Long
before I knew what the genre was called, an unalloyed sense of something deeper
than awe always accompanied my views of any science fiction flick. The reason
is not far-fetched cause the plot of a science fiction film 'looks like
something that could happen' (advanced readers would call that plausible but my shoestring inventory
couldn't afford such words at the time).
It
is close to impossible reading or watching a movie or literature of the science
fiction persuasion and not feeling the weight of urgency press down your pair
of shoulders. No other genre drags you to the edge of your seat and sets your
mind reeling off into forbidden places (were you to voice these in the dark
ages, you’d be laughed out of court) that might be the future of the race of
man. Science fiction is the one branch of
literature that accepts the inevitability of change. Without the initial
assumption that there will be change, there is no such thing as science
fiction.*
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| Courtesy: guardian.co.uk |
Once
upon a memory, a post I had authored averred predictions were staples of the
science fiction genre and a commenter on Reddit almost bit my head off for it. Obviously,
it meant a lot to him (or her) that Sci-Fi and predictions be on bad terms. Well,
here I am with a typically wholesome head and I still stand by that declaration.
To boot, although I do believe a science
fiction story shouldn't portray something that is going to happen, before it
can be important, I do not totally agree science fiction can survive and
thrive as a genre that suggests change
without forays into the predictive. Besides, a good deal of the world's
inventive genius has been the upshot of this invention-triggering genre. Films,
books and art presented in a form that all but screams in your face; this could happen anytime soon even
though much of what is portrayed may seem off-the-wall.
Individuals
who have been inspired by science fiction run into hundreds, thousands by
extension. People who read science
fiction come, in time, to know that things will be different.* Beneath all
the rise of the machines and alien invasion is a tour-de-force genre which
appeals fiercely to the imaginative genius within us all. Science fiction tunes
us up and opens up our hearts to perceive why things need to be different. Why techniques will change,
why cultures will evolve and what we must prepare our minds to accept as
inevitable. It is the preview of both the immediate future and the distant.
Science
fiction foresees the different and alerts its fans to stretch the wings of
intuitiveness and get hold of a spontaneous stimulation of sorts. It prepares
the minds of people for technological advancements and real engineers and
scientists are challenged to get productive. This is the function of science
fiction; to incite a need—a deep-seated
craving for the over-the-top—a desire to seek out unusual and out-of-the-way technique
of finding answers to many of life’s problems. A need for change.
Keep
your pen bleeding!
Akpan
*Asimov, The influence of Science Fiction
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