Impact of Sci Fi
I've always felt Sci Fi has an impact in the best, albeit slowest, of ways. Not by fixing anything immediately but by enriching those who participate in it. First, it stimulates the imagination. The older I get, the more I realize many people just can't imagine the world any way except the way it is known to them on a daily basis. I do believe a great deal of our problems, as a species trying to "grow up" a bit, stems from that failing. Second, Sci Fi of the sort you cite in your previous post, is valuable exactly because it doesn't raise the red flags of recognition instantly. It can separate out the trappings from the features of any problem. Lastly I think it has a "zip zowie" value that isn't entirely despicable. I think people need to exercise their baser selves and project various greeds and thrills onto characters just to get a good look at them and get them out of their systems. Not that I am in favor of unfettered violence and mayhem being portrayed in a positive way. Just that I think we have to own it. But that strays from the point of your commentary. I'll close by confessing I haven't read The Years of Rice and Salt but it sounds like it is very much worth it.
posted by Lynda at 18:21   comment? e-mail lynda@okalrel.org 0 comments