Such is author JD Cowan’s appraisal of Current Year science fiction and fantasy:
The elephant in the room is that “Science Fiction” is modernist heresy in print form, which can only survive in a late 19th to late 20th century climate where Hard Science is purely material and not only does the supernatural have no place in it, it can only be separate and given its own Nonsense genre to keep it sealed away (that would be “Fantasy”) in order for Science to thrive and guide Humanity’s hand to the next step of evolution/post-human/meat robots/whatever it is the nearly microscopic number of old materialists who still exist believe.
There have always been stories of the Future, and there will always be stories of the Future. That is inevitable. What is going away is the dated from that has been locked in place since Fandom took control of OldPub and drew battle lines. Their influence is over, no one believes in what they sell anymore. “Science Fiction” is dead because its time and place is over, just as penny dreadfuls or railways stories are–not because you can’t write stories like them, but because it has no relevance for where we are as a culture. It’s niche and kitsch, it has no connection to modern audiences, same as “Fantasy” as a genre concept. We aren’t there anymore, and we won’t be again.
One of the reasons I advocate not bothering with outdated OldPub genre terms is because they lead people to think in those crusty old boxes, unable to imagine anything more and connecting to the needs of the modern audience. What are these so-called needs, you might be wondering? Audiences want exciting stories where We’re Going To Make It, where the Supernatural not only exists (even modern atheists believe in the supernatural, believe it or not) but is no longer separate from the natural.
Related: Is Science Fiction Doomed After Generation X?
As you can see, this goes against what we’ve been taught in regards to modern genres from the older crowd. And this isn’t to sneer at or spit on Gen X and older, but no one reads anymore and that decline happened under their watch–their answers to these questions are wrong, they aren’t connecting with modern audiences, in fact its been shrinking them since the pulps went away to the point where no one even reads at all anymore.
So, yes, my answer is that “Science Fiction & Fantasy” is dead and not coming back. However, both Futuristic and Mythic Adventure stories will not only thrive, they will grow and reconnect with audiences again. Once we accept the 20th century is over and act accordingly, we will see a radical shift in the right direction.
My comment:
The mass media distribution monopolies of the post-WWII years has lulled most members of the Baby Boomer through Generation Y cohorts into forgetting that science fiction wasn’t always about Big Men With Screwdrivers, superheroes didn’t always dominate comics, and fantasy didn’t begin and end with Lord of the Rings.
Long before that, giants like Edgar Rice Burroughs, and Walter Gibson, and Robert E. Howard achieved greater and longer-lasting cultural impact than any contemporary writer.
Those great authors didn’t see a hard line between science fiction and fantasy. Instead, they understood adventure fiction’s wide appeal.
The great divorce between science fiction and fantasy was forced from the top down. It was always destined to end, and Zoomers will see the genres reconciled.
JD is right. The 20th century is over. Act accordingly.
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