Blogging later rather than sooner certainly
has its consequences, because like many of my classmates, my first reaction to
this question was to cite famous literary works, such as George Orwell’s novel,
1984. I would like to hear why some
scholars think that Sci-Fi should not be included in the literary canon. You don’t
have to read Marriam-Webster’s definition of literature; you know what
literature is. You know what it does. Literary works explore all kinds of interpersonal
relationships, between people, the world, and society. Does the Science Fiction
genre not explore these same relationships? That was a rhetorical question.
Science fiction contributes a
futuristic tone to literature that fiction just can’t accomplish as
successfully. Using Fahrenheit
451 as an example, Sci-Fi makes readers ask, “Is this where our world is headed?”
Just because the settings or plots in these stories may not seem plausible at
the time does not necessarily translate them into an impossible realm. For
example, Bradbury, in a way, foreshadowed the scare of Communism by about
twenty years. Will we have electric sheep for pets in the year 2021? Nobody
knows what the future holds, and Sci-Fi writers use their imaginations and creativity
as an attempt to describe some future scenarios. In my opinion, this genre is
absolutely important and should be taught in colleges and analyzed by scholars. 
I too agree that science fiction is literature for many of the same reasons that you pointed out. Literature and writing is an art, and would argue that science fiction is the art equivalent of postmodern art, while classical literature fits more the mold of the art of the renaissance. I do however disagree with the idea that science fiction is not reality. Science fiction is one hundred percent, in my opinion ground in reality. All futuristic science fiction works are a reality that has yet to come, but all are an attempt to see where we are headed as a society and much more. While some of the alternative history science fiction is not based in reality its basis was a possible reality. The argument against science fiction is much like the arguments against any new genre. It simply does not fit the status quo which makes it threatening to the old school thought on literature. A good, non-science fiction comparison would be the tale that "Moneyball" tells. It is about how Billy Beane, the Oakland Athletics general manager, used advance statistics and data to compile a very good, yet under appreciated team. The result was a very good team that the old baseball guys hated. Everything their team was built around was not the consensus in baseball, and when something begins to go against the norm the norm fights back. Science fiction will be looked at and will contain some of the finest works of literature in the next fifty years, yet the works that are deemed masterpieces will be the exact same works that weren't deemed literature upon their inception.
ReplyDeleteI also believe that it is not fair to say that science fiction should not be considered true literature and that it should not be used to teach college classes or deemed important works. Science fiction novels gives its readers insight that they could not receive from any other source. I read "Fahrenheit 451" in high school and also found Bradbury's predictions of the future shocking similar to how history has actually played out especially like how you mentioned its for-shadowing of the scare of communism. I find it interesting that in the novel they burned books and suppressed written materials. Local school boards banned literature because it does not line up with their religious and moral beliefs. And now this assignment discusses how people are not considering science fiction to be true literature. We are not going to the lengths to burn all the science fiction novels...yet. If the novel "Fahrenheit 451" existed in the world that "Fahrenheit 451" describes, it would be thrown in the pile of burning books and today people are attempting to keep "Fahrenheit 451" and books like it, out of schools. Is this the beginning of our society suppressing novels as they did in "Fahrenheit 451?"
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