I love sci fi because it's such a good space to explore ideas. Barring the blockbuster audience oriented stuff, I feel like a ton of stuff coming out right now is actually really progressive, morally. I've been listening to DUST, which has some really cool short stories. The one w this future where u can outsource even sleeping and shitting really stood out to me. Like, that's not even subtle.
Like people have said, le Guin, PKD and Asimov are always good. Huxleys brave new world and island could almost have been written today (were it not for his... Antiquated use of language? Regardless I love them deeply).
Also a shoutout to Terry Gilliam, for fixing 1984. I've never liked the book, but by changing the oppressive system to clearly represent capitalism, the whole bureaucratic hellscape thing makes wayyy more sense. Watch Brazil if you haven't. Or don't, I'm not ur mom n it's not everyone's cuppa tea.
I haven't slept for like 30hrs so maybe I'm rambling or not contributing much to the conversation but yea. Sci fi rocks. Always has. Frankenstein? Star trek? Based as fuck. Lotta lowest common denominator stuff out there right now but also looots of specialised good stuff. It's like music. Simple, easily digestible, non-offensive stuff sells.
Edit: I forgot to conclude this wall of text with The Point I Was Trying To Make: I feel like sci fi n spec fi are a rlly good avenue to gently lead common denominator folk who don't think about politics into leftism. Because the big n well known stuff is so centrist n "inoffensive", ppl can come to like the genre from anywhere, n then when they go in deeper, all the classics everybody keeps talking about r so clearly left leaning. Like simple allegories that can make anybody understand how our system is failing. Like sure, things like Robert Heinlein n Black Mirror are Conservative to say the least, but if they make ppl interested in actually thinking about concepts, they will land at Asimov sooner or later. Or maybe that's me being hopeful n utopian or some shit.
I love sci fi because it's such a good space to explore ideas. Barring the blockbuster audience oriented stuff, I feel like a ton of stuff coming out right now is actually really progressive, morally. I've been listening to DUST, which has some really cool short stories. The one w this future where u can outsource even sleeping and shitting really stood out to me. Like, that's not even subtle.
Like people have said, le Guin, PKD and Asimov are always good. Huxleys brave new world and island could almost have been written today (were it not for his... Antiquated use of language? Regardless I love them deeply).
Also a shoutout to Terry Gilliam, for fixing 1984. I've never liked the book, but by changing the oppressive system to clearly represent capitalism, the whole bureaucratic hellscape thing makes wayyy more sense. Watch Brazil if you haven't. Or don't, I'm not ur mom n it's not everyone's cuppa tea.
I haven't slept for like 30hrs so maybe I'm rambling or not contributing much to the conversation but yea. Sci fi rocks. Always has. Frankenstein? Star trek? Based as fuck. Lotta lowest common denominator stuff out there right now but also looots of specialised good stuff. It's like music. Simple, easily digestible, non-offensive stuff sells.
Edit: I forgot to conclude this wall of text with The Point I Was Trying To Make: I feel like sci fi n spec fi are a rlly good avenue to gently lead common denominator folk who don't think about politics into leftism. Because the big n well known stuff is so centrist n "inoffensive", ppl can come to like the genre from anywhere, n then when they go in deeper, all the classics everybody keeps talking about r so clearly left leaning. Like simple allegories that can make anybody understand how our system is failing. Like sure, things like Robert Heinlein n Black Mirror are Conservative to say the least, but if they make ppl interested in actually thinking about concepts, they will land at Asimov sooner or later. Or maybe that's me being hopeful n utopian or some shit.