of deep layers of moondust in lunar craters. "Soft" science fiction its antithesis describes works based on social sciences such as psychology, economics, political science, sociology and anthropology with writers as Ursula K. Le Guin and Philip K. Dick. and its stories focused primarily on character and emotion of which; SFWA Grand Master Ray Bradbury is an acknowledged master. Some writers blur the boundary between both - for example Mack Reynolds's work focuses on politics but anticipated many developments in computers, including cyber-terrorism.
The Cyberpunk genre a portmanteau of "cybernetics" and "punk" emerged in the early 1980s;" First coined by author Bruce Bethke in his 1980 short story"Cyberpunk," its time frame is usually near-future and its settings are often dystopian. Common themes in it include advances in information technology and especially the Internet (visually abstracted as cyberspace, (possibly malevolent) artificial intelligence, enhancements of mind and body using bionic prosthetics and direct brain-computer interfaces called cyberware, and post-democratic societal control where corporations have more influence than governments. Nihilism, post-modernism, and film noir techniques are common elements, and the protagonists may be disaffected or reluctant anti-heroes. Noteworthy authors in this genre are William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, Pat Cadigan, and Rudy Rucker. The 1982 film Blade Runner is commonly accepted as a definitive example of its visual style.
Subgenres
Science fiction authors and filmmakers draw on a wide spectrum of ideas. But many works overlap into two or more commonly-defined genres, while others are beyond the generic boundaries, either outside or between categories.The categories and genres used by mass markets and literary criticism differ considerably.
Time travel stories popularized by H. G. Wells' novel The Time Machine with antecedents in the 18th and 19th centuries. are popular in novels, television series (most famously Doctor Who), as individual episodes within more general science fiction series (for example, "The City on the Edge of Forever" in Star Trek, "Babylon Squared" in Babylon 5, and "The Banks of the Lethe" in Andromeda and as one-off productions such as The Flipside of Dominick Hide.
Alternate history stories based on the premise that historical events might have turned out differently. using time travel to change the past, or simply set a story in a universe with a different history from our own. Classics in the genre include Bring the Jubilee by Ward Moore, in which the South wins the American Civil War and The Man in the High Castle, by Philip K. Dick, in which Germany and Japan win World War II. .
Military science fiction exploits conflicts between national, interplanetary, or interstellar armed forces; in which the main characters are usually soldiers and have much details about military technology, procedures, rituals, and history; and sometimes using parallels with historical conflicts. Heinlein's Starship Troopers is an early example, along with the Dorsai novels of Gordon Dickson. Prominent military SF authors include David Drake, David Weber, Jerry Pournelle, S. M. Stirling, and Lois McMaster Bujold. Joe Haldeman's The Forever War is a critique of the genre, a Vietnam-era response to the World War II-style stories of earlier authors. Baen Books cultivates military science fiction authors. Television series within this subgenre include Battlestar Galactica, Stargate SG-1 and Space: Above and Beyond. There is also the popular Halo videogame and novel series.
Related genres include speculative fiction, fantasy, and horror,. alternate histories (which may have no particular scientific or futuristic component), and even literary stories that contain fantastic elements, such as the work of Jorge Luis Borges or John Barth. Some editors, consider magic realism to be within the broad definition of speculative fiction.
Fantasy is closely associated with science fiction.Many writers, including Robert A. Heinlein, Poul Anderson, Larry Niven, C. J. Cherryh, C. S. Lewis, Jack Vance, and Lois McMaster Bujold have therefore worked in both genres. Writers such as Anne McCaffrey and Marion Zimmer Bradley have written works that appear to blur the boundary between the two related genres Science Fiction conventions routinely have programming on fantasy topics and fantasy authors such as J. K. Rowling and J. R. R. Tolkien (in film adaptation) have won the highest honor within the science fiction field, the Hugo Award. Larry Niven's The Magic Goes Away stories treat magic as just another force of nature subject to natural laws which resemble and partially overlap those of physics. . In general, science fiction is the literature of things that might someday be possible, and fantasy is the literature of things that are inherently impossible.with magic and mythology being amongst its popular themes.It is common to see narratives described as being essentially science fiction but "with fantasy elements." such narratives being termed "science fantasy"..
Horror fiction literature of the unnatural and supernatural, aimed at unsettling or frightening the reader, sometimes with graphic violence. " Although not a branch of science fiction, his many works which incorporates science fictional elements. Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, is a fully-realized science fiction work , where the manufacture of the monster is given a rigorous science-fictional grounding. The works of Edgar Allan Poe also helped define the science fiction and the horror genres Today horror is one of the most popular categories of film
Modernist works from writers like Kurt Vonnegut, Philip K. Dick, and StanisBaw Lem bordering Science Fiction and the mainstream.
have focused on speculative or existential perspectives on contemporary reality. According to Robert J. Sawyer, "Science fiction and mystery have a great deal in common. Both prize the intellectual process of puzzle solving, and both require stories to be plausible and hinge on the way things really do work." Isaac Asimov, Anthony Boucher, Walter Mosley, and other writers incorporate mystery elements in their science fiction, and vice versa.
Superhero fiction is a genre characterized by beings with hyper physical or mental prowess, generally with a desire or need to help the citizens of their chosen country or world by using his or her powers to defeat natural or superpowered threats. Many superhero fiction characters involve themselves (either intentionally or accidentally) with science fiction and fact, including advanced technologies, alien worlds, time travel, and interdimensional travel; but the standards of scientific plausibility are lower than with actual science fiction.
Some of the best-known authors of this genre include Stan Lee, Keith R. A. DeCandido, Diane Duane, Peter David, Len Wein, Marv Wolfman, George R. R. Martin, Pierce Askegren, Christopher Golden, Dean Wesley Smith, Greg Cox, Nancy Collins, C. J. Cherryh, Roger Stern, and Elliot S! Maggin.
As a means of understanding the world through speculation and storytelling, science fiction has antecedents back to mythology, dating from the 13th century (Ibn al-Nafis, Theologus Autodidactus) to the 17th century (the real Cyrano de Bergerac with "Voyage de la Terre à la Lune" and "Des états de la Lune et du Soleil") and the Age of Reason with the development of Science itself.
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Keywords: science, fiction, american literature, literary genre, emergence, seminar
View Count: 164
Date Submitted: 6/24/2008
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