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8/9/2014 11:49:10 PM
26
Does Sci-Fi lose its allure when it can't happen?
I'm a Science Fiction fan. You're a Science Fiction fan. We're all Science Fiction fans of some sort if we wound up in this forum. Over the last two days, I've been watching the reboot of the show 'Doctor Who,' one I'm sure most of you are familiar with. I've never seen it before, nor do I know a thing about it aside from what I've already watched and the fact that the Doctor comes back each time he dies. But the thing is- some of the stuff in this show... can't happen.
In one of the early episodes, in 2005 or 2006 (I believe it was) there was a mass panic attack in London over an alien ship crashing. Those were two really entertaining episodes. But the thing is, the entire time I was watching them I was aware of the fact that it cannot happen. Why? Because we are already past that point, as it is 9 years later. So the entire time I'm watching these episodes (I'm on episode 9 as of now), while I do find them funny and entertaining, I am aware the entire time that I am watching a television show.
I compare this to shows such as Stargate SG-1. In that show (my personal favorite of all time), due to the very nature of the show everything in it is kept secret from the public. So it is conceivable that the stuff in the show actually happens (aside from different political leaders and the likes... I'm focusing on the Sci-Fi bits, here). I haven't watched it, but Battlestar Galactica also takes place far, far in the past, right? So it could conceivably happen. Meanwhile you have shows like Doctor Who, or even the movie Back To The Future which says we should all have hoverboards by next year. Clearly that isn't happening, so we're very aware of the fact that it is a movie.
Now, what we have to keep in mind is the distinction between Science Fiction, and Sci-Fi/Fantasy. A series like Star Wars could obviously never happen, but it is not solely Science Fiction so that is acceptable just like any other fiction. The same even goes for Destiny. I can get drawn into a fantasy world because I go in not expecting it to be possible. But Science Fiction... well, what defines Science Fiction is largely the fact that it has futuristic technology that can conceivably be created at some point in the future.
So I'm curious if anybody has any thoughts on this matter. Looking back, even if you didn't at the time, do you see that maybe when you are actively aware a piece of Science Fiction cannot happen it made you less attached? Does this distinction exist at all to anybody else? I'm curious.
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[quote]The best definition of science fiction is that it consists of stories in which one or more definitely scientific notion or theory or actual discovery is extrapolated, played with, embroided on, in a non-logical, or fictional sense, and thus carried beyond the realm of the immediately possible in an effort to see how much fun the author and reader can have exploring the imaginary outer reaches of a given idea's potentialities. -Groff Conklin[/quote] I don't think science fiction must remain within the realm of total possibility. There are small things you could nit-pick from any sci-fi story that make it impossible, or maybe improbable. I find that noticing these impossibilities in stories from other genres frustrates me more than it does in sci-fi. To make something science fiction, to me, it has to take a certain idea (whether it be technological or not) and ask "what if?". For example, Ghost in the Shell takes the idea of artificial intelligence, cybernization, robotics, (and plenty other ideas) and asks 'what if' an AI were to claim self awareness. Would that robot AI be well received? Would people believe that it has the same consciousness that humans do? What separates a machine from a human? I found it very strange that you used Star Wars as an example of impossible science fiction. I'm assuming you mean that 'the force' is impossible. But I think the force is partially what makes star wars sci-fi. 'What if' there was an energy source men could harness simply using their minds and wills. That, and of course the obvious space ships and laser weapons make it science fiction. Keep in mind, star wars takes place 'a long time ago, in a galaxy far far away'. And I imagine in such a galaxy, the path of technological and natural evolution would be different from ours, like it is in star wars. Also, one thing that does annoy me about sci-fI is not the improbability of the technology, but the timing of it. I love Halo to death, but we will be much more advanced than they are 500 years from now. Same with Firefly, another piece of sci-fi I love with all my being. But we will have begun space colonization missions much earlier than 500 years from now. Good post, OP.
