Entrenched Opposition: A Rebuttal (Part Two)
Riadan, one of the commentators on my recent post on science fiction’s battle against an entrenched opposition had some interesting things to say. Since his or her comments were rather long and deserved significant rebuttal and discussion, I thought I would approach them via a dedicated post. So, without further adieu, here goes a (mostly) line-by-line counter argument to Riadan: No, Science fiction does not have a near impenetrable no-mans land to cross. No, Science fiction does not have an impenetrable social barrier to destroy. Science fiction has grabbed the hearts and minds of the populace. Who these days are not born with the concept that maybe, just maybe, the future will be awesome. Maybe, just maybe, our race will not lob deathweapons at every soul on earth. I know you are a young white male. Who of your peers are not touched by science fiction in a very personal manner? Do you have friends who are Star Trek geeks? Or Star Wars nerds, perhaps. We are fucking science fiction, and many people realize our scientific and technical world. I think we have the problem here of science fiction style. True, science fiction has grabbed the dominant culture fairly easily in recent years, but this is through the medium of film more-so than the medium of books. Film, unfortunately, is not approached, consumed, or even perceived as the same thing as a book, and so is a separate entity. But, film, especially in film studies, has had a hard time trying to make the case for the value of science fiction film, particularly because what has been most successful in film are not those occasional films with something “valuable” to say (making a personal judgment here on “value”), but those films most recognized as flashy or indicative of what Ellison and others have angrily called “scifi” rather than “science fiction.” So, while Star Wars and Star Trek and Transformers and all those other massive franchises, and even small ones like Firefly, et al, have captured the minds and hearts of the general viewer, they have not wormed their way into the esteemed clutches of the academia at the same pace. There is, I would argue, far more work to be done in film than in literature. That said, working back to literature, I think it is fair to say that this assumption of widespread adoption of science fiction literature is not nearly as true as you might think. We frequently see talk of science fiction literature sales dropping (with the exception of media tie-ins); if that is true, then it is hard to say that science fiction has even managed to maintain its own selective readership, let alone been properly exposed to or adopted by those outside of it. What argument are you rallying against?You quote Margaret Atwood without taking into account her context. She does write literary fiction, even though I sneer at her applying such a label to herself. She has never denied that she has written sci-fi novels. Her commentary to Oryx and Crake proves that (forgive me for not citing correctly). Her commentary has never suggested that she calls herself a “science fiction writer.” Quite the contrary. In fact, she goes to great lengths to get around the fact that she does write science fiction by pulling the “furniture” argument or using terminology that was never meant to be used the way she proposes (speculative fiction began as a term to mean science fiction and has since been adopted as the umbrella term for SF and fantasy; she seems to think it’s something else). The problem with Atwood is that even when she seems to be accommodating, she is simultaneously defending her high-brow position of literary quality and other such mumbo jumbo. Take her 2005 article for the Guardian. Sure, she starts to admit, there, that she writes science fiction, but also goes to great lengths to say she does not. She’s saying “you can call it whatever you want, but I call it this, and that’s that.” The fact that Atwood actually does write science fiction, but refuses to use the label herself implies that the little bit of literary snobbery that keeps SF out of the literature party on Saturday nights is still alive and kicking. You do not provide an adequate counter-argument for your statement. There is no pro to your anti. There is no thoughtpolice to your Winston. Instead you fawn over the achievements (and great achievements they are) of the sci-fi greats of the past (though you missed out a few. The genius of Olaf Stapledon, and the portentous paranoia of Ballard and Burgess did well to establish sci-fi as mainstream and as *ahem* winning) and while fawning you provide no counter. What is the counter? Science fiction certainly has made great strides. There are, as I mentioned, a handful of programs dedicated to the stuff and even a research organization, and colleges have begun to include more science fiction curriculum. But that doesn’t counter the fact that science fiction isn’t there yet. It hasn’t secured its place. It has a very big leg in the door, sure, but it has yet to break through with its torso and head. The anti-SF crowd periodically slams that door against SF’s leg just to make a point. I get that SF has come a long way, as a film genre and a literature genre, but coming a long way is not the same as making it. It’s getting there, but we shouldn’t be too secure as SF fans to think that the war is over. The entrenched opposition is waging a fierce battle. Instead you use an “us-vs-them” mentality, which does nothing to forward the so-called “cause” of science fiction. Science fiction was born (as we know it. Fiction magazines of the thirties etc) as a product of the popular.Science Fiction is a Popular Movement. “We” won with the printing of the first paperback sci-fi novel. We won when the first person
Disclaimer: Because the FTC are dumbasses…
Since all book bloggers are now required to indicate whether we get books for free, I have put a disclaimer on the top of my right-side sidebar to make sure it is clear that I am one of those that does receive books free of charge. Of course, there is a clever rhyme there (I get books for free. Frak the FTC), but I’m sure the FTC will not appreciate that. In any case, I wanted to make sure, yet again, that all of you are aware that I get free books for review. This way I don’t get sued by the FTC for what amounts to a hypocritical and downright stupid policy change. I’ll have more to say about the FTC soon. Thanks for your understanding.
Terrifying Experiences: A Birthday Present
So, apparently my brain decided to give me a brilliant birthday present. During my pedagogy course, it made the decision to no longer function right at the moment when the professor called on me to give an answer. The sad thing is, the thing we were talking about, and what the professor was getting at, was precisely what I was most interested in discussing in our little groups. Heck, even the professor had come over and talked with us specifically on the topic he was questioning me on (somewhat), which made clear why he called on me. But, my brain refused to work. For a good thirty seconds (maybe more) I saw there flipping through pages, trying to collect my thoughts, and all that came out was a bumbling, nonsensical answer that I have since forgotten. There’s something terrifying about yesterday’s events. It’s not often when my brain ceases to function. It either functions very well, or it functions at half-strength and I make little mistakes. This was not a little mistake; this was an embarrassing moment where I seemed to demonstrate to all but my group that I did not belong there. It also signaled to me that I might have an issue, perhaps due to stress or due to something otherwise. I’ve had a persistent memory issue for years and recently I’ve found it difficult to concentrate, to the point of even remembering what I read just moments before turning the page. I don’t know if this is due to stress, an unforeseen medical condition (ADHD or whatever), or just some problem with me on a personal level, but it’s dragging me down and causing these events. Regardless of what is going on with me, I keep reliving that moment in class and have been, thus far, incapable of shaking it from my memory. It seems my memory works well when it wants to remember an event I’d rather forget. Thank you for the happy birthday, brain. I appreciate it.