Dystopian Fiction and the Death of Boomer Optimism

In this video, I discuss the optimism of classic science-fiction, how dystopian fiction seems to mirror the realities of today, and why fiction writers should attempt to imagine a brighter future.

[Beech]

It's interesting to consider how this perspective once marked a real demarcation between (much of) sci fi and fantasy. The former was defined by the kind of techno utopianism discussed here, whereas fantasy had Tolkien's melancholic 'long defeat', Howard's distrust and distaste for civilization itself, etc. Neither genre really hues to those notions any longer--at least, not consistently.

[Thuazabi]

Funny thing about Star Trek is that its utopian society was built on the remnants of a post-apocalyptic one.

That universe's humanity was only galvanized change after having first contact with an alien species that came subsequent to a decades-long nuclear World War III that wiped out a massive part of the population, and many international conflicts with high body counts preceded that.

It was only after humanity had nearly wiped itself out and was given a collective aspirational goal that they moved towards the light of progress.

Pretty ironic that the exemplar of utopian science fiction had its setting built on one of the most dystopian foundations possible.

[JordanRibera]

I've been told a lot of times that dystopian fiction began as a warning of things that we could avoid.
However, it feels like it stuck around and exploded because it's believable which is pretty grim~.

[JinKee]

Last time I was this early I hadn't given up

[joyshokeir]

I think the techno-optimism of the mid-twentieth century had one fatal flaw: it committed itself to early twenty-first century timelines. By setting firm dates on which we would achieve bases on other planets or A.I. or whatever, we set ourselves up for disappointment. 2000, 2010, 2020 came and went. Even the dreary cyberpunk dystopias of Blade Runner are past-tense. Just more modernity, stretching into some bleak future.

[JinKee]

William Gibson has a sad short story about the death of hope in science fiction called The Gernsback Continuum

[SuperNovaJinckUFO]

This is bugging the shit out of me, but, the people that wrote in the 1950s and 60s were not "boomers". Because in those years the baby boomer generation were just little kids and young teenagers. Arthur C Clarke, Ray Bradbury, and Isaac Asimov were the generation that *raised* the boomers

[milom]

Your videos always make me feel a little high, but i love it. Keep it up, man👌

[Bluehawk]

Take a shot every time he says "dice-topian"

[suppressiontest]

For each time and era there's this looming danger that ppl look to as this special situation they're in, and our day and age isn't that different, most important thing is to keep the spark ignited and always look with an optimistic Eye toward our world.

[montecristo]

“Science fiction makes the improbable possible, and fantasy the impossible probable.”
—Rod Serling

[Zetamen]

I'm happy that I haven't seen one "If capitalism bad, why own thing"

[pcklefrmer]

I love that someone was able to put this into words, because while I've understood the kind of hopelessness among leftists buddies of mine, I've never actually agreed with it.

[nadiapandey-riverstone]

Yay!! It’s Man Carrying (Jake) Thing!! My favorite thing about Saturday’s!! Also I definitely agree with you analysis! Keep it up!

[JoeBauers]

Well done. Thoughtful, thinky appetizer that was quickly devoured, and appreciated... No doubt the earlier, Golden Age science fiction writers were optimistic about the future, the forward line of progress, and the potential for technology to solve societal problems. But they also created masterpieces of dystopian work (I know you and your audience, who are clearly readers know this)... I'm thinking of "1984", "Brave New World, " and later nuclear collapse narratives like "Alas Babylon" and "Canticle for Leibowitz." Today's techno-utopians seem to rely on that optimism about the future as a reason to avoid taking action, now--in the present--which is a bummer, and another sign that our ape brains don't deserve the future--not yet at least. One note: I know what you mean when you say the Star Trek universe is communistic, but that's a fun debate to to pursue. It's a "post scarcity society" where basic human needs are easily met, and the competitive, and basic capitalist motivations have been shifted to the pursuit of status, achievement, and the pursuit of human perfectability.... Oh, gods, please... Beam me up Scotty! I'm ready!

[palmercreated]

A lot of those Dystopian YA novels are about teens born into failed and corrupt societies and overcoming, escaping, or more often then not, reforming them, usually through some collective action. In some ways that's just as hopeful as the Atomic age Sci-Fi.

[annelooney]

I'd just like to say that, Asimov, Clarke, Bradbury, Roddenberry were not boomers, a boomer is someone who was born AFTER ww2 and before the 1960s or so. So, for instance, early cyberpunk was written by people like William Gibson (b. 1948), Bruce Sterling (b. 1954), or Rudy Rucker (b. 1946). Joe Haldeman was born in 1943, so he's a few years too old, but he wrote what I consider to be the most "boomer" science fiction novel, The Forever War (1974)--a great book btw. Aside from the assumption that sexism and racism will diminish in the future, it is not at all optimistic. It was obviously written in response to both the Vietnam War and the novel Starship Troopers and I think you could describe it as dystopian.

The optimistic streak in the writings of the aforementioned authors is probably because they had lived through the Great Depression and then saw that it ended, as well as experiencing advances like penicillin. Regardless, I think that fifties science fiction in particular had an under-discussed tendency towards the dark and negative, with a lot of dystopian or post-apocalyptic themes. Even the optimistic science fiction of the time had nuclear annihilation as an undercurrent. For instance, Clarke's Childhood's End is kind of a utopian novel, but I wouldn't exactly call it optimistic. There's a preoccupation there with nuclear weapons and the utopia has to be imposed by beings outside earth for the explicit reason that humans will destroy ourselves if left to our own devices.



Just my 2c.

[cosmicprison]

There is dystopian storytelling on the one hand, and then there is misanthropic storytelling on the other. The latter is when characters are constantly bitching, complaining, and fighting with each other as if Twitter was their real life. This misanthropy has seeped even into many of our non-dystopian, everyday-life shows. Of course, oftentimes, the things on those two hands do indeed go “hand in hand”: They join and culminate in the genre Grimdark. And unfortunately, Game of Thrones has made it “cool and edgy” to inject Grimdark into all kinds of other stories and settings, mostly fantasy and sci-fi. I used to be able to avoid Grimdark by simply not engaging with Warhammer. Now I can’t even escape Grimdark when watching whatever now passes as “Star Trek”…

[videoslv]

Your videos make me feel like there is hope and also as if I am in an alternate universe 🤩🤪😜 Another great video! Keep it up Man Carrying!

[mysticdragon]

I heard the new "Solarpunk" genre is optimistic. Imaginary Worlds Podcast has a nice episode about it (ep144). There's also a TED Talk by Keisha Howard.