The Acceptance of Science Fiction

Ray guns blazing, rocket ship in the background, semi-clad woman with her bosom heaving through a torn blouse or torn skin-tight jumpsuit or torn dress (definitely a theme there), and a tentacled monster in hot pursuit. Those were the days of pulp science fiction, brought to you by one Hugo Gernsback. And yet, within those pages...

For certain, the progenitors of modern science fiction were found within those pages, as well as some of the modern masters of the craft. Buck Rogers first appeared in Amazing Stories, as did E.E. "Doc" Smith's works that led to the Lensman series of space opera novels (which bear similarities to that famous movie from 1977 - Star Wars).

Superman felt right at home in that genre, as did Batman, both created at the dawn of science fiction as a quasi-acceptable genre of story weaving.

Gernsback had a hard time finding many original writers for his publication, and his first edition featured science fiction by the likes of Edgar Allan Poe, Jules Verne, and H.G. Wells, as well as an original piece from Curt Siodmak, who became a legend in science fiction.

Gernsback turned science fiction into a mass media, way, way back in the 1920s, when a magazine printed on pulp paper cost a nickel, or maybe a whopping dime, or, if you were Gernsback, demanded a price of a quarter! The covers were cheesy art (now collector's items) created with an eye to drawing in the pubescent male reader who was the primary reader of fantastical fiction stories about shooting around the galaxy in space ships, saving the world and/or the girl, and keeping the universe safe for truth, justice, and the American way.

Some call this era the Golden Age of science fiction, although it is hard to mine much gold from the pages of "Amazing Stories," which ended its run in 2005 after a publishing history that spanned nearly 8 decades. Perhaps not the Golden Era, but definitely the defining one, since the very phrase "science fiction" was derived from how Gernsback described the contents of his magazine, "scientifiction."

Scientifiction has come a long way since 1926. But not without a struggle. Until 1966, science fiction was rarely taken seriously, with the exception of works such as 1984, Brave New World, On the Beach, and A Clockwork Orange, all of which shared one striking similarity - they were commentaries and allegories about the potential fate of humankind under uncontrolled abuse of technology by government, using a vehicle seen in previous works such as Gulliver's Travels and Through the Looking Glass.

And along came Star Trek.

Star Trek was a breakthrough in acceptability for science fiction, tackling cultural issues and situations head on, set in a backdrop of fantastic space cowboy adventures. It touched on the concept of racial diversity, acceptance of the unknown, xenophobia, and what mankind could accomplish if it put away its penchant for self-destruction and instead worked together.

Science fiction was still the province of a slim segment of popular culture, with its fans being nearly rabidly obsessed with every little nuance and character flaw contained in the program, even going so far as to develop an 'official' version of the Klingon language. The obsessive nature of its fandoms could have sunk the genre, with the general public's vision of science fiction fans dressing up in homespun Star Fleet uniforms and pointy ears.

But George Lucas had a vision of a space opera that broke the mold, and opened the doors to full acceptance of the genre. Star Wars not only became a massive commercial success, with 5 follow-up movies and a line of novels, but also created the technologies that allowed science fiction special effects to become 'real' on the big screen.

Since then, science fiction has done well, and been given a chance to breathe deep. Blade Runner, The Terminator, and Alien were close follow-ups, made in the early 1980s, and received not only commercial success, but critical acclaim as well, and paved the way for 'smart' science fiction, which could be taken seriously by both fans of the genre and the general public, since they tackled hard subjects seriously.

Today's science fiction authors can thank Hugo Gernsback for their success, and did so in 1996 as the first official inductee into the World Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. The World Science Fiction Association, a loose confederation of authors and fandom, named the highest award granted to a work of science fiction, the Hugo, in his honor, in the form of a golden rocket ship.

A golden rocket ship on the shelf seems pretty appealing now, doesn't it.