Saturday, December 22, 2012

Additional Danger Points of Science Fiction

Science fiction is a boundary-pushing genre.

This can be good. It can make us rethink our suppositions. It causes us to reexamine why we believe what we do.

However, once you start pushing boundaries, it can be easy to step over the edge. So here are a few additional areas to be aware of in science fiction:

Rationalization: Science fiction is the genre of logic. So it excels at providing explanation—including for the kind of behavior that shouldn’t be excused or explained away.

Paranoia: Because the premises are set in our world, the extremes portrayed sometimes seem more plausible and likely to happen than they really are. So fear results. Don’t believe me? Think of our fear of “Big Brother . . . just because of 1984.

Cynicism: Not all questions have explanations. Not all problems have a clear or easy solution. Reality can be harsh, and the best of men are depraved. Science fiction depicts all this and can trigger deep cynicism about people and the world around us.

Despair: Science fiction isn’t known for its happy endings. Why? Because science fiction tries to deal objectively with the world it sees—a world wherein God does not exist. And even science fiction, if it’s honest, must admit our situation is hopeless without some outside intervening factor.

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