Why Are We Here?
Kate Elliott May 26th, 2006
Science fiction and fantasy, like the broad umbrella that is mysteries, performs in more areas than “escape” and “entertainment,” though we’re big on entertainment, too. SFF engages with ideas, and by “ideas” we intend a broader spectrum than nifty concepts like “what if faster-than-light drive really worked.
For instance, sf/f can so often perform a triangulation with history = past, present AND future. Yet so often the social conceptualization (political, cultural, administrative) has lagged behind the technical. Where does work fit in? How do other forms and elements of popular culture intersect with the way we integrate culture and ideas into fiction? Where does genre become life, or life become genre?
We’re looking to discuss this on all levels, from the practical concerns of authors writing fiction, to the interplay of life with art and art with life, to the ways in which the NFL can be used as a model for early medieval band warfare.
Yep, I’d agree with that assessment. And I’d add sff can challenge, rock, and broaden the readers’ perceptions, to think about hitherto unconsidered possibilities.