Using the panel discussions of the most
recent World Science Fiction Convention in Spokane, August 2015, I will jump
off, jump on, rail against, and shamelessly agree with the BRIEF DESCRIPTION
given in the pdf copy of the Program Guide. This is event #3486. The link is
provided below…
“Dystopian
Realities: What if Fiction’s Most Dire Prophesies Come True?” The bullying of
humans by “helpful” digital devices (Leiber), government-mandated pregnancy (Atwood),
intrusive advertising (Pohl), robot uprisings (Wilson) and other such “if this
goes on” prophecies now part of our everyday lives make it seem as if sf is
better at predicting dark futures than bright ones (e.g. interstellar travel,
colonies on other planets). In comparison, many of science fiction’s positive
fortellings—waterbeds (Heinlein), tablet computers (Clarke), wireless phones
(“Get Smart”)—seem pretty small potatoes. Is that why SF has become
increasingly grim? Or are dystopias more fetish than useful? Gillian Redfearn
(m), William Dietz, Tananarive Due, Jessica Rising, Daniel Spector
I’ve ranted
about how much I hate “dystopias” (http://www.sfwa.org/2012/07/guest-post-when-did-science-fiction-and-apocalypse-become-interchangeable/);
I’ve written a novel that is NOT about a dystopia – though not about a “utopia”,
either (http://www.amazon.com/Heirs-Shattered-Spheres-Emerald-Earth-ebook/dp/B012TOGF62/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8);
and while some of my futures may be dark, they would fall into line with the
futures of David Brin (http://www.amazon.com/Startide-Rising-Uplift-Saga-Book/dp/B0073FYDEY/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=),
and Julie Czerneda (http://www.amazon.com/Survival-Imperative-Julie-E-Czerneda/dp/0756402611/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1456663031&sr=1-10&keywords=julie+czerneda).
These futures are certainly dangerous, but contain in themselves real hope for
our future as an intelligent civilization.
It should
probably be clear then that I believe that dystopian stories are a fad that
(like sideburns and superballs) wax and wane.
Aldous Huxley, George
Orwell, Philip K. Dick, and ’s books were hardly the only dystopian literature
written, in which the present (or the alternate future) has passed their
visions by. Almost certainly there were dystopian excursions that have faded
(mostly) from memory, like Michael Bishop’s A LITTLE KNOWLEDGE (https://sciencefictionruminations.wordpress.com/2014/05/02/guest-post-a-little-knowledge-michael-bishop-1977/)
or Maggie Gee’s THE ICE PEOPLE – though hers may have disappeared because it
doesn’t fit the current climate change scenario (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ice_People).
Any number of other novels readers of dystopian fiction have forgotten (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dystopian_literature#2000s)
may pop up on this list, yet I would venture to guess that there are at least
as many that have fallen by the wayside and will never see the light of a
reader’s eye again.
I think I’ve
made MY point: dystopian novels are a fad that comes and goes depending on how the
political, religious, scientific, ethical, or literal climate shifts.
What do you
think?
No comments:
Post a Comment