The Evolution of Science Fiction in American Popular Culture

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All fiction writing begins with an idea, a concept based on an acute observation of the world that can be captured in a new and exciting way. This study of the everyday world yields stories of the love of a couple, a child coming of age, a plane crash in a distant county, or even the stealing of some rare gem, and an author asks: what is the story in this? As the author answers this question, the tales are woven into a newspaper article or a personal essay recounting the event, or even a work of fiction inspired by that daring chase scene seen on TV. However, other observations lend themselves to a different form of writing, providing a different type of inspiration. Rather than asking what the story is, the author of science fiction asks: what if? Though there is no concrete definition of science fiction, in its truest form, it is about more than far-fetched tails of alien species traveling the galaxy or a ship being sucked through a wormhole into a different dimension: it is the exploration of an idea that has not yet become a scientific reality. As the genre developed, authors made science fiction an avenue for expressing their thoughts on political matters. Science fiction grew from a nameless literary form into a defined genre, becoming part of American popular culture as it developed into a medium of social and political expression.

There is no one agreed-upon definition of science fiction. Authors have tried since the 1920s to give the genre a definition, but one has still not been reached (Knight 317). However, there are several concepts that can usually be found in science fiction or "SF," as it is also called. Above anything else, what makes true SF is the incorporation of facts or discoveries that can be explained scientifically. In other words, "When science fiction includes ideas that cannot be explained by science, then it is labeled fantasy" (Datnow 7). Theodore Sturgeon, a leader in the field of science fiction, offers a more comprehensive description­: "A science fiction story is a story built around human beings, with a human problem, and a human solution, which would not have happened at all without its scientific content" (Knight 312). Similarly, Sam Moskowitz, who was recognized during the 1950s as an authority on the history of science fiction, states that science fiction is a branch of fantasy that utilizes, " . . . an atmosphere of scientific credibility for its imaginative speculation in physical science, space, time, social science, and philosophy" (Moskowitz 11). However, there is often confusion about what separates fantasy from science fiction. One manifestation of the undefined area between the two is a sub-genre referred to as "science-fantasy." In this genre, the author is allowed to have one fantastic assumption. In other words, authors of science-fantasy, " . . . don't care whether their gadgets will work or not" (Knight 368). Some noteworthy authors who wrote in this genre are Isaac Asimov (though he was known as an "encyclopedic" science writer), H. G. Wells and Arthur C. Clarke (368). As suggested by science fiction writer and critic Damon Knight, true science fiction can be separated from science-fantasy and other sub-genres, by inserting, " . . . 'speculative' before 'scientific'— it cleanly divides true science fiction from even the best imitations" (312). Science fiction grew to embody many different definitions, with the branches taking on separate names, but the genre can go beyond far-fetched entertainment stories to become a glimpse of a potential future.

Science fiction is not prophecy, only prediction. A science fiction author may talk as if they know exactly what the future will be like, but they don't. An author can predict what might happen in the future, but it's only speculation. A prediction, in this context, is a general statement about the future, which may or may not come to pass. Prophecy, conversely, is a prediction that would be amazing if it came true. In the end, all of the predictions made in science fiction are fake prophecies; the author states the ideas as fact, but does not necessarily believe the concepts are true. (Knight 316-317) Acclaimed author L. Ron Hubbard gives an example of what is science fiction as opposed to prophecy in the introduction to his bestselling novel Battlefield Earth. Hubbard explains: