Introduction
Welcome, visitor to the Midlands Network of Popular Culture! I invite you to follow me on a journey into the world of science-fiction that will transform your opinion of the genre entirely. Our journey will culminate in the moment I convince you that science-fiction transcends those crudely-drawn boundaries that purport to separate the ‘popular genres’ from one another. The rigid enforcement of genre boundaries is part of an academic conspiracy so large that even the likes of the X-Files could not have predicted it. Our committee shall play the roles of Fox Mulder and Dana Scully: why wouldn’t you want to join us?
The History of the Science-Fiction Genre
I would argue that the question of science-fiction's 'starting point' is irrelevant due to the interconnectedness of popular culture throughout history. The debate over which text is the text that kicked off the science-fiction genre is hotly contested by many critics. Multiple commentators have attempted to chart the canon of science-fiction, each placing its beginning in various eras. Some insist that Homer’s Odyssey is science-fiction; a wildly different claim to the oft-cited Frankenstein (Slusser, 2005; Shelley, 1818).
For the sake of refuting genre boundaries, we must first explore the field of science-fiction genre studies from which those boundaries arise. There are certain phases scholars identify as key moments in the genre. H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine (Wells, 1895) has become a poster child for the argument that the late 19th Century gave birth to the genre. Events such as the industrial revolution and the publication of the Charles Darwin’s autobiographical The Voyage of the Beagle (Darwin, 1839) and his later famous scientific theory of natural selection in On the Origin of Species (Darwin, 1859) have been used as evidence in the argument that this moment was ‘the’ moment that combined science and literature. Others cite the 1930s magazine era as the beginning of the genre as Hugo Gernsback, editor of Amazing Stories (1926-Present), renowned for its science-fiction publications, began to enrol earlier writers into the canon of science-fiction (Bould and Vint, 2011).
His belief was that science-fiction was a way to popularize scientific theory through the medium of literature. Many have criticized this claim, however, as merely an excuse to gain profit. One must establish a market niche before one can begin to fill it, (Bould and Vint, 2011). The 1960s saw an explosion of artistic literary creation with the reclaiming of a genre that had once been exclusively white, heterosexual, and male (Bould and Vint, 2011). Critics call this movement, which is heavily linked to successive gains in civil rights, the “New Wave” of science-fiction (Bould and Vint, 2011). Authors like Samuel Delany, a key figure of this movement, are often associated with the very beginnings of contemporary science-fiction, notable for working hard to explore the consequences of our science-oriented culture on the everyday lives of people (Bould and Vint, 2011; Bebergal, 2015).
These are just three moments among many that have been identified as the moment of science-fiction. Not that I agree with any of them. There are two strands of argument at work here, identified by George Slusser as gradualism and catastrophism (Slusser, 2005). Gradualists believe that, throughout literary history, the convergence of fantastical elements and contemporaneous scientific theory has led to transformations in the genre over time; that science-fiction as an umbrella term has existed since the very beginning of literature. Others-- those on the catastrophism side of the debate-- believe that a moment of drastic change created the genre, and that the genre has continued to change ever since. As the Introduction implies, this X-Files fan does not agree with either group. If I had to choose, I would say I lean towards the gradualist side. There is some merit, for example, in Carl Freedman’s notions of science-fiction favouring some tropes over others, depending on the context of the literature (2000). The point of this post, however, is to complicate this argument even further to unravel the conspiracy of generic boundary-policing. The qualities of science-fiction may be found elsewhere, while science-fiction itself is not impervious to outside influences.
Genetically Splicing the Gothic and Science-Fiction Genres
Body horror. This is my example for the most prominent crossover with the ostensibly distinct genre of the Gothic. From the terrifying, phallic shaping of the Xenomorphs to the chilling genetic engineering of the splicers in Bioshock, science-fiction is right there on the cutting edge of the Gothic genre. Many popular science-fiction movies borrow techniques from horror films, such as that blood-curdling jump scare or obscure dark filters to create the perfect moody atmosphere. Science-fiction literature often builds on this sister genre to contextualize key themes. For example, one can argue that The Time Machine (1895) plays with the Gothic trope of the sublime landscape, found in Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818), but instead imagines this sublime Gothic landscape as it exists in the future. Wells shows us a hideously degenerate future world that is filled with monstrous, non-human beings into which we, as a species, devolve into at the end of the Earth’s life cycle. If we are keen for a more contemporary example, the post-apocalyptic world found in Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) resembles the wild and untamed nature of a barren Earth that echoes that trope of the Sublime that has persisted throughout the Gothic genre’s history.
Similarly, within the two genres, the monster and the alien often crossover and occupy a space that has been ripe for the proverbial picking. In fact, many critics have picked at, and will continue to pick at, the positions of these two creatures in each genre. Both the monster and the alien are othered in multiple science-fiction and Gothic texts in order to frame important discussions about the nature of being human and the classification of what the human really is. The posthuman nature of monsters and aliens are particularly apparent in the many instances in which they take on an image that is close to our own. This is not always the case, however. The early uses and appearances of both aliens and monsters have problematic connotations in the context of racial marginalization. Many later texts use this othering of the monster and the alien to explore and deconstruct dominant fears regarding difference. They bring identity studies, sociology, and philosophy of ‘the other’ to the forefront of their texts. Frequently, the robot and the android are beginning to take the place of the alien as monstrous or semi-monstrous beings that seek to validate their own identities: think Westworld (2016-present) or the film adaptation of I, Robot (2004).
A similar treatment of ‘the other’ can be found in the marginalization of the Werewolves in the Underworld franchise. The species war that forms the heart of the plot is later revealed in Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009) to be rooted in the subjugation Werewolves face at the hands of the Vampires. A failed Lycan rebellion results in the death of two of its leaders - a Vampire and Werewolf who were in love. Their destruction symbolizes the destruction of any attempt at hybridizing and harmonizing the two species. The subjugation of the Werewolves and the condemnation of a perceived miscegenation between both Werewolves and Vampires echoes concerns raised in race politics. In these examples, androids and monsters become a site in which identity formation and its treatment within contemporary culture is explored. In both genres, this is also extremely problematic. These tropes are evidence of the once-white domination of these genres and the issues that continue to arise from this.
Sweeping Science-Fiction off its Feet with the Romance Genre
Science-fiction and romance. What could be romantic about the treatment of gender in science-fiction? Science-fiction has often had a connection with feminism. Of course, the “New Wave” science-fiction of the 1960s, featuring authors like Joanna Russ and Octavia E. Butler with The Female Man (1975) and the Xenogenesis series (1987-1989), did begin a revolution in the tendencies of science-fiction to fit the progress of civil-rights movements (Bould and Vint, 2011). Nonetheless, what does the relationship between feminism and science-fiction have to do with the romance genre? I argue that a link lies in the representation of relationships in contemporary science-fiction. Recent works are beginning to explore romantic relationships between their human characters and non-human, subhuman, and post-human characters. Romance plots have always been hidden in the background of science-fiction. Romance underpins works from the predictable and problematic Clark Kent and Lois Lane who have often been cited in popular references to great love affairs all the way through to Nancy Kress’ explorations of how a human and an alien woman love affair can bring about harmony and hybridity between two cultures in her Yesterday’s Kin trilogy (2017-2019). The idea that love and compassion are the key to a more harmonious world is echoed in Robert J Sawyer's Neanderthal Parallax trilogy (2002-2003), in which the female protagonist and her Neanderthal lover bring two worlds, in danger of falling into tribalism, together.
There are even texts in the romance genre that write back to the patriarchal dominance of science-fiction by borrowing aliens, mutants, and future technologies as the background for their overarching love plot. Most notably these can be seen in the examples Seduced by an Taken by the Alien Warrior: Warriors of Argon (2020) series and His Human Nanny: Monsters Love Curvy Girls series (2020). When thinking of these texts, one cannot easily separate the romance and science-fiction genres. The title of the last series ‘Monsters Love Curvy Girls’ demonstrates a further crossover between the Gothic, science-fiction, and romance genres! The co-opting of science-fiction ‘tropes’ by the Romance and Erotica ‘genres’ demonstrates a reclaiming of the patriarchal tendencies in science-fiction. This intermingling of science-fiction tropes in romance transforms the latter genre into one which does not create standards for women, but, rather, allows for the satisfaction of women's own needs and desires. One need only point to the multiple gay-pairings in many of the science-fiction fandoms that exist today, the most prolific and long-running being that of Kirk and Spock from the Star Trek fandom, to see how science-fiction is also being queered by its fan community in ways that reclaim and contest the genre's extremely heterosexual origins.
Conclusion
Although the links between the genres I've outlined may seem tenuous, their quantity and variety stand testament to my belief that genres are more like a beautiful, woven tapestry: the boundaries between them blend into one another to create the moment of popular culture in which we live. Of course, this is but a mere whistle-stop tour through extremely rich genres, so please feel free to leave your own blog post in a response to my argument if you disagree!
Sincerely,
MNPC (a.k.a Fox Mulder and Dana Scully).
Written by Jayde Martin
Legal fine print
Disclaimer: Fox Mulder and Dana Scully do not belong to MNPC. They are creations of, and belong to, the FOX Broadcasting Company and the shows’ respective writers, directors, et al.