What attracts you to SF?

[S. Gomez]

I'm thinking of writing an essay on the nature, definition(s), and reasons for why people write/read science fiction. Not quite sure where to start, so I thought I'd throw the above question out onto the Trek BBS and see what happens.

Why do you like science fiction (if you do)? If you don't really like it, why not?

I guess in a way it could be linked to how you define science fiction or SF; it's never been an easy genre to pin down. And I think that may be part of the reason why I like it: it's open to a wide range of possibilities, and you can tell almost any different story you want to with it. It's got options for imagination that a straight mystery or a straight spy thriller or a straight historical novel doesn't really have. I also like the way it can explore what it means to be human in a really deep way, and asks, "If this were possible in our society and culture, how would our society and culture change? How would we change? What, even with those changes, would we have to keep in order to remain human? Do we want to remain human?"

I'm sort of rambling at this point, so I'll stop. I'm still in the process of figuring out my own answer to the question.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Greater potential to give me something I haven't seen before compared with other genres.

My main problem with movies/TV/novels: boredom due to continually running across the Same Old Shit.

Also, it's fun when they start rewriting the rules of the universe (Lost) or creating a whole new universe (Star Trek).

 

[zakkrusz]

Because a science fiction work is usually set in a different universe with different rules, and cool technology, which is more interesting than ours. It also gives me hope that humanity isn't the only intelligent life out here and that we'll be able to set foot on other worlds or cure devastating diseases.

 

[The Wormhole]

Honestly, I just like watching spaceships fly around and people dealing with aliens/robots/alien robots. That's what initially attracted me to sci-fi as a kid, that's what still keeps me hooked.

Mind you, it's getting somewhat stale here lately. The only sci-fi show currently on television airing new episodes I enjoy is Doctor Who. I don't think there's been a good sci-fi movie in theatres since Serenity. It actually is a pretty sad time to be a sci-fi fan these days.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Ideas

 

[stonester1]

Ideas, possibilities, people put in very different situations and you watch how they deal. Not only their actions, but thoughts and feelings.

 

[ngc7293]

I used to read A LOT. I got into science fiction because I liked science but I didn't have to know the facts. One was by Arthur C. Clarke called Earthlight. I got into Larry Nivens books and I think I read every book I could get my hands on. It progressed from there.

 

[Hermiod]

Simple - imagination.

The I love you, I don't love you, I'm having an affair, I'm pregnant blah blah blah soap opera storylines that pervade non-Sci-Fi shows are as boring as hell.

 

[Trent Roman]

There are many things that are grand about science-fiction (and, to a lesser extent, fantasy). I like the way its alienating distance can be used to make us look at ourselves or our contemporary society afresh. Nothing is quite as mind-blowing as grasping that sci-fi concept, and in many cases it is a better teacher than our actual education system. But mainly, it's for the newness, the originality, the world-building. I love discovering new worlds, new cultures, new ways of arranging societies and ecosystems. I enjoy new stories, new characters, new mythologies. It stimulates the mind and the imagination like nothing else; sometimes conceptually pushing outwards takes on an almost physical sensation, an euphoric expansion of self. I can sometimes take this to an extreme, I must admit--I'm the type to read RPG sourcebooks for games I never intend to play just for the worldbuilding. But that kind of productive difference is, I think, what lies at the heart of sci-fi's appeal for me.

The I love you, I don't love you, I'm having an affair, I'm pregnant blah blah blah soap opera storylines that pervade non-Sci-Fi shows are as boring as hell.

Yes, indeed. It puzzles me how many sci-fi media vehicles make that mistake. This is exactly the kind of petty, day-to-day bullshit we're looking to high-concept series in order to get away from.

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

 

[RAMA]

I'm thinking of writing an essay on the nature, definition(s), and reasons for why people write/read science fiction. Not quite sure where to start, so I thought I'd throw the above question out onto the Trek BBS and see what happens.

Why do you like science fiction (if you do)? If you don't really like it, why not?

I guess in a way it could be linked to how you define science fiction or SF; it's never been an easy genre to pin down. And I think that may be part of the reason why I like it: it's open to a wide range of possibilities, and you can tell almost any different story you want to with it. It's got options for imagination that a straight mystery or a straight spy thriller or a straight historical novel doesn't really have. I also like the way it can explore what it means to be human in a really deep way, and asks, "If this were possible in our society and culture, how would our society and culture change? How would we change? What, even with those changes, would we have to keep in order to remain human? Do we want to remain human?"

I'm sort of rambling at this point, so I'll stop. I'm still in the process of figuring out my own answer to the question.

Pure ideas, thought experiments, technological speculation, social/psychological consequences, nature, escapism. SF can be action, comedy, pure drama, campy, serious, sublime, ridiculous. There's a lot of variety and the feeling of something new...not of the every day world.

RAMA

 

[RJDiogenes]

Science Fiction is the ultimate expression of the Human mind, the synergy of the imagination and the intellect, of the Arts and Sciences. It is, as the sayings go, "the sense of wonder" and "the literature of ideas." It is stimulating-- and therefore entertaining-- at the most fundamental level and to the broadest degree.

 

[Nardpuncher]

Greater potential to give me something I haven't seen before compared with other genres.

My main problem with movies/TV/novels: boredom due to continually running across the Same Old Shit.

Also, it's fun when they start rewriting the rules of the universe (Lost) or creating a whole new universe (Star Trek).

This is what i was going to say.

You get the chance to 'see' stuff you've never seen before.

There are of course great stories that when you distill it down to a sentence it may sound boring (Les Miserables becomes "guy gets in trouble with the law over a loaf bread" but it's a beautiful piece of fiction and " the remnants of the human race take up the weapons of their ancestors to defeat an alien invasion" ( sounds GREAT!) becomes Battlefield: Earth

 

[Jan]

Originally my attraction to SF (speculative fiction, not necessarily science fiction) was strictly monetary. See, I read pretty fast and other genres of books simply were finished too soon for my budget. But then I noticed that with SF I had to slow down and actually think about what I was reading which in turn gave me much more enjoyment.

Jan

 

[Mistral]

For purposes of your essay I say listen to Trent and RJ.


But my own answer to the op is easy: half-naked women being ravaged by tentacled aliens on the covers of the books. Oh, wait, that was 30 years ago.

Pure imagination, the lack of self-contained and often boring plot devices, much like Temis said. The excitement of worlds and universes that I can never see, the struggle to answer questions that would never even come up in real life(How do you stay interested in life when you are immortal? What's the best way to cope with a world that doesn't operate along Earthly lines, etc). And even when the stories run towards the adventurous they have a freshness that another car chase between a MicroMini and a Ford Fiesta lacks. Mostly, though, its been the interesting(if fictional) people I've met along the way. Podkayne of Mars, Daneel the robot, Santiago, Lazarus Long, Zoe, Charlie, The Postman and so many others through the years that spoke to me, touched me, taught me and even became friends of a sort.

 

[Nardpuncher]

Originally my attraction to SF (speculative fiction, not necessarily science fiction) was strictly monetary. See, I read pretty fast and other genres of books simply were finished too soon for my budget. But then I noticed that with SF I had to slow down and actually think about what I was reading which in turn gave me much more enjoyment.

Jan

C'mon...monetary....really?
Then you should read stuff in languages you don't understand....you'd save a lot more money.

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

It's like this; I'm already an outcast, a loser and daydreamer, so I might as well embrace stereotypes that go with it.

I'd much prefer to sell-out and enjoy the things that the cool kids like, but you suffer through life with the hand you were delt, not the one you wish you had.

Also, green-skinned women writhing around a lot.

 

[Admiral2]

Why do you like science fiction (if you do)?

For me it's pretty simple. Spaceships, robots, aliens and other planets. I'm not the type to pretend I'm looking for stories with some higher meaning...which doesn't mean i won't accept them if offered. I'm just not killing myself to find em. I start by looking for the other stuff. If I find those things, I'm usually good. It's the same if I'm doing the writing. I don't embed super-deep meaning in my stories and I don't expect my readers to dig for it.

 

[Jan]

Originally my attraction to SF (speculative fiction, not necessarily science fiction) was strictly monetary. See, I read pretty fast and other genres of books simply were finished too soon for my budget. But then I noticed that with SF I had to slow down and actually think about what I was reading which in turn gave me much more enjoyment.

Jan

C'mon...monetary....really?
Then you should read stuff in languages you don't understand....you'd save a lot more money.

Now, now...I said originally. Like, back when I got $1 per week allowance and books were A) 60 cents and B) very thin.

Jan

 

[RJDiogenes]

For purposes of your essay I say listen to Trent and RJ.

Thank you.

But my own answer to the op is easy: half-naked women being ravaged by tentacled aliens on the covers of the books. Oh, wait, that was 30 years ago.

More like 75. But I love the Pulps, too.

 

[Warped9]

So many good answers already given that I'm momentarily at a loss to add anything that hasn't already been said.

Fantasy imagines past worlds that have never existed. SF imagines worlds that could conceivably exist under the right conditions. And those worlds can be distinctively different from what we're already familiar with.

It's ideas and asking the question, what if?