Robots and Aliens vs. Elves and Orcs - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

radagastly · 09-12-2004, 01:47 PM

I've always thought that the inordinate popularity of the Science Fiction in the seventies was a direct result of the popularity of "The Lord of the Rings" in the sixties. The pendulum has currently swung back the other way, in large part due to Peter Jackson and the Harry Potter books. There will, no doubt, be a resurgence in the popularity of Science Fiction as some people tire of dragons and elves in favor of the real creatures they see around them, whether those creatures are terrorists or stem-cell researchers or Martian microbes from Antarctica.

But Tolkien will still be there. One of the main reasons for his popularity is that he speaks to the arc of the human experience in a difficult world. Science Fiction tends to speak to social issues. Since social issues tend to change, Science Fiction must evolve with them. Fantasy at its best has no such constraints. It can embrace such temporal things, but it need not do so.

09-12-2004, 01:47 PM	#5
radagastly Shade of Carn Dûm Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Washington, D. C., USA Posts: 299	I've always thought that the inordinate popularity of the Science Fiction in the seventies was a direct result of the popularity of "The Lord of the Rings" in the sixties. The pendulum has currently swung back the other way, in large part due to Peter Jackson and the Harry Potter books. There will, no doubt, be a resurgence in the popularity of Science Fiction as some people tire of dragons and elves in favor of the real creatures they see around them, whether those creatures are terrorists or stem-cell researchers or Martian microbes from Antarctica. But Tolkien will still be there. One of the main reasons for his popularity is that he speaks to the arc of the human experience in a difficult world. Science Fiction tends to speak to social issues. Since social issues tend to change, Science Fiction must evolve with them. Fantasy at its best has no such constraints. It can embrace such temporal things, but it need not do so. __________________ But all the while I sit and think of times there were before, I listen for returning feet and voices at the door.