The State of the Genre

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Science fiction, unlike so many other genres of literature, has a unique culture. And so, it is not difficult to find opinion pieces and essays about the state of the genre. Once recent example is “The future of futurism” by Amy Biancolli of the Houston Chronicle.

In it she discusses the varying opinions about the state of the genre. Or, in her words, “Is science fiction thriving amid the pyrotechnics, or is it dying a slow and hideous death, suffocated by publishing-industry group-think and unimaginative movie execs drunk on sequels?”

There are definitely people who hold both opinions, as well as evidence to support both points of view.

Is it thriving?

The recent surge and success of science fiction in television, film and video games supports the health of the genre. There have been quite a few examples lately of very good SF appearing on the tube and the silver screen. Take Battlestar Galactica, Heroes, and Lost, as well as Children of Men.

Is it coughing out its last breath?

I’ve ready many the opinion that science fiction, by its very nature, will have to die as technology catches up. Others point to the drivel that passes for SF in all forms of media.

The fact that both points of view have merit is, in my humble opinion, where much of science fiction’s strength comes from. As Biancolli puts it, “great science fiction can be cosmic or minimalist, outward-looking or inward. It expands or contracts, pushing humanity into the farthest reaches of space or reducing it to cinders.”

To read the full article in the chronicle, visit www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/entertainment/4932037.html.

For more on this topic, read these other articles:

Science Fiction Alive and Well in the Here and Now: Celebrating Battlestar Galactica, Robert Heinlein and Another Golden Age
www.poppolitics.com/archives/2007/07/science-fiction-alive-and-well

The new sci-fi
media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,,2112467,00.html

Bye-bye to sci fi?
seattlepi.nwsource.com/movies/323863_scifi17.html

What do you think? Do you see a utopian or dystopian future for science fiction?