Why does anything appeal to us? I’m sharing my thoughts on the appeal of sci-fi and fantasy.
I was not quite five years old. My mom and dad took me to see a movie.
The opening music blared, the words crawled up the screen, and then a starship soared in – being fired on by another, bigger ship.
To say I was immediately hooked I think is an understatement. Though I don’t recall any other details about that experience – I remember seeing Star Wars (Episode IV – A New Hope) for the first time thrilled me.
I have very few childhood memories for many reasons. But that one is there. That one snippet of time remains.
Now, 40+ years later, I still love all things Star Wars. Other works of sci-fi joined that along the way, too.
Somewhere in my teens, I got into fantasy. Swords and sorcery, fantastical past times and myths were just as cool an escape as sci-fi futures. In my late teens, I began to learn medieval rapier – and have been working forms and playing with different weapons along those lines for over 30 years.
Yes, sci-fi and fantasy are something of a niche market. Less so than they used to be, given the increasing success of streaming sci-fi and fantasy shows and films arriving with increased frequency.
I love watching and reading sci-fi and fantasy as much as writing them. But what is the appeal to us?
Part of the appeal to us is escapism
“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away” evokes something big and intriguing and unique. The modern-day “once upon a time” in many respects.
Fantasy worlds of dragons and other mythical beasts, edged weapons, magics, and broad stories telling of heroic journeys and epic quests take us to imaginative places. I don’t know about you, but as a kid I loved to pretend I was fighting monsters with swords, casting spells of protection, and the like.
As an adult, I still have both dulled, real swords and blunted and dulled combat weapons. My favorite form of rapier combat is two swords – one blade in each hand. Yes, there is a historic precedent for this in medieval reenactment – but it’s not common. Though also great exercise – fencing is tied to my love of the escapism of medieval fantasy.
Likewise, my swingset as a child was my starship. Sometimes, my favorite swing was the captain’s chair. Other times the cockpit of my starfighter. I loved being a futuristic hero or adventurer.
Now I write stuff along those lines. And I love a lot of different sci-fi and fantasy programs. The escapism to another place past or future is exciting.
And let’s be honest – it’s nice to get away, sometimes, from the world. I only take in enough news to be generally in the know – I stopped watching newscasts or reading newspapers and media websites for the sake of my sanity.
A little escapism to a place that isn’t real – future or alternative dimension of a medieval or renaissance past – opens the imagination as well as lets us release and recenter from a crazy world.
Part of the appeal to us is potential
Sci-fi tends to show us possible futures both good and bad.
Star Trek is a mostly utopian future for the human race. Mostly, because it came after a devastating war, and people and aliens can still be assholes in the future. But its message is one of hope for us all. The appeal to us is pretty clear there. Maybe in the future, we’ll be less self-destructive.
But then you get The Expanse, Blade Runner, Firefly, Snow Crash, and countless other dystopian futures. Humankind is always on the verge of its utter destruction in some way or other.
But there is always that glimmer of hope. We’re seeing this from the darkness before the dawn – and that appeals to a broad audience.
With fantasy, we can often see what ordinary people can do in extraordinary circumstances. Who doesn’t want to be the peasant who saves the world and becomes a benevolent ruler?
These stories are all about human potential and possibilities. Sure, things might suck a lot in one way or another – but there’s hope. Things can and will improve. Someone is doing something altruistically for the greater good – often after railing against it or resisting the call to heroism.
And look how many sci-fi ideas are a reality today? What sort of device are you reading these words on? Less than 50 years ago it was a fantasy of sci-fi tech.
Why does potential appeal to us? Because it means that despite what the news media shows us, all the craziness of the world in which we live – there are possibilities. There is potential to be better than we are now.
Let’s not discount fun
I love watching sword fights. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched the fight on the cliff in The Princess Bride. The classic fights from the likes of Basil Rathbone and Errol Flynn are fun to watch.
I know they are often shown in a way that’s counter to reality – but watching things blow up in space, lasers blazing, the distinct scream-roar of a TIE fighter – it’s just fun. They are exciting and entertaining to watch.
As kids, I think most of what we sought after was tied to fun. Kids love to have fun – there’s a lot of appeal to us for fun things that carry over to our adult lives.
However, as adults – we tend to reject having fun. We get too busy with work, family, obligations, and supposed expectations of adulthood that are anything BUT fun. And then, we wonder why we’re so stressed, depressed, and anxious as often as we are.
The appeal to us of fantasy and sci-fi is in no small part because it’s fun. In my opinion, there are two perfect examples of fun and these genres.
Have you watched Seth MacFarlane’s The Orville? While it’s clearly his version of Star Trek, he takes a more humorous approach to humanity in the future. And it’s a lot of fun.
Similarly – The Legend of Vox Machina might be a cartoon D&D campaign – but it’s got moments of hilarity and fun. It does not take itself seriously and is a great escape.
Fun is important. It’s good for our mental, emotional, spiritual, and ultimately physical healthy. And we should have more of it.
The greatest appeal of all
It is far, far too easy to take life too seriously.
Sure, some matters need to be attended to, things that must be done, bills paid, and the like. But why do so many people live life with so little joy and fun?
We are capable of amazing things – like creating sci-fi and fantasy stories. Yet we love to ignore and poo-poo it for being serious, working, responsibilities, and such. We’re capable of turning many of our fantasies into realities – and that’s no small feat. No other animals on Planet Earth can do that.
Why do we suck all the fun and joy out of it?
Sci-fi and fantasy – and other creative ideas appeal to us because they are what make us amazing. We are capable of Imaging and creating just about anything we put our minds to. And that appeals to us because it stirs our drive to grow, change, and evolve.
Even those most resistant to changing and evolving change and evolve. People open to that, I believe, can find and/or create joy in it.
The appeal to us of sci-fi and fantasy is empowering creativity. Stirring imagination. We might not directly recognize or acknowledge that – but I believe it to be true.
Does sci-fi and fantasy appeal to you? If not – what imaginative ideas do?
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