The History of Science Fiction

The History of Science Fiction

When you think of Science Fiction it’s hard not think of nerds dressed up in costumes swinging lightsabers around at Comic-Con. There is a notion that if you’re a science fiction fan you’re a nerd or a geek. However, I would argue that based on the top ten or even top twenty highest grossing box office, movies of all time, people enjoy science fiction a-lot more than they would like to admit. I think that there isn’t much of a difference between the comic-con people and the people that mock them. Just because someone expresses their love for a fandom in ways you might not agree with or would do yourself, doesn’t take away from the fact that science fiction and to an extent fantasy are fun for everyone. 

I have to admit that I am a nerd. I don’t think that should come as a surprise to anyone that knows me, and based on the premise of this website I don’t think it should come as shock to anyone reading this post. I adore science fiction. I love that no matter the format, science fiction takes you to places beyond this world. Personally I prefer optimistic outlooks on the future rather than the dystopian futures that seem to be so popular right now. What I find so compelling though is that the questions science fiction tend to ask are, “where we will go as a species and what will happen when we get there?” Whether it be the future, an alternative present, or even an alternative past. You can do anything with science fiction. You can create wonderful and optimistic or terribly awful and oppressive futures. Both are compelling and are only as good as the heroes and villains that navigate those worlds. 

There are people like Jules Verne and H.G. Wells that get credit for pioneering or at the very least popularizing the idea of science fiction or futurism. However today we think of science fiction as having something to do with technology. Like time machines, submarines, flying machines, and epic journeys to the center of the earth. However science fiction’s roots go further back to even before the renaissance. I say the renaissance because that is a time when people looked up at the sky and instead of seeing god or gods they thought “are we alone?” Before the idea of technology and advanced technology fed the ideas of novelists, it was magic and mysticism that answered the questions of the human condition. What would a human do with immeasurable power? Does that power corrupt? The Tales of One Thousand and One Nights (Arabian Nights), answers those questions and more. Some people will say “Thats fantasy not science fiction!” In One Thousand and One Nights there is a story called "The Ebony Horse" and it’s depicts a man-made horse that, with the turn of an enchanted key, could carry a man and his cart into outer space. One Thousand and One Nights is full of automatons, magic lamps, mansions on the moon, mummies, and so much more. Just because the credit goes to magic in these stories and not science, in my opinion doesn’t make these stories any less important to the history of science fiction. In fact I would argue that One Thousand and One Nights is either the origin or very close to the origin of science fiction. 

It wasn’t until the renaissance and the years following it, would we start recognizing or categorizing the genre as science fiction. During and the years immediately following the Italian Renaissance our civilization felt that they had made a turn in understanding the universe and it’s origins and for the first time were able to ask questions about our world and universe. In fact acknowledging that there was more beyond our world in and of itself was an enormous step. Not only the question “Are we alone?” was being asked but “What comes next?” “How far will we go?” “What does the future i.e. science have in-stored for us?” 

This week will explore more of the history of science fiction. A lost science fiction character. Finally I will explore the impact of science fiction on science fact, as well as discuss and compare Star Wars and Star Trek without, or at the very least try not to make people angry.