What is Science Fiction?
Science Fiction (SF) is something of an enigma. It is more than just stories about rocket ships, aliens or star ship captains. In many ways it is a hybrid, encompassing a vast array of elements from other genres. Common SF plots take themes chosen from a variety of other genres, including mystery, horror and even romance. John Clute, author of The Encyclopedia of science fiction, argues for a broad based definition, suggesting that any story that ‘argues the case for a changed world that has not yet come into being is an SF story.’ David Seed, author of Science Fiction A Very Short Introduction pursues this definition even further. He argues that SF is a hybrid vehicle and that the reader should ‘think of it as a mode or field where different genres and sub genres intersect.’
Using these two definitions as a starting point, this genre guide would like to suggest that SF is a form of speculative fiction that, unlike fantasy, is grounded in the possible. The stories are generally based on probable extrapolations from science and technology of what may come true. However, as Farah Mendlesohn, (joint editor of The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction), observes, ‘wonder is the emotional heart’ of the SF story. Humanity and what it is to be human are central themes in many SF narratives. Whether exploring technological futures, virtual realities or space and beyond, we can learn more about what makes us human by examining the world around us through the “lens” that is SF.
The use of elements and themes from other genres makes SF an exciting, constantly evolving fiction. Traditional or so called “hard” SF is still being written, but newer forms like “Cyberpunk” have arisen to keep pace with recent advances in science and technology, including computers and the internet. This is what makes SF exciting, because we can view what classic SF authors like Orwell, Verne and Wells imagined our current world might look like, or we can choose to plunge head first into the new SF visions that are currently being woven about our unfolding future.
The Cosmic Hearth
from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Images Gallery
Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech
Science Fiction (SF) is something of an enigma. It is more than just stories about rocket ships, aliens or star ship captains. In many ways it is a hybrid, encompassing a vast array of elements from other genres. Common SF plots take themes chosen from a variety of other genres, including mystery, horror and even romance. John Clute, author of The Encyclopedia of science fiction, argues for a broad based definition, suggesting that any story that ‘argues the case for a changed world that has not yet come into being is an SF story.’ David Seed, author of Science Fiction A Very Short Introduction pursues this definition even further. He argues that SF is a hybrid vehicle and that the reader should ‘think of it as a mode or field where different genres and sub genres intersect.’
Using these two definitions as a starting point, this genre guide would like to suggest that SF is a form of speculative fiction that, unlike fantasy, is grounded in the possible. The stories are generally based on probable extrapolations from science and technology of what may come true. However, as Farah Mendlesohn, (joint editor of The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction), observes, ‘wonder is the emotional heart’ of the SF story. Humanity and what it is to be human are central themes in many SF narratives. Whether exploring technological futures, virtual realities or space and beyond, we can learn more about what makes us human by examining the world around us through the “lens” that is SF.
The use of elements and themes from other genres makes SF an exciting, constantly evolving fiction. Traditional or so called “hard” SF is still being written, but newer forms like “Cyberpunk” have arisen to keep pace with recent advances in science and technology, including computers and the internet. This is what makes SF exciting, because we can view what classic SF authors like Orwell, Verne and Wells imagined our current world might look like, or we can choose to plunge head first into the new SF visions that are currently being woven about our unfolding future.
The Cosmic Hearth
from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Images Gallery
Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech
No comments:
Post a Comment