"Nobody Wants to Buy The Future"

[cyprus7]

The title's taken from Simon McNeil's article here:

Nobody Wants to Buy The Future: Why Science Fiction Literature is Vanishing - Typebar Magazine

We got to one of the futures Science Fiction proposed, and it sucked.

www.typebarmagazine.com

I'm half-way through reading Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary at the moment and enjoying the ride.
The story's packed with science ideas that carry the narrative e.g. by the end of chp. 1 he's trying to measure 'g' with materials to hand having just woken up from an apparent coma.

Is the future so grim here on Earth that fantasy and romance (in commercial fiction genres) are our best bets?

I'm aware of solar punk's more hopeful take but haven't read enough of it to comment further.

Maybe Margaret Atwood had it right in identifying more as a speculative fiction writer?

 

[Karapace]

Interesting article. I also wonder if it isn't also affected by a distrust of science itself amongst the general population? Perhaps we no longer believe science will save us?

 

[Harpo]

Interesting article. I also wonder if it isn't also affected by a distrust of science itself amongst the general population? Perhaps we no longer believe science will save us?

This can be tested - invent a ridiculous and comedic Wannabe Conspiracy Theory, make memes about it and get them shared everywhere. Within a couple of years, gullible eejits will be sharing it as ‘truth’.
(For an example, the “birds aren’t real” one started as a joke)

I suggest perhaps Unobtanium and Handwavium might be involved, maybe?

 

[paeng]

Reminds me of the novel 2001.

 

[Christine Wheelwright]

Yeah, that's an interesting article. But here's my take:

Back in the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s the future really did feel exciting. It was an era of amazing technological achievement, such as moon landings and early programmable computers. There was interest in speculative fiction because it really felt like the world was changing at an incredible rate. We all thought we might live to see one of these alternative futures imagined in the works of science fiction writers, and we were intensely curious about them But nowadays not so much. My smartphone seems about the same as the one I had fifteen years ago, as does my car. Getting a train or a flight is miserable compared with three decades ago. And even when someone does try to get you excited about the future (like Musk promising trips to Mars in a few short years) they are lying or idiots or both. The future seems like more of a 'done deal' these days. No great breakthroughs feel imminent - no flying cars, no robot servants - and problems like climate change are not being addressed in any meaningful manner. A feeling of uncertainty in days gone by probably contributed to a fascination with speculative fiction. This has been replaced with a feeling of inevitability. Its fun to speculate about dystopias when times are good, less so when on a downward trend.

 

[Karapace]

I suggest perhaps Unobtanium and Handwavium might be involved, maybe?

As a professional Onanist, I find Handwavium very useful

 

[Toby Frost]

Its fun to speculate about dystopias when times are good, less so when on a downward trend.

I agree. One of the many wise observations in 1984 is that society hasn't progressed: levels of healthcare, military equipment and sanitation are at pre-WW2 levels. The only advances are in surveillance and torture devices - in other words, things that tighten the control of the rulers. Books like The Man In The High Castle get it wrong by falling for state propaganda that the Party would fly square-jawed Aryans to Venus. They'd just say that they'd done that and kill anyone who dared to point out the truth.

 

[Astro Pen]

'Oh it's all rockets, and spandex and silly aliens. I cant be arsed with that, I want to read about believable people in the real world.'
So said an ex, (I paraphrase slightly), in the 1990s when I asked her why she didn't read SF.
She had a point as she dropped back into her John Fowles. and John Updike.
**************************************************************************************
I agree with @Toby Frost above. As the reality of scientific exploitation by the controlling class arrived, particularly in this last decade, we watched the shine fade our gleaming, modernist, technological dream. A mere mid 20th century fashion rather than robust literature. Maybe we need to consider a name change "Techno fiction," or "Techno Thriller" and try to diminish the strong association with all that 'Star Trek stuff' that puts most people off (lets be honest here, it does.)
**************************************************************************************
There is also the seemingly inexorable rise of fantasy, which rudely bulldozed SF aside. Whilst there are hybrid forms, I still think that the broader youth appeal of fantasy was a nail in the trad SF coffin. Magic has not been subverted in the contemporary world the way that technology has.

 

[Robert Zwilling]

We can blame science for the current turbulent situation. While fantasy seems to be driving a lot of personal beliefs, the fact remains that we live in a science powered world. We are slowly occupying space though not at the pace we'd like to see. It's turning into more of a flying public works zone than an exotic place to live. There are plenty of new inventions, but a lot of them get hidden by the sheer size of everything human. On the one hand, transportation is still mainly 4 wheels and we are still using phones to communicate but they do so much more than their original purposes. The entire publishing world has been turned upside down. Look at newspapers, that used to be the only way way to get words in front of the public on a daily basis. Now anyone can get their words published for all to see anytime they want. The internet is slowly drawing everyone into a highly connected world and will continue to climb inside our bodies, even if it's only a voice or sounds coming out of a pair of earbuds, your best bud in the new electronic world. We are awash in oceans of data, probably even drowning in it.

Which brings up the statistics. Between traditional and digital, both of which includes print, visual, and audio, there are hundreds of sources. Where is the source of this writer's source of information. Without seeing that it really just a person's interpretation of what they can see and how much time they spend on the research they do. I can find articles that say the number of book titles published has reached a point where twice as many self published books as traditional books are published and that the average book gets purchased a couple of hundred times and that's it. Some are never bought, others only sell a handful of copies. And of course some sell in the millions. The point is how many of all those books are science fiction and the answer is we don't know. Not yet anyway. This article shows basic breakdown of book sales and is loaded with plenty of exceptions and asterisks. Did the original article include every type of sale, did it include podcasts, I doubt it. Then we have national stats versus global stats. What the rest of the world is reading, watching, or listening to is usually ignored because it takes a very long time to gather all those facts together.

We have reached a turning point, though which way it is pointing no one knows. For now, anyone can write anything they want and more than likely get it publicly printed. Some people are in restricted situations and can't freely publish, though works can be smuggled out and fake names can be attributed to the source. Basically there are now more fiction works published than non fiction works, that is if the stats can be trusted. Fiction can play a very important part in our lives, even if it is only letting us walk in the shoes of others, and that can be hundreds of shoes if so desired. All this without (usually anyway) with loss of limb or life. Until we can clearly see the global picture we are merely putting forth observations with accuracy taking a back seat. Do I think science fiction is dead:? No, not as long as we have a huge library of works to choose from, past and present.

PS Science Fiction is alive and well inside of all of us.

 

[cyprus7]

This can be tested - invent a ridiculous and comedic Wannabe Conspiracy Theory, make memes about it and get them shared everywhere. Within a couple of years, gullible eejits will be sharing it as ‘truth’.
(For an example, the “birds aren’t real” one started as a joke)

I suggest perhaps Unobtanium and Handwavium might be involved, maybe?

We can blame science for the current turbulent situation. While fantasy seems to be driving a lot of personal beliefs, the fact remains that we live in a science powered world. We are slowly occupying space though not at the pace we'd like to see. It's turning into more of a flying public works zone than an exotic place to live. There are plenty of new inventions, but a lot of them get hidden by the sheer size of everything human. On the one hand, transportation is still mainly 4 wheels and we are still using phones to communicate but they do so much more than their original purposes. The entire publishing world has been turned upside down. Look at newspapers, that used to be the only way way to get words in front of the public on a daily basis. Now anyone can get their words published for all to see anytime they want. The internet is slowly drawing everyone into a highly connected world and will continue to climb inside our bodies, even if it's only a voice or sounds coming out of a pair of earbuds, your best bud in the new electronic world. We are awash in oceans of data, probably even drowning in it.

Which brings up the statistics. Between traditional and digital, both of which includes print, visual, and audio, there are hundreds of sources. Where is the source of this writer's source of information. Without seeing that it really just a person's interpretation of what they can see and how much time they spend on the research they do. I can find articles that say the number of book titles published has reached a point where twice as many self published books as traditional books are published and that the average book gets purchased a couple of hundred times and that's it. Some are never bought, others only sell a handful of copies. And of course some sell in the millions. The point is how many of all those books are science fiction and the answer is we don't know. Not yet anyway. This article shows basic breakdown of book sales and is loaded with plenty of exceptions and asterisks. Did the original article include every type of sale, did it include podcasts, I doubt it. Then we have national stats versus global stats. What the rest of the world is reading, watching, or listening to is usually ignored because it takes a very long time to gather all those facts together.

We have reached a turning point, though which way it is pointing no one knows. For now, anyone can write anything they want and more than likely get it publicly printed. Some people are in restricted situations and can't freely publish, though works can be smuggled out and fake names can be attributed to the source. Basically there are now more fiction works published than non fiction works, that is if the stats can be trusted. Fiction can play a very important part in our lives, even if it is only letting us walk in the shoes of others, and that can be hundreds of shoes if so desired. All this without (usually anyway) with loss of limb or life. Until we can clearly see the global picture we are merely putting forth observations with accuracy taking a back seat. Do I think science fiction is dead:? No, not as long as we have a huge library of works to choose from, past and present.

PS Science Fiction is alive and well inside of all of us.

Hello Robert,
Yes, I took it as more of an opinion piece and your point about where he got his data from is valid e.g. science fiction published in Japanese, Chinese etc. AFAIK not much of that is translated into English (yet) except for selected bestsellers.

Science Fiction is alive and well inside of all of us.

I hope you're right.

 

[Swank]

I don't know how this happened, but I think part of the problem is that your average 'futurist' citizen has become savvy enough to understand that most of the SF ideals are total nonsense. Terraforming, worlds that support earth life, intergalactic society - even dangerous adventures - are neither likely nor practical. Advances in automation mean that there won't be exciting piloting of fighters or giant robots. Everything left is so damn safe and touristy - like when you finally leave the earth it will to be to visit Disney Low Orit. And it will be EXPENSIVE.

So if you aren't set for adventure, and NASA isn't doing anything by proxy, what is it that the future? Immortality? Nothing has been cured, let alone aging addressed. Easier life? Fewer people are homeowners than their parents - so it sure doesn't feel easier.

Robots? AI might as well be called the MAGA emulation program.

And it frankly isn't easy to imagine shopping, video games or porn being easier to acquire. So what is the draw of a "better" internet.


So aside from war, warming, garbage, pollution, etc - it has been revealed that every time a new technology is created, we are likely to just become sicker and unhappier. I now dream of a world where there is no internet anonymity and every awful thing you wish to express comes with a lawsuit or protesters in your front yard. So do we look to the future when the internet is largely dead? Wanna write SF about organic farming?

 

[paeng]

Shatner implies the same in his recent comments:

William Shatner Clarifies What He Meant When He Said Gene Roddenberry Would ‘Turn In His Grave’ Over Modern Star Trek

The comment prompted a response from fans and stars.

www.cinemablend.com

That is, it's not just about what Roddenberry thought about the military but his classical liberal view of the future. That is, he imagined that after centuries of warfare, pandemics, environmental collapse, etc., humanity became so exhausted they lived in the dark and awaited oblivion, until what transpired in First Contact took place, and the race found itself in a socialist, technological utopia where people aspired to cultivate themselves through knowledge and understanding. In a way, they wanted to be like the best of what they saw in other races, like the Vulkans, while the latter saw in them a fascinating paradox of brutality and compassion. Imagine youngsters' reaction to such a show.

But for Shatner and co. shows today have become more cynical, with creators dealing with present circumstances and dressed with a sci-fi skin. It's like one description of the newer Battlestar Galactica show, i.e., West Wing in space.

Maybe that's one way of seeing why "nobody wants to buy the future".

 

[cyprus7]

your average 'futurist' citizen has become savvy enough to understand that most of the SF ideals are total nonsense.

I smiled at this. The golden age of SF was really a fantasy in disguise. As a kid who grew up with the OG Star Trek, watched a grainy TV recording of the '69 moon landing in the school gym, and hoped we'd find microbes at least on Mars, yes, it's been something of a let down to date.

Paging other red-arsed monkeys across the galaxies...

 

[hitmouse]

Yeah, that's an interesting article. But here's my take:

Back in the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s the future really did feel exciting. It was an era of amazing technological achievement, such as moon landings and early programmable computers. There was interest in speculative fiction because it really felt like the world was changing at an incredible rate. We all thought we might live to see one of these alternative futures imagined in the works of science fiction writers, and we were intensely curious about them But nowadays not so much. My smartphone seems about the same as the one I had fifteen years ago, as does my car. Getting a train or a flight is miserable compared with three decades ago. And even when someone does try to get you excited about the future (like Musk promising trips to Mars in a few short years) they are lying or idiots or both. The future seems like more of a 'done deal' these days. No great breakthroughs feel imminent - no flying cars, no robot servants - and problems like climate change are not being addressed in any meaningful manner. A feeling of uncertainty in days gone by probably contributed to a fascination with speculative fiction. This has been replaced with a feeling of inevitability. Its fun to speculate about dystopias when times are good, less so when on a downward trend.

There are some genuine technological advances though, and some subtle and not so subtle changes in lifestyle as a result, even if these are evolutionary rather than revolutionary.
My mobile phone now is nothing like the one I had 15 years ago. I am about to ditch my land line: haven’t used it for months.
Some of this is also a state of mind. Last week, after years of very cheap, cramped, but handy shorthaul flights (Bristol- Rome for £2.50 is pretty SF in my book.) I took a train from London to Barcelona, travelling at 300kph in comfort, with a deliberate lunch break in Paris, sitting in the sunshine in a street cafe. Eurostar and the TGV are amazing pieces of technology, and their juxtaposition with grand 19th century railway stations is wonderful. Everything about that journey was a pleasure. The only physical document I used in the whole trip was my passport. Tickets etc all on my phone. All payments were contactless, through my phone. A week in Europe without any physical money at all.