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Sci-fi is full of thinly veiled social commentary. The sci-fi aspect distracts you from the fact that messages and themes are shallow and don't really stand on

Sci-fi is full of thinly veiled social commentary. The sci-fi aspect distracts you from the fact that messages and themes are shallow and don't really stand on their own. I loved Star Trek as a kid, it inspired my imagination and I didn't really pick up on the social messages, watching it now it's sort of comical or just boring. But I do get a nostalgic feeling from it and it's entertaining enough to be second screen distraction material when doing boring tasks.

inopinatus 5y ago
It is not thinly veiled: sci-fi is social commentary. Even Greg Egan dialling up the quantum mechanics is ultimately doing so to explore the societal consequences. As you point out, only children think it is actually about the damn robots and spaceships.
- reader_mode 5y ago
  Yeah but the need to place it in sci-fi setting feels like adding fluff to mask the fact that the commentary is weak/trivial/boring or detached from reality/wrong. I wish they made more sci-fi about robots and spaceships, I find that stuff entertaining and inspiring. If I want social commentary I have better sources than sci-fi writers. And there is Sci-Fi that's not social commentary.
  - bullfightonmars 5y ago
    > I loved Star Trek as a kid > And there is Sci-Fi that's not social commentary. I'm not sure that this is true. I think you might be confusing the Action and Adventure genres with Sci-Fi. Star Trek, for example, is almost 100% social commentary.
    - reader_mode 5y ago
      The Martian is the first thing that comes to mind as good Sci-Fi with very little social commentary, there is some politics/drama but it's mostly about the Sci-Fi.
      - inopinatus 5y ago
        I have to point out that The Martian is not science fiction, because the science in the book is, intentionally, not fictional. Merely having science in your narrative doesn’t make something science fiction, otherwise Greg House would qualify. If I remember right, the only liberty taken w.r.t known understanding in The Martian is with regard to the damage potential of Mars atmospherics. It is certainly educational though, and to me, The Martian is rather in the category of “competence porn”
- goatlover 5y ago
  Data and Voyager's holographic doctor being central characters where their personhood is called into question sort of makes it about robots. There's a lot of science fiction scenarios with the holodeck, transporter, and various space anomalies for it to only be social commentary. Sometimes Star Trek does very much deal with science fiction scenarios.

inopinatus 5y ago

It is not thinly veiled: sci-fi is social commentary. Even Greg Egan dialling up the quantum mechanics is ultimately doing so to explore the societal consequences. As you point out, only children think it is actually about the damn robots and spaceships.

reader_mode 5y ago
Yeah but the need to place it in sci-fi setting feels like adding fluff to mask the fact that the commentary is weak/trivial/boring or detached from reality/wrong. I wish they made more sci-fi about robots and spaceships, I find that stuff entertaining and inspiring. If I want social commentary I have better sources than sci-fi writers. And there is Sci-Fi that's not social commentary.
- bullfightonmars 5y ago
  > I loved Star Trek as a kid > And there is Sci-Fi that's not social commentary. I'm not sure that this is true. I think you might be confusing the Action and Adventure genres with Sci-Fi. Star Trek, for example, is almost 100% social commentary.
  - reader_mode 5y ago
    The Martian is the first thing that comes to mind as good Sci-Fi with very little social commentary, there is some politics/drama but it's mostly about the Sci-Fi.
    - inopinatus 5y ago
      I have to point out that The Martian is not science fiction, because the science in the book is, intentionally, not fictional. Merely having science in your narrative doesn’t make something science fiction, otherwise Greg House would qualify. If I remember right, the only liberty taken w.r.t known understanding in The Martian is with regard to the damage potential of Mars atmospherics. It is certainly educational though, and to me, The Martian is rather in the category of “competence porn”
goatlover 5y ago
Data and Voyager's holographic doctor being central characters where their personhood is called into question sort of makes it about robots. There's a lot of science fiction scenarios with the holodeck, transporter, and various space anomalies for it to only be social commentary. Sometimes Star Trek does very much deal with science fiction scenarios.