Science fiction is, at heart, speculative fiction; it explores what could be rather than what is. Rather than rely on magic to explain advances in societal progress it sees them gained through a logical process (Saricks 2009, p. 93). These stories are powerful and the characters in them can be inspiring to people outside their fictional setting—so much so that Nichelle Nichols of the original Star Trek series was later employed by NASA to recruit women and members of ethnic minorities to their astronaut program (NASA Archives 2014). Nichelle Nichols has since worked hard to make that element of her sci-fi world a reality.
However, without an inspiring speech at the right time, this might never have happened. Nichelle Nichols remembers telling Gene Roddenbery that she was going to quit the show after one season, then going to a banquet where she met Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and broke the news to him—to his dismay: “You have the first important non-traditional role, non-stereotypical role. … You cannot abdicate your position. You are changing the minds of people across the world, because for the first time, through you, we see ourselves and what can be” (PBS 2019). So one person became the ambassador for many to a future that, through the medium of science fiction, became reality.
But the same impact can be had to exclude rather than include more readers. Some of us, unfamiliar with or perhaps unable to avail ourselves of databases like NoveList or Fantastic Fiction, browse shelves and perhaps favor books that have shiny awards stickers attached to their dust jackets, or reviews with exclamation marks on the covers. In 2015, the Hugo Awards made the news when a small band of politically-motivated voters decided to rig the system.
[Discussion of the 2015 Hugo Awards upset]
Samuel Delany was a Hugo Award winner in a time when he was one of an even smaller number of minority writers in the field of science fiction; on this controversy he says, “It has to do with the rest of society where science fiction exists” (Bebergal 2015). Now that the 2018 Nebula Award finalists have been named, we see the field of science fiction—ever political and idealist—is not finished on this subject (Buhlert 2019). Or, in the words of N.K. Jemisin, “WE JUST WENT THROUGH ALL THIS, FFS” (Jemisin 2019).
However, without an inspiring speech at the right time, this might never have happened. Nichelle Nichols remembers telling Gene Roddenbery that she was going to quit the show after one season, then going to a banquet where she met Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and broke the news to him—to his dismay: “You have the first important non-traditional role, non-stereotypical role. … You cannot abdicate your position. You are changing the minds of people across the world, because for the first time, through you, we see ourselves and what can be” (PBS 2019). So one person became the ambassador for many to a future that, through the medium of science fiction, became reality.
But the same impact can be had to exclude rather than include more readers. Some of us, unfamiliar with or perhaps unable to avail ourselves of databases like NoveList or Fantastic Fiction, browse shelves and perhaps favor books that have shiny awards stickers attached to their dust jackets, or reviews with exclamation marks on the covers. In 2015, the Hugo Awards made the news when a small band of politically-motivated voters decided to rig the system.
[Discussion of the 2015 Hugo Awards upset]
Samuel Delany was a Hugo Award winner in a time when he was one of an even smaller number of minority writers in the field of science fiction; on this controversy he says, “It has to do with the rest of society where science fiction exists” (Bebergal 2015). Now that the 2018 Nebula Award finalists have been named, we see the field of science fiction—ever political and idealist—is not finished on this subject (Buhlert 2019). Or, in the words of N.K. Jemisin, “WE JUST WENT THROUGH ALL THIS, FFS” (Jemisin 2019).
[If you're interested in my paper, I'm happy to send it to you along with the citations to which these references belong!]
Wow, I read a short article about the 2015 Hugo awards just to get an idea of what happened and that is outrageous! Your paper sounds very interesting. I didn't know Nichelle Nichols was so instrumental in recruiting diverse people to NASA. She is an icon for sure
ReplyDeleteHi, Caitlyn! This issue really is outrageous--and still ongoing! Nichelle Nichols actually helped recruit Sally Ride and Judith Resnik... I love that. Science fiction is crazy.
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