No one can deny that science fiction is one of the most prevailing genres of our time. Although it has been around for years, we’ve seen it influence our culture in the past decade the most. Perhaps this has to do with advances in technology, especially special effects.
Even though some people are wary of approaching science fiction, thinking it doesn’t have much to offer, they are completely wrong. Sci-fi isn’t about some weird-looking species attacking Earth. Okay, some plots have that, but there’s often an overarching theme that is deeper than meets the eye.
Science fiction isn’t a superficial genre, which is probably why it has such a wide audience around the world. This genre teaches us more about humanity than any other, encouraging us to find answers to some burning questions.
For instance, sci-fi wonders what the meaning of life is, where humanity is going, what if we are not the only beings in the universe, etc. Those are the questions we have all asked once or twice in our lives.
Nevertheless, some people wonder this: Why is sci-fi still relevant today even with our advancements? We will try to answer this question in our article.
Let’s start!
It Has an Engaging Storytelling
Aliens. Apocalypse. Robots. Distant futures. Spaceships. Time machines. You can find all of this in science fiction. However, why are these themes and ideas so popular even today?
According to experts, people love sci-fi because its common scenarios provide escapism they all crave. They also enable them to delve deeper into complex themes that other genres can’t explore readily.
By focusing on what-ifs that often hit close to home, sci-fi stories talk about assumptions that otherwise wouldn’t be explored. They show us through different mediums, e.g. films or books, where our society might have ended had things been different.
That is what makes sci-fi still relevant today. It is the premier storytelling form of modernity, as Lisa Yaszel would describe it.
Our world is shaped by new sciences and technologies. As a genre, sci-fi uses all of this to explore various questions.
It Delves into Important Topics
Sci-fi isn’t only about space travel and extraterrestrial lives. There is often some lesson the genre wants to teach us about where humanity is headed and what can happen with all of us.
Science fiction serves as a vessel for controversial topics of a specific period. From the dehumanization of industrialization and nuclear war to the effects of technology on humans everywhere.
If creators put controversial topics in sci-fi tropes, it gives us a clearer image of the issue. Most often, authors choose to distance the controversial material by setting it 300 or more years into the future. This enables them to examine the material closely, without making the reader feel threatened.
Although we as readers don’t feel as threatened, we can still spot some similarities with our reality. And we keep reading sci-fi books to find solutions to these issues through this genre. This is what makes sci-fi still relevant today.
No other genre is able to approach modern-day problems like science fiction!
It Represents the Unrepresentable
As a genre, it’s obvious that science fiction represents the unrepresentable. No matter how superficial the storyline might appear, it’s highly likely science fiction is trying to tell you something through it.
It’s no secret that this genre used the original Godzilla as a metaphor for the atomic bomb. Then, certain alien invasion movies from the 1950s and 1960s were actually allegories for a Soviet invasion and potential nuclear war.
Science fiction analyzes modern trends and isn’t afraid to ask: What’s next? So, this answers the question: Why is sci-fi still relevant today?
Today, the world is undergoing rapid changes in technology, society, and climate. About a decade or so, we were all crazy about iPods. Having thousands of songs on one device was the latest and greatest innovation at the time. Today, it isn’t that great.
Climate change is one of the key issues of our generations. The long-term effects include ice melt, sea rise, and ocean warming. However, the change happens too slowly for the world to take some action. It seems it is way easier to turn a blind eye.
The above-mentioned changes are not minor. Their impacts are massive and devastating. It is because of this reason we need a medium to process them through. Sci-fi provides this medium.
The genre enables us to better process the world around us. As the world becomes even more complicated, science fiction will become even more relevant. We will need a genre that will help us make heads or tails of the world that is turning uglier and uglier.
Those are the main reasons that make sci-fi still relevant today. With all of this in mind, we’re confident that we will see more of science fiction in the years to come.