Is the Fight for Recognition Over?

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“Because, to most people, it seemed lurid, fantastic and nonsensical trash, science fiction’s fans have tended to be a bit defensive in their attitude.”
– John W. Campbell, Jr., “Concerning Science Fiction”

I know that within my lifetime, the popular view of science fiction has changed for a lot of people. These days, TV Guide dedicates an entire issue to the new and returning genre shows — there are that many.

So, do science fiction fans still need to be defensive? Is SF still seen as “lurid, fantastic and nonsensical trash”? My answer would be, it depends on who you talk to.

I think overall, more people are open to science fiction, in part because so much of what used to be science fiction is science fact. Also, I think it some cases the quality of science fiction has improved a great deal from the early years, in part to Campbell’s work as editor of Astounding Science Fiction.

But to this day, I still meet people who are turned off by the term science fiction and use it to mean “junk.” I still meet people who won’t watch a TV show like Stargate SG-1 or Lost or Heros because it smacks too much of science fiction.

However, it seems clear that TV and movie executives are totally OK with SF if it has a strong plot.

But what of literature? I don’t see a lot of SF novels on the best seller list these days. Fantasy and horror sometimes make it, but rarely SF. Then again, I could be wrong. It’s not like I have my finger on the pulse of publishing or anything.

No matter how you look at it, I don’t feel the need to be defensive about my passion for science fiction. I wear it proudly.

What about you?