I’d argue literature, as all our ideas, is a product of the material conditions first and foremost. In an age where you have a lot of technological advancement, you see literature that extrapolates into the future. It’s inevitable that people seeing rapid technological advancement all around them would think about how it will reshape society and open up new frontiers.
But in the west, technological progress has stalled. There are no grand technological projects being pursued. There’s no collective vision for the future. And so you see literature reflect that with escapism into fantasy or post apocalyptic fiction.
I grew up believing in the power of technological advancement. This is what I was taught. Consequently science fiction made sense to me.
My kids, when young, were not given the same treatment and schooling I was. I did not read stories of moon exploration to them, instead I read about other things.
I noticed after they grew up, that they remained interested in the stuff they were shown to them when small
Right, there’s a cultural shift at work here, but it is driven by the nature of the material base. The US has become deindustrialized, most jobs are in service industries, entertainment, and software development. And most people aren’t seeing any positive progress around them. So, positive sci-fi about apace exploration, or some grand advancement of humanity is simply not relatable in these conditions.
I look to the changed practices in child rearing first, and then see how what happens now alters the outlook of what was learned in early years.
My point is, should there be sudden renewed hope in technology and advancement again, or if there is still hope, or better jobs, there will not be a resurgence of science fiction in the west.
I don’t see why there wouldn’t be. Sci-fi might have a new flavor, the genre has evolved this whole time after all. However, the basic dynamic of people seeing the progress around them and thinking what it means for the future will be the same.
That’s what spurred the genre into being in the first place. And as I’ve pointed out, we can see the same dynamic in China right now for the same material reasons.
When I was a child most people could intuit most machines; or at least halfway guess how they worked.
I could see this in the golden age of science fiction. The technology, if and when when explained, made sense.
But now most people cannot understand technology, it requires the expertise of too many to design and create. I think in part that is why there is a trend towards magic. Future tech is more wizardly.
So, I think if sci-fi makes a comeback, it will be more a mix of fantasy and space
Again, I’ll point to China as a counter example. People there don’t see technology as magic, even though Chinese tech is just as complex.
I aslo don’t really agree that the tech in the golden age of sci-fi was simple. Take something like the Apollo program. Sure, people can understand the concept of a big rocket, but the details of how the whole thing works is beyond the ability of any one mind to comprehend.
I think the trend towards magic in the west is simply escapism. Most people don’t want to engage with the world that’s falling apart around them, and to contemplate the likely futures which are looking imcreasingly grim. So fantasy worlds that are divorced from lived reality become increasingly increasingly appealing.
I’d argue literature, as all our ideas, is a product of the material conditions first and foremost. In an age where you have a lot of technological advancement, you see literature that extrapolates into the future. It’s inevitable that people seeing rapid technological advancement all around them would think about how it will reshape society and open up new frontiers.
And this is precisely what we see happening in China right now where popularity of sci-fi is exploding https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202411/1322883.shtml
But in the west, technological progress has stalled. There are no grand technological projects being pursued. There’s no collective vision for the future. And so you see literature reflect that with escapism into fantasy or post apocalyptic fiction.
The sci-fi we do get is dystopian, for obvious reasons in late-stage caopitalism.
Exactly, The Silo is a perfect recent example.
I grew up believing in the power of technological advancement. This is what I was taught. Consequently science fiction made sense to me.
My kids, when young, were not given the same treatment and schooling I was. I did not read stories of moon exploration to them, instead I read about other things.
I noticed after they grew up, that they remained interested in the stuff they were shown to them when small
Right, there’s a cultural shift at work here, but it is driven by the nature of the material base. The US has become deindustrialized, most jobs are in service industries, entertainment, and software development. And most people aren’t seeing any positive progress around them. So, positive sci-fi about apace exploration, or some grand advancement of humanity is simply not relatable in these conditions.
I look to the changed practices in child rearing first, and then see how what happens now alters the outlook of what was learned in early years.
My point is, should there be sudden renewed hope in technology and advancement again, or if there is still hope, or better jobs, there will not be a resurgence of science fiction in the west.
Instead there will be new literature trends
I don’t see why there wouldn’t be. Sci-fi might have a new flavor, the genre has evolved this whole time after all. However, the basic dynamic of people seeing the progress around them and thinking what it means for the future will be the same.
That’s what spurred the genre into being in the first place. And as I’ve pointed out, we can see the same dynamic in China right now for the same material reasons.
What kind of new science fiction do you think would happen should it become popular in the west again?
I think it’ll depend on the direction technological progress takes. People will extrapolate based on what’s being built in the real world.
I think technology will continue to increase.
When I was a child most people could intuit most machines; or at least halfway guess how they worked.
I could see this in the golden age of science fiction. The technology, if and when when explained, made sense.
But now most people cannot understand technology, it requires the expertise of too many to design and create. I think in part that is why there is a trend towards magic. Future tech is more wizardly.
So, I think if sci-fi makes a comeback, it will be more a mix of fantasy and space
Again, I’ll point to China as a counter example. People there don’t see technology as magic, even though Chinese tech is just as complex.
I aslo don’t really agree that the tech in the golden age of sci-fi was simple. Take something like the Apollo program. Sure, people can understand the concept of a big rocket, but the details of how the whole thing works is beyond the ability of any one mind to comprehend.
I think the trend towards magic in the west is simply escapism. Most people don’t want to engage with the world that’s falling apart around them, and to contemplate the likely futures which are looking imcreasingly grim. So fantasy worlds that are divorced from lived reality become increasingly increasingly appealing.