In this week’s episode, we take a deep dive into a topic that most people who enjoy pop culture have thought of at some point: “What is Science Fiction?” In this first part, we lay the groundwork for discussing our favorite Sci-Fi across all media by defining terms of science fiction.
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:11 James introduces the show with our special guest, Jack Adrien, to try and answer the question, “What is science fiction?" James gives a background of how this question evolved as a topic we wanted to discuss and then turns it over to Jack for some opening thoughts. We begin with different ideas centered around the question, “how do we define science fiction?”
3:45 Jack starts by defining the subject based on the definition given by Shawn Coyne in “The Story Grid,” sharing all the possible sub genera of science fiction. Jack then goes on to talk about a broader idea of science fiction called the Novum. First coined by Ernst Bloch, it means “an element of science that one could imagine could exist.” Chris responds with his own thoughts based on the definitions that Jack presented.
10:18 Joe brings up the topic of “Cognitive Estrangement” that Darko Suvin coined, estranging us from reality. This leads to Joe giving his thoughts about the definition put forward by Jack. James also weighs in with his thoughts and how they have changed from when he first started consuming science fiction.
13:48 Jack provides a definition of “Cognitive Estrangement” this leads to talking about a purist definition of Sci-Fi. This brings us to the works of Ted Chiang. Jack admits that he likes his sci-fi in between a purist definition and the larger, more forgiving definition, like “The Matrix”. Chris asks the question: does the genre advance the story that the person is telling? This leads us to a comparison of The Expanse vs Game of Thrones.
22:20 Joe responds and weighs in on the idea of story. He quotes Isaac Asimov and brings up how sci-fi grew into its own brand of literature. James expounds upon this with Joe, and how that job of sci- fi is to inform and entertain. Jack weighs in with his thoughts on story; how story can define how we fit in the real world and what is going on in the real world.
28:45 Joe responds to Jack and gives his own definition of science fiction: “speculation through introspection." Where do we fit in the universe? Chris builds upon what Joe said about story and how binding history to a story made him more interested in learning about history.
32:35 Jack talks about how frustrating it is when science fiction gets lumped in with
action adventure, arguing there is no story or substance with these stories or movies. This leads to a conversation about why a science fiction movie has not won an Academy Award. Joe backs up Jack’s thoughts on how people misclassify sci-fi and that is part of what prevents it from getting the respect it deserves. Chris talks about gatekeeper culture and how that is seen in many parts of society, and not just sci-fi.
38:52 Jack goes over Shawn Coyne’s 5 leaf infographic (this will be available below). This breaks down stories and sub classification. Jack also defines “miracle exemptions:" how far removed from reality is a story before it becomes fantasy.
Story Grid - How to Write a Book People Will Read available at https://storygrid.com/
The Story Grid Five Leaf Genre Clover Infographic available at https://storygrid.com/resources/five-leaf-genre-clover-infographic/
