Well... I'd say by definition, only science fiction can present any view of the future, optimistic or not. There are tons of great movies and books about the pr

Well... I'd say by definition, only science fiction can present any view of the future, optimistic or not. There are tons of great movies and books about the present and past that are uplifting and optimistic, and certainly plenty of incredibly depressing science fiction novels. I do agree that it's the inspirational character of science fiction that's more important than the particular facts, though.