|
Science fiction or speculative fiction?
Hi everyone,
read through this post with interest, but I have a couple of comments.
Firstly, I recall in the Dark Ages of my youth - late 60's or very early 70's reading a comic book that had a gambler who never lost, and was set in the future. Memory tells me the vision of the future was some time prior to my reading, possibly the 50's. The gambler won because he had developed a computer that fitted in his pocket (allowing him to infallibly determine the outcome of any event). It was roughly hemispherical and had protruding buttons. It was not (I think) referred-to as a pocket computer.
Somewhat later, I was taught English in high school by a graduate in literature and she said that science fiction was not about predicting the future, but about social comment set in a future time. I tend to think that this is or was accurate. Asimov's Caves of Steel is a good example, but H. G. Wells makes his comments quite obvious. There may also be some comment Verne's works, but I am not sure. Greg Bear's works (at least those I have read) carry social comment. Given time I am sure I can think of others.
I may be wrong, but terms like "space opera" and "speculative fiction" are often used to describe some of the stuff that is in a futuristic setting, but not offering social comment. Star Wars is a great example of this - and I refer to the first three movies made, and not the execrable and opportunistic follow-ups - for it is in essence, the "hero's journey". In movies, The Forbidden Planet is science fiction as per the definition I was given.
Finally, Asimov wrote a very intriguing story set a fair way into the future, where storage of knowledge was such a massive task, requiring so many planets that humanity eventually filled the galaxy, and so, setting out on the first intergalactic travel, humans finally encounter an alien race. Who just happen to be on the same mission! Cute!
Cheers,
|