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Revolution of the Science Fiction Authors

Posted by Soulskill on from the armed-with-imaginary-death-rays dept.

An anonymous reader writes "85 science fiction authors including Iain M Banks, Larry Niven, Stephen Hunt, Greg Bear and Michael Moorcock have written an open letter of protest to the BBC complaining of disrespect towards the genre, when, during an entire day of coverage of fiction by the BBC, not a single SF, fantasy or horror book was looked at. Here's the original article that sparked the open letter, along with updates. The British prime minister, David Cameron, when asked to comment, said that he doesn't have a favorite genre, so I guess he's not taking Greg Bear books to bed either!"

14 of 292 comments (clear)

  1. To mainstream lit, sci fi is like comic books by spun · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Something for children, adolescents, and overgrown man-children who lack the sophistication to appreciate the subtle beauty of the real world. Never mind that that is simply not true, as the genre includes some of the most beautiful and mature artistic works ever published. People who are into "literature" as opposed to "reading books" tend to be elitist snobs.

    --
    - None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
    1. Re:To mainstream lit, sci fi is like comic books by spun · · Score: 3, Insightful

      That's because realistic utopias without external threats would hold absolutely no dramatic tension. You could basically write, "And they all lived happily ever after" and be done with it. So utopias in fiction have to be either false utopias, or faced with a credible existential threat.

      --
      - None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
    2. Re:To mainstream lit, sci fi is like comic books by Noughmad · · Score: 4, Interesting

      No. To what's currently mainstream, SciFi is, like a large majority of good literature, too long, too complicated, and boring.

      What is "mainstream" (as in, what I see on display in book stores) are "Become an Einstein in one week while losing 50 pounds and making tons of money", some cooking, and books about orgasms.

      --
      PlusFive Slashdot reader for Android. Can post comments.
    3. Re:To mainstream lit, sci fi is like comic books by FranckMartin · · Score: 4, Funny

      And they were able to make us love the world of Star Trek: A militarist state where money does not exist, but all is planned for the benefit of the people.

      Also known as USSR.

      --
      Franck Martin
      Avonsys
    4. Re:To mainstream lit, sci fi is like comic books by 0xdeadbeef · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Never mind that that is simply not true, as the genre includes some of the most beautiful and mature artistic works ever published.

      When the authors win Nobel Prizes (eg. Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Doris Lessing), then it's not considered science fiction or fantasy, then it is literature.

      They do this because the ethos of the literary critic is grounded in resentment. They resent not having talent themselves, they resent the lack of attention given to their field, and they greatly resent how the scientific rationalist worldview does not consider mere rhetoric as a valid form of argument. They value opinion over evidence, and in that respect they are no different than the talking heads on Fox News. You must flatter them and their ideology before they will accept your fantastic literature as literature.

      What they're too stupid to comprehend is that all literature descends from fantasy. Keeping stories plausible is a modern invention. In every culture, the original fiction always involved gods, magic, and feats of heroism.

    5. Re:To mainstream lit, sci fi is like comic books by Canazza · · Score: 4, Insightful

      What about the really old-school authors?
      Asimov's End of Eternity and The Gods Themselves are two of my favourite books (although they haven't aged well), and Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 is still scarily relevant today as it was when it was written (And is a damn site less anachronistic than Asimov's future predictions) *and* Fahrenheit 451 has some excellent characterisation, is choc full of the allusions and metaphors that lit-lovers seem to gobble up.
      Before he died, Arthur C Clarke did some colabs with Stephen Baxter and Time's Eye is one of my favourite reads of the last decade. At its core it's is an exploration and deconstruction of what people of all ages past expected of the future, and how they react when they actually see it (and not in a goofy 'Bill and Ted' way, this is Arthur C Clarke after all)

      At the very least Fahrenheit 451 should have been mentioned. I still hold that above 1984 as the most portentous prediction in sci-fi, plus, it's got government sanctioned arson and that's always a bonus.

      --
      It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for being subtle.
    6. Re:To mainstream lit, sci fi is like comic books by Belial6 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      That has been made more painfully clear to me recently. My 6 year old son, (now 7) joined a book club a few months before his birthday. When discussing the books that would be on the agenda, our suggestions of age appropriate books like "The Magic Tree House" series were dismissed because the other parents wanted it to be more focused on "good literature". They were suggesting books like Moby Dick. This is for a group of readers between the ages of 6 and 8. What was decided was that each month, "the kids" would take a turn at picking the book for that month. While we are making our son read the books himself, it has become blatantly obvious, that not one single book has been read by even one of the other children. It turns out that all of the other kids parents are at best buying them "books on tape" or renting them the movie adaptations of the books.

      This month they are doing "Tom Sawyer". This is not what would be called an easy read for a teen ager or even many adults. My son is doing it, but with great effort. The other parents are just renting the movies or cartoons. Then patting themselves on the back for exposing their kids to great "liturature". It is sad.

  2. Don't Worry by rlp · · Score: 5, Funny

    The BBC can just fire up the TARDIS and go back an fix the problem.

    --
    [Insert pithy quote here]
  3. As Newt says ... by Daniel+Dvorkin · · Score: 4, Interesting

    ... "It won't make any difference." The literary establishment has not only decided that anything but "serious," contemporary*, mainstream fiction isn't Literature, and any protest from authors in other** genres will not only not change their minds, but will in fact solidify their position. They'll see it as further proof of the inherent immaturity of those who write (and, by extension, those who read) "genre fiction," and be further reassured in their smugness.

    * Exceptions may be made for historical fiction, as long as the history in question is within the last century or so.

    ** Literary fiction is a genre of its own, with rules far more rigid than those of SF and fantasy and at least as rigid as those of horror, romance and Westerns, but you'll never get them to admit it.

    --
    The correlation between ignorance of statistics and using "correlation is not causation" as an argument is close to 1.
  4. TV Doesn't Grok Sci-Fi by WebManWalking · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Condolences to the UK, but the US doesn't fare much better. Decades ago, NBC was in on the ground floor of a multibillion dollar franchise ("Star Trek"). They moved its time slot capriciously, as if trying to lose viewership, and cut its budget mercilessly. In its last season, just about every set was nothing but cheapo paper mache boulders. Then they cancelled it at the height of its popularity. In other words, they underestimated the public's appetite for sci-fi by tens of billions, dollars or pounds, take your pick.

    Now we have a cable channel dedicated to sci-fi, and they changed their name to "Syfy". How's that's supposed to be pronounced, "siffie"? They used to produce remakes of Dune that were more faithful to the books, but "Syfy" now only makes end-of-the-world and big-animal movies. They've lost faith in sci-fi too, as much as NBC did.

    Both sides of the Atlantic, sad to say.

    1. Re:TV Doesn't Grok Sci-Fi by spun · · Score: 3, Funny

      I believe "SyFy is pronounced "Shoot Yourself in the Fucking eYes so you don't have to witness this crap."

      --
      - None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
    2. Re:TV Doesn't Grok Sci-Fi by LWATCDR · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Of course I remember going into a video store and asked them where Apollo 13 was. I wanted to cry when they told me it was in sci-fi! I had to ask why but all I got was because it was about space! Ever get the feeling that a large percentage of the population really doesn't understand? Of course I also had a discussion very artsy friend of mine about Apollo 13 and how I really thought it should have gotten best picture over Braveheart. She actually told me that Braveheart was a better movie because you knew how Apollo 13 ended before you saw the movie. I had to say "You didn't know the english won?"
      Good freaking heavens.

      --
      See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
  5. You mad? by spun · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Am I really? How exactly was I condescending to mainstream literature? I did say that people who were into "literature" as opposed to "reading books" tend to be elitist snobs, but that isn't slandering mainstream literature, or even the realm of literary criticism. I was merely pointing out that, if you characterize yourself as enjoying "literature" as opposed to "reading" you may be an elitist snob. Just say it to yourself: "I like reading books." Now say "I enjoy literature." Which sounded snobbier to you?

    Psychological projection is the habit of ascribing to others those parts of your own personality that you refuse to accept. I accept that I am opinionated and critical. Therefore, projection is hardly the correct term, Mr. Hanky. Now, are you mad because you characterize yourself as enjoying literature, or is it something more personal?

    --
    - None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
  6. The old school authors would actually be ... by perpenso · · Score: 3, Interesting

    For sci fi old school authors would actually be Jules Verne, HG Wells, etc; maybe for fantasy Bram Stoker, etc. Asimov, Bradbury, Clarke may be more of a "classical era".

    FWIW, the "literary snobs" might recognize Verne, Wells, etc. Perhaps the "literary snobs" of the next century will recognize Asimov, etc.