science fiction

Sameness, Science Fiction, Fantasy, And Building Nothing

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I’ve often remarked that I don’t read much SF anymore, or really watch it for that matter. Sure I watch some stuff here and there, or some anime, but there’s not much out there that makes me want to dedicate time to a series or a book. Bad SF and the fact real life is often more SF-like have been a deterrent to me. “Psycho-Pass” was an exception as it was intriguing and really hit that sweet spot of psychology, sociology, and technology.

But I will often watch “very light” SF and fantasy, usually for pure entertainment. It’s brain-on-hold stuff in most cases. Even then, fantasy seems to be . . . samey.

I’ve been thinking as of late what is missing in all of this? What is going on? Hollywood is making the same film over and over, and apparently conspiring to destroy Ryan Reynonld’s career.

Actually, the very sameness gets to me. Sameness is stagnant. Sameness is stuff not happening.

SF often has this problem when it’s a pile of tropes or when technology really is just magic with a few buttons glued on. It’s all the same.

Fantasy is bad about this as well, and I think fantasy is more vulnerable to it. Fantasy is often ancient magic and old gods and prophecies and such. I get tired of chosen ones and destinies and the like because it’s all the same. It’s all repetitious.

There’s no sense of agency, of building, of making.

This is probably why a lot of the modern fantasy and urban fantasy leaves me cold. Warmed over chosen-one plots, half-baked conspiracies, parades of demons and vampires and the usual stuff. A core that is often about cycles and with no sense of agency, and repetitious. Throw that mess into the Hollywood blender and . . . yech. No wonder people are bored.

What I miss from SF is a sense of building a future, of wonder, of construction, of creation, of agency.

This is one thing I enjoyed about Pacific Rim (which is SF light, frankly). It’s about people doing stuff. Monsters show up so we build war machines to punch them in the face. We want to know more about the monsters so research is done. PR is about people making things happen, often inside gigantic robots – but also face-to-face.

This is why I enjoyed editing Serdar’s “Flight of the Vajra” – and I say this sincerely and not as a plug. His hero is an engineer, who things, hacks, and engineers his way out of problems. Other characters take control of their lives. Agency is a core part of the book.

I’d like to see more good SF. More stuff about knowledge and applying it and agency.

I live in Silicon Valley. I live science fiction. I am science fiction. I do science fiction.

I want to see stuff about doing. Not following a script. Not things being happened to.

Agency.

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.musehack.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.

If We Need SF, What’s The Best Form?

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Back on April 26th I did a post on how there’s a kind of SF Gap. My theory can be roughly summarized as:

  1. A lot of our SF dreams and ideas have come true (often in consumer electronics).
  2. It’s all pretty standard.
  3. SF looks a lot alike – or in some cases is so way out it doesn’t give us something to reach for.
  4. We therefore lack the inspiration to create new technologies.

Well you can guess that got people talking at the original article, and fellow writer Serdar had his unique insights on a larger “personal gap” and on technology and deception that are well worth reading – and joining in on the conversation.

Clearly I touched a nerve. OK, nerves for me, Serdar, and some regulars, but that’s still some important nerves that my grubby literary fingers prodded. In fact, Serdar’s feedback got me thinking . . .

Read more

Join the (Extended) Conversation

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I did a post at Fan To Pro that suggested we had an “SF Gap” – we don’t have SF to inspire us anymore.  Serdar jumped on this both at the original post, and in fascinating blog posts of his own he discussed the gap in ourselves, and how we can use technology to delude ourselves.

This is some seriously good stuff, so I wanted to prod everyone to join in the discussion – because there’s going to be more to come, trust me . . .

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.fantopro.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.