Boing Boing: A Directory of Wonderful Things
The promo copy contains this grotesquely patronizing bit of gratuitously insulting analysis of science fiction, apparently aimed at ensuring that any science fiction fans who enjoy the work are put firmly in their place and instructed that this is different from that crappy rocket-ship stuff that they’re accustomed to. I thought that this kind of thinking was dead and buried, but apparently, it’s alive and well at A&E’s marketing department.
Gee, it’s alive and well here too . . . .
I read a lot of science fiction in my formative years but moved on (to say I outgrew it would be needlessly inflammatory). I have picked up a couple of examples of the genre lately (Shockwave Rider (sorry, no cover art available)) and I have ordered Snow Crash from the library, since my only exposure to Stephenson is his epic “hacker journalist” piece in WIRED a few years back.
What I seem to be missing is where science fiction crosses over into mainstream or literary fiction: I have yet to meet an ardent science fiction reader who loves Faulkner or Garcia Marquez, who can talk about “Mrs Dalloway” or “The Iliad” with the same fervor.
And of course, this whole notion is a huge and, by definition, inaccurate generalization. But the A&E promo piece does say that science fiction is “typically seen as non-literary.” This should be news to no one, especially someone who is an active practitioner. The unduly shrill tone of the comments undermines their content: rather than give A&E credit for taking a chance on bringing “non-literary” content from an arguably ghetto-ized genre to a national cable audience, Cory attacks them for trying to find some way to tie the quality (with awards and sales as evidence) of the author’s catholic ouevre with this new production.
Perhaps next time, they’ll think twice: if screeds like this keep people from watching it, is that what a fan of the genre would want?