Fear This
Judith Berman extends Steve Carpers thoughts on fear and the rise of “futures of endangered humanity” in the field of SF.
If the genre is hiding its head in the perfumed sands of nostalgia, Judith suggests that a better response would be to confront those fears. While few look forward to a genre filled with depressing stories, Judith makes the keen point that the stories don’t have to be depressing.
Most of us enjoy a good scare: let the stories be frightening.
To which I would add: most of readers like to root for the underdog, the outmatched, heroes who must struggle against powerful odds and are likely to fail. All of which describe human heroes in the “futures of endangered humanity.”
The nickle tour? “If there are sf writers who are
frightened about the future and they are writing comfortable nostalgia instead,
or stories that merely indulge in anxiety about technological change rather
than address that anxiety head on, then maybe they should find a different
ill-paying hobby.”