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A Word on Genre

Like most people, I enjoy a wide variety of story genres. But science fiction and fantasy have always held a particular charm for me. Our society often views these genres as separate from or less valuable than other forms of storytelling such as drama. There is a lower expectation for story quality, for storytelling technique and for overall depth. Few works in these genres are considered ‘classics’ the way traditional dramas might be.

Yet, both science fiction and fantasy have enjoyed a sharp rise in popularity and acceptance over the last few decades. Though still considered separate from their peers, the average quality and the expectation of quality has (somewhat) risen with its popularity. But there are still some common problems consistently popping up in these genres. Understanding the history of these genres, why they have been separated and how their quality has been viewed and executed over the years is integral to understanding how to use science fiction and fantasy to create meaningful stories.

What are these Genres?

Science fiction and fantasy are often grouped together in a manner which feels a bit arbitrary at first. It seems a bit strange that these two genres are considered so alike and that we don’t consider other genres as part this group.

What they are not

In popular understanding, science fiction is often thought of as a genre that speculates about the future, concerned with large questions about humanity’s place, purpose and direction. Fantasy is then juxtaposed as a genre of grandeur, mainly focusing on characters and great conflicts reminding us of the past and that have a mythologized representation. I do not see these definitions as very accurate or useful.

For example, a story like Ray Bradbury’s Ylla[1], which is fairly representative of the rest of his body of work, relies heavily on character examination and interpersonal relations, all taking place in a science fiction setting. Technology is a secondary, supporting aspect of the story. As for fantasy, the game Loom[2] is very much an examination of technology gone wrong. The player surveys how a magical disaster has affected various societies in differing and important ways. To decide what kinds of themes and messages these stories can tell based on their setting is very limiting and arbitrary, not to mention that it discourages storytellers from capitalizing on the strengths of each genre[3].

A Genre in Three Parts

More technical or academic views place science fiction and fantasy in the speculative fiction category. This category asks what if questions as a jumping off point for their setting and plot. What if dragons? What if aliens? What if immortality? These genres use speculation about major divergences from our current world in order to provide a new view point of our society or ourselves. Importantly, the speculation defines, at the very least, the setting or premise of the work. Speculation can be part of the plot but it is not required there.

I would also argue that both genres rely on supernatural elements. Fantasy is separated from historical fiction due to the presence of magic or something analogous to it. In the case of science fiction, there is the oft cited Arthur C. Clarke adage, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”. I would modify it for clarity to “Any technology, sufficiently advanced relative to the viewer’s general understanding, is indistinguishable from magic”. While few of us may understand exactly how a digital camera works, we have enough ambient familiarity with the technology that we do not find it as astounding as someone from the 14th century CE might. Thus, faster than light technology is, for us, essentially magic. Indeed, many fantasy works treat magic as a form of technology or science that can be studied, understood and progressed but which lies outside our modern understanding due to its fictionality. On the other hand, a book like Andy Weir’s The Martian[4], despite taking place on another planet, would thus be more adventure fiction with a focus on modern technology, rather than science fiction.

Finally, we can define science fiction and fantasy by time. Fantasy happens in the cultural and/or technological past while science fiction is in the equivalent future. Speculative, supernatural fiction in the present is often represented by superhero fiction.

Thus for general purposes, we can define science fiction and fantasy as being speculative (what if) works that include supernatural elements and take place in the future or past, respectively. Each of these aspect relates to the setting or premise of the work so I would regard both science fiction and fantasy as ‘setting’ or ‘premise’ genres rather than content genres, like horror, tragedy, etc. So we can have science fiction horror, fantasy tragedy, and much more[5].

On the Rise

While science fiction and fantasy had some popularity via the works of Mary Shelley, Jules Verne and J.R.R. Tolkien, both were generally considered niche genres with limited audiences throughout a lot of the last few hundred years. Even into the second half of the 20th century, there was a degree of negative stigma attached to fans of the genres. But in the last 30 years, they have both become much more popular and accepted in mainstream consciousness for two major reasons that I see: ‘nerd’ culture and young adult fiction.

Popularization of ‘Nerd’ Culture

The rising popularity of nerd culture aligns with the digital revolution and the increased abilities of technology. Star Wars first came out in 1977 and surpassed Jaws as the highest grossing film of all time. The film was successful, in part, due to three major factors: money, technology and story. The rise of big budget blockbusters meant that the average movie budget was growing larger and larger. Increasing technology allowed for better, more sophisticated special effects. These two factors combine to make immersive science fiction possible in film. Star Wars came out at a point in history where one could make complex universes whose representation on film was more believable than laughable, allowing science fiction films to reach the same suspension of disbelief as any other film.

The story in Star Wars also made it more accessible to its audience than other potential science fiction ideas. The film introduces and explains its universe to the audience quickly and simply without requiring multiple viewings, outside materials or a deep love of overly complicated, fictional universes[6] in order to be understood. Additionally, the characters are relatable and fun to watch. Star Wars avoided the cerebralness of 2001: A Space Odyssey[7], granting it access to a wider audience.

This is not a claim that Star Wars is responsible for the popularization of ‘nerdy’ media. Rather, Star Wars was an early successful attempt showing that science fiction could reach a wide audience and make money if presented correctly. It also showed that genre pieces were a great opportunity to show off new and exciting special effects techniques which would become a staple for movie studios from then on. Other science fiction films would follow similar approaches and fantasy would eventually translate itself to video in a similar fashion later on.

Video and computer games provided a similar avenue for popularization. Many early computer games focused on fantasy and science fiction themes. The games industry, particularly for more complex or story driven games, catered to a relatively small, specific and nerdy audience for a long time. By the time complex games became popular with a wider audience, the industry already had a history with these genres and many game creators focused on them. Thus, popular conception of game culture was tied to science fiction and fantasy and as gaming became more popular, so did the genres. And again, this popularization was encouraged by increasing technology. The evolving computer and video game industry allowed a more user friendly experience, opening games to a larger audiences. The increasing power of computing systems supported more believable experiences, better graphics and more complex interactions, again allowing representations of the genres to seem less silly and more legitimate.

The last factor to cement these two genres as serious content was the internet. The internet, like computer games, was popularly associated with nerd culture. But more than that, it allowed communities of shared interest to gather and develop regardless of how disparate the members were geographically. Thus, instead of trying to maintain a science fiction community with only, say, two people in a small town, fans of a genre or work could gather by the hundreds (or more) online, sharing resources and developing at a greater rate than they otherwise could have. Anyone learning about a piece of fantasy would then be welcomed by a community of hundreds and perhaps would be more likely to take it seriously and to participate. Products and services catering to nerd culture could then be more able to reach sustainable business models.

So the rising power of technology helped accomplish 3 goals:

  • Better representations of fantasy and science fiction, making them more accessible and respectable.
  • Proving the genres were capable of consistently making money.
  • Unifying and solidifying communities around the genres.

Star Wars is a good example because we are still seeing the fruits of the film now. Young people who loved the movie in the 70’s have now grown and created a core fan base. They then were able to popularize these genres with the next generation, aided by media with increasingly better production value.

Young Adult Fiction

Young adult fiction in books has also played a special role in the rise of these genres. “Chosen one” narratives, coming of age stories, dystopian universes and escapism are all popular themes in young adult fiction and work well in the frameworks of science fiction and fantasy. They all rely on simplifying their chosen universe in order to isolate and illustrate the particular struggles the protagonist must go through to ‘come of age’ or find their place in society. Science fiction and fantasy work well with this mechanic because their worlds are different enough from our own that the audience will not mind skipping over the nitty-gritty details or that some aspect of the world logic doesn’t always work when examined too closely. These worlds also allow for the protagonist to go on ‘adventures’, face a simplified antagonist and have possibilities for heroism that are not normally possible in our reality and society.

The change of setting made possible by science fiction and fantasy have been an integral part of some of the most popular young adult fiction in recent decades, such as Harry Potter[8], the Hunger Games[9], and the Giver[10]. They also provide worlds where focusing on the protagonist’s struggle can be justified by chosen one and ‘down-the-rabbit-hole’ narratives.

Lindsay Ellis and PBS have a great overview of the history of young adult fiction that I heartily encourage you to watch.

The strengths of these genres are important because, in the same time period as the rise of technology and nerd culture, young adult fiction books have become increasingly popular. Part of this change is from the buying power of teens. The teenage demographic is one of the most powerful forces in movies, music and books and they spend a lot of money on media. The increased money for such books over the last 60 years has pushed publishers to take these books more seriously. The number and quality of books aimed at this demographic has risen accordingly.

Many young adult fiction books are written in the fantasy and science fiction genres due to how well they work with the narratives common in young adult fiction. So a whole new fan base for these genres has grown over the years specifically among young adults. With the rise in quality and a push for young adult books to appeal to a wider[11] audience generated by the success of Harry Potter, the power of young adult fiction has flowed into adult demographics, generating even more fans of the fantasy and science fiction genres.

That said...

Despite its rising popularity, there are some reasons these genres were not considered to be as artistically important as drama or other genres. First and foremost is poor storytelling. Due to the what if nature of the genres, some storytellers become more enamored in the ‘coolness’ of their speculative premise and don’t spend much time on the narrative or the technical aspects of their medium.

The major root problem is oversimplification. Several factors lead into this problem. First, as stated above, focusing too much on the premise or on static aspects of the created world often prevents storytellers from fleshing out their characters, plot and other aspects of the universe. Second, creating a whole new world is hard. There are so many details and interconnections in our known world that creating the same level of meaningful, natural interaction in an unknown world involves a lot of thinking, planning and even more work. Just making the world feel real and believable, before even getting to the actual story itself, is significant creative overhead and the audience notices when important (but not all[12]) aspects are skipped. Lastly, the overwhelming number of clichés and archetypes in both genres that already promote simplistic views, particularly regarding antagonists, make it easy for storytellers to fall into the failures of past works. Let’s look at one type of simplification to understand it a bit more in depth.

As so much of the world in these genres is designed by the storyteller, there is a tendency to design people as well. This problem is very pronounced in fantasy where whole species are given specific character traits. Elves are arrogant. Goblins are greedy. Orcs have anger management issues. Humans are inexplicably good at everything. But this happens in science fiction too (Vulcans, Ferengi, and Klingons, respectively[13]). These species traits are eerily reminiscent of racist cultural, national and racial stereotypes of our world (Europeans, Jewish people, African Americans or Middle Easterners from a racist American perspective, respectively). Despite the fact we’ve (somewhat) recognized the absolute wrongness of such perspectives in our own world, we don’t find much of a problem with these constructions in genre fiction.

First and foremost, these types of simplistic narratives about whole peoples feeds into the dangerous and damaging social narratives present in our modern world. Humans are creatures of habit and by practicing this style of narrative in our media (through creation or consumption), we reinforce that simplistic type of thinking in ourselves[14].

And the stories are all the worse for this construction. Characters whose motivation towards anger is “I’m an orc” are much less engaging than ones whose backstory and motivations are more relatable and unique. The Warcraft franchise recognized this truth roughly between Warcrafts 2 and 3. In the initial story, orcs invaded the human world because they were orcs and orcs are evil[15]. Around Warcraft 3, Blizzard developed a backstory in which an outside force controlled the orcs who eventually freed themselves from said force in the narrative of the game. From then on, the animosity between humans and orcs was built on past experiences, political realities, personal thirsts for power based on meaningful backstories, etc, making the overall premise of the world more believable and engaging.

In many works in these two genres, the simplification serves to create a world for fantasy fulfillment. Often, at least in more popular works[16], it is for the fantasies of white, straight men and sacrifices the humanity of the characters to create this fantasy fulfillment. And as so many works involve clichés and archetypes from past works, many modern works, even ones not written by white, straight men, end up including the same dehumanizing structures. What’s worse is that, because they are clichés we are familiar with, they often go unnoticed, uncriticized or are seen as ‘not a big deal’.

More (Potential) Good than Bad

But there are also many good tendencies in these genres. The speculative nature in each genre allows the storyteller to ask interesting, direct questions about the nature of humanity. They can create direct foils to our own world, taking very controlled, critical looks at our own reality by looking through the lens of an alternate reality[17].

And as these worlds can have or be anything, they provide a sense of the unknown and the excitement of exploration. In a reality where we have mapped the entire globe, fictional worlds are in some ways the last frontier for the unknown. The supernatural quality of the genres also lends them to whimsy or parody, as seen in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series[18] or Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series[19]. Lastly, the extreme fictionality of the settings allows the audience to experience something truly different and original.

Double-Edged Swords

Some aspects of these genres can be either powerful tools for a storyteller or, in fact, the instrument of the story’s downfall. All stories focus on certain aspects of the world and gloss over others, allowing the storyteller to highlight what is important and prevent the audience from being distracted by unimportant details. This focusing is why many story plots, if analyzed too closely or literally, seem to fall apart. But the important part of the story is the meaning derived from what the storyteller chooses to focus on, not whether the smallest details of the plot depicted fit an absolutely logical understanding of the world.

Science fiction and fantasy are particularly good media for such selective focusing because their worlds are constructed. The storyteller can better control what the audience might focus on or be distracted by. Boring, tedious issues can be explained away by magic or technology. But all too often, the resolution to major conflicts are presented with the same type of hand-waving[20]. The phrase deus ex machina, or ‘god from the machine’, is particular apt in science fiction. When a story’s conflict is resolved merely by a character finding the right technology or using the right spell without any character growth, the audience feels cheated.

There is also a certain escapism inherent in stories with fictional settings. Escapism is a difficult subject because humans need to face their problems in order to overcome them. At the same time, humans also need entertainment to step away from the reality of their problems for a time. Escapism can just as easily be a powerful healing or protective tool as it can a crutch that enables our own passiveness and avoidance towards facing our problems. At a certain level, this issue is out of the storyteller’s hands. It is really up to the audience to be responsible for their consumption of media, to be cognizant whether they are using it for entertainment, growth or both. But it is still an important factor for storytellers to be aware of, as part of storytelling is communicating with and understanding their audience.

Personal Connections

But why focus an entire blog around storytelling in these two genres? My interest in writing about science fiction and fantasy comes from my love/hate relationship with the genres. I love them for several reasons. I was fortunate to grow up in a home where these genres were valued and loved and where I had access to many books, films and computer games that allowed me to explore these worlds. Many of my fond memories revolve around science fiction and fantasy. The stories I experienced tapped into a deep love for exploration, for the new and the unknown, and for speculative questions that could help me to see the world around me in a different light. I also grew up at the same time these genres were rising in popularity and growing in sophistication so, in many ways, I grew with and through these works.

The hate side of the relationship comes from the fact that, to be frank, I think many stories told in these two genres are of very poor quality and/or are badly told. Many are clichéd, under-developed, ham-fisted, etc. While this is true in any genre or medium, it’s particularly true in science fiction and fantasy. Many great stories are marred by a lack of technique and many exciting ideas are not translated into meaningful stories. But I feel there is so much potential in these genres; I am constantly hungering for more great stories from them. So, despite not being an expert or person of any importance in the field of storytelling, I hope my observations about what has worked and what hasn’t can help make the works in these genres a little bit better and help storytellers to dive a little deeper into their works.

The audience and storytellers of science fiction and fantasy are a community that really loves their genre, perhaps more so than any other. Fans are so genuinely and energetically excited about what they experience and take part in. As Simon Pegg explained,

"Being a geek is all about being honest about what you enjoy and not being afraid to demonstrate that affection. It means never having to play it cool about how much you like something. It’s basically a license to proudly emote on a somewhat childish level rather than behave like a supposed adult. Being a geek is extremely liberating.”

The honest love surrounding science fiction and fantasy makes these genres a home for so many people and it is a beautiful home.

So Much to Look Forward to

The most wonderful part about these genres is that, despite a preponderance of clichés, science fiction and fantasy stories are becoming more interesting, addressing more questions and creating more new and unique worlds than ever before. Or at least, popularly so. Both genres have been dominated by straight, white, male voices. But writers of every background and identity have been working in these genres from the beginning.

As our world develops a more and more equitable view and is less and less defined by what it fears, the works of these diverse authors are becoming better recognized for their insight, more appreciated for their quality and more widely disseminated than ever before. And this appreciation is opening the doors for a wider diversity in authors who will be recognized and celebrated in their lifetimes, rather than after the fact.

The truth is that many of the clichés plaguing the genres are found primarily in the works of white, straight, male authors. These clichés often reinforce the distorted world views that keep patriarchy, sexism, racism, homophobia, Islamophobia and xenophobia, etc, alive and well in our modern society. Almost all revolve around simplifying the world down to an easy distinction between good and bad, justifying the worst tendencies in human nature.

This highlights a deeply held belief of mine. A society that truly values human beings will tell better stories, and a society that strives to tell better stories must begin by valuing human beings. It’s one of the strange marvels of the world that humanity can only show its best self outwardly when it is its best self inwardly.

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