Monday Debates: Half Empty vs. Half Full
Dystopian science fiction seems to reign supreme, these days. From cyberpunk to the zombie apocalypse, the most popular visions of the future seem to be dark. It can be difficult to find uplifting visions of the future, and that’s somewhat understandable. After all, a novel or story needs a central conflict, and the struggle to survive in difficult times can make compelling reading.
Still, does it all need to be doom and gloom? A few years back, I remember reading in the guidelines for a major SF market (a quick Internet search didn’t jog my memory as to which one) that the editors were tired of apocalypses and that they were hoping for some more optimistic submissions. Apparently, they weren’t the only ones looking for a brighter take on the future.
Author and editor Jetse de Vries, formerly co-editor of Interzone, is currently working on an anthology called Shine to be published by Solaris Books in 2010. This anthology will showcase optimistic visions of the future, though it won’t be a science fiction version of Pollyanna. The stories will need to convince the editors and potential readers of the future they depict, a potential future that would be achieved through hard work and sacrifice rather than SF hand waving. (If you’re interested in submitting a story to the anthology, their reading period is between May and June, 2009.)
If you’re interested in getting more of a background on optimistic SF, check out the Shine blog, which discusses optimistic SF around the globe and other potential sources of optimism for the future, including music and authentically optimistic news stories.
The view of the future portrayed in SF hasn’t always been as dark as it is today. During the Golden Age of science fiction (generally between the 1930s and 1950s), many magazines featured stories celebrated science and the achievements of future scientists that would make the world a better place. There have always been cautionary tales, but the sense of wonder imbuing these stories made the possibilities of the future seem endless. Today, however, the type of optimistic science fiction that inspired the space program seems to have gone the way of the dodo and apocalyptic visions have become the norm.
Should optimistic SF have more of a place in the mainstream? For example, should science fiction portray a future we might actually want to strive for or live in?
What might cause this type of tidal shift back to a more optimistic vision of the future? Personally, I think SF would become a lot more upbeat if we all finally got what Golden Age SF promised us for decades: flying cars.
Also, do you have a favorite SF story or novel that you feel is particularly optimistic? Weigh in!
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2 Comments
I’ve always loved McCaffrey’s tales of the rise of the Talented because they were positivist but realistic — the discovery of a way to quantify the talent, people finding ways to band together and the development of a culture separate but complementary.
I always liked Heinlein’s Door Into Summer.
I think one of the reasons we focus more on dystopian/apocalyptic SF is because it’s easier to establish conflicts, since everything’s already shot to hell (or about to be).