Problem Solver
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DAVID BRIN recommends science fiction that teaches and inspires
Once mostly the province of nerdy young men, science fiction has become a central part of our culture's myth-making engine, engaging children and adults of all nations. Yet the breadth of SF and its ultimate importance can be difficult for a non-aficionado to grasp. After all, isn't it just spaceships, lasers, and childish stuff?
Well, no it isn't. As with any branch of human storytelling, science fiction offers a spectrum of quality and depth, ranging from Star Wars romps to the profound explorations of George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, and Mary Shelley. A key element in all is fascination with change, and how human beings respond when challenged by it. In other words, there is no genre more relevant to this rapidly transforming world we live in, where citizens of all ages are called upon to contemplate issues that would have boggled their grandparents: environmental degradation, the extinction and creation of new species, cloning, artificial intelligence, instant access to all archived knowledge, and the looming prospect that a coming generation (perhaps the very next one) may have to wrestle with the implications of physical immortality.
As Professor Jim Gunn puts it: "Science fiction is the literature of change, and change is the only constant in our world. Hence the only literature that is 'realistic' is science fiction — any literature that doesn't include and assertively confront the human response to change is historical or fantasy."
Here I offer a a short discussion of ways science fiction fans can help teachers, librarians, parents and students bridge the gap between sci-fi shoot-'em-ups and real, literary Science Fiction where ideas foster debate about present-day situations and consequences, encouraging engagement in truly exploratory adventures of the mind.
inspiring grass-roots activism
what the science fiction fan community can do
Fans are a special breed — millions strong — who maintain a belief that the future is a place that can be explored with brave adventures of the mind, adventures that may even help us avoid errors, the way George Orwell, Aldous Huxley and others gave warnings that helped divert us from dangerous paths.
We've all heard about declining literacy in America. Sherry Gotleib tells that when she first opened the Change of Hobbit bookstore, in L. A., it thronged when the local junior high let out. Over time, these customers stayed loyal, but weren't replaced. In the store's final years, Sherry's average customer was gray-flecked or balding, and the few teens who showed up focused on media or comics.
Polls show an aging of the SF readership. Science fiction themes are popular in films, comics, and games, but the genre's literary heart faces demographic collapse. Worst of all, countless kids forget how to say the most beautiful word in any language: "Wow!"
According to Professor Jim Gunn, some of this demographic situation may be turning around. "There are signs that the teaching of science fiction is picking up again, that young people are beginning to read imaginative literature again, and that the early efforts of organizations such as "Reading for the Future" may be bearing fruit at last!"
That is where it all finally comes around. No altruism is more effective than the kind that begins at home. Each of us lives near some school where bright kids now languish — bored, bullied, or unmotivated. Who among us can't recall facing the same crisis once in our own lives? For many, it was science fiction that helped us turn the corner. Science fiction welcomed us home.
Who will keep fandom going, and run the cons later, when we all want to kick back and be Big Name Fans? As a community of science fiction fans and professionals, shouldn't we make it our chief socially-responsible activity to help expose another generation to a love of "the good stuff?"
With a love of "the good stuff" comes the belief that a problem is something to solve, that the future is in our hands, that what we do now matters, that fans working together can create a better world?
storming the classroom
going where enquiring minds are
Most fan organizations have in their charters a major provision for "outreach and education." Yet this seldom gets priority. Here is a relatively painless approach, already tried with success at several conventions, offering a win-win situation for all: the Saturday morning SF-education mini-conference.
It starts by simply gathering all the routine "SF/youth/education" panels into a cohesive group, then making a real effort to invite area teachers and librarians to attend that part of the con for free (with reasonable upgrades for those wanting to stay). Some teachers can then be recruited to help adjust next year's program to further meet their needs.
In a year or two, the mini-conference can be granting credential credit with momentum all its own. Moreover, it can be a money-maker for the convention, as attendees convert their free half-day memberships and tell their friends! Later, corporate sponsorships become a real possibility.
With teachers and librarians on board, you can generate great projects that involve kids in creative ways; for example, running a science fiction reading, writing and art contest in area schools, culminating in a grand awards ceremony at the local con.
This kind of thing has worked already — at Worldcon in Baltimore, Chicago, Philadelphia, and every year in Salt Lake City.
If nothing else, running a focused "SF & Education Miniconference" sure beats scattering the usual youth- and education-related panels all over the weekend. It seems worthwhile to focus some effort on the future, since that's what SF is all about.
pros and con-ventions
what fan organizations can do
Ever since Greg Benford, Greg Bear, and I first raised these questions, a number of SF-oriented clubs and fan groups have focused their con-auctions, fund-raisers, and charity drives toward raising SF literacy in their own communities. In many cases this begins with meeting English teachers and/or librarians and finding out their needs. What else can fan orgs do?
There is self-interest operating here. Authors who give talks often acquire new fans. Local conventions that sponsor a SF club may soon have new members.
So there it is. A general outline of some efforts that are currently underway to use the most American form of literature — Science Fiction — in the cause of helping kids learn and science prosper. This is not so much a prescription as a call for people to think about how the literature that is most about foresight and hope can somehow influence both young people and society at large.
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