Detriments of sci-fi…
This is another of those “in the unposted archives” entries that I half-wrote, and forgot about. It dates back to the early summer, not sure precisely when, but probably sometime after late may, since I talk about need for cognition — an idea I blatantly ripped off from social psych. I probably should re-visit it with commentary added on a couple things I’ve watched since then, like Eureka, which dead-on fits the genre I’m talking about here… but, lazy-busy-preoccupied will probably win out, like it always does.
So, I got to thinking about the warm fuzzy feeling that science fiction usually gives … and the images it conjures up. Just one of those random trains of thought …
For some reason, I was thinking about names, which led to roses. “A rose by any other name smells just as sweet” … and the counter “but if it were named smelly-shitflower, you probably wouldn’t give it to your girlfriend.” But then, I don’t particularly care about roses … they get way too much attention, and they’re not very interesting as flowers go. Except for Rose Tyler … that Billie Piper is damned hot. Shame that Doctor Who is going to be without her … it’s just not going to be the same.
But that got me thinking … Doctor Who is characteristic of modern pop sci-fi. Not saying like, sci-fi literature (which is just a majorly broad realm), but in particular TV and movie sci-fi. What’s interesting is that, while it roots in some intrinsic sci-fi elements (alien races, time travel, dimension shifts and alternate universes, etc), it’s also got one of those specifically counter-scientific elements: psychic powers.
Now, in the universe as it seems to be, psychic powers make no sense, but that doesn’t stop the show from laying out the idea that humanity is in fact absolutely capable of attaining those powers, and using and recognizing them, etc. Which is why the “psychic paper” trick failed in the last episode of the 2006 season: “everyone at the institute has at least basic psychic training.”
Now, there’s nothing wrong with entertaining fantastic powers or anything, but it got me thinking … there’s another element to video sci-fi. There’s almost always a “mad scientist.” Someone who’s devoted his life to some insane cause that doesn’t make any sense to pursue, discarding what would be considered sane human values to do so. Always a guy working in his basement evil lab. Either that, or the science side of it is so far out of reach it’s simply not attainable.
Could it be possible that sci-fi fulfills people’s need for cognition, enabling them not to pursue real science? Maybe the sci-fi channel’s influence is helping to drive people away from scientific pursuits and polarize society into “sciency types” and “normal people” …