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Social science fiction orsociological science fiction[1] is asubgenre ofscience fiction, usually (but not necessarily)soft science fiction, concerned less with technology orspace opera and more with speculation about society. Speculation about human behavior and interactions through ananthropological lens is also a key feature of many works.
Exploration of fictional societies is a significant aspect of social science fiction, allowing it to make predictions (The Time Machine, 1895;The Final Circle of Paradise, 1965), offer precautionary warnings (Brave New World, 1932;Nineteen Eighty-Four, 1949;Childhood's End,Fahrenheit 451, 1953), to criticize the contemporary world (Gulliver's Travels, 1726; theworks of Alexander Gromov, 1995–present), to present solutions to social ills (Walden Two,Freedom™), to portray alternative societies (World of the Noon), to shareutopias (William Morris'sNews from Nowhere), and to examine the implications ofethical principles, as for example in theworks ofSergei Lukyanenko.[2] More contemporary examples includeThe Lobster (2015), directed by Greek filmmakerYorgos Lanthimos, andThe Platform (2019).
Social fiction is a broad term to describe any work ofspeculative fiction that features social commentary (as opposed to, say, hypothetical technology) in the foreground.[3] Social science fiction is a subgenre thereof, where social commentary (cultural or political) takes place in a sci-fi universe.Utopian and dystopian fiction is a classic, polarized genre of social science fiction, although most works of science fiction can be interpreted as having social commentary of some kind or other as an important feature. It is not uncommon, therefore, for a sci-fi work to be labeled as social sci-fi as well as numerous other categories.
Thomas More's bookUtopia (1516) represents an early example of the genre.[4] Another early classic writer,Jonathan Swift, penned critical views on current society—his most famous work,Gulliver's Travels (1726), is an example of a novel that is partially social science fiction (with such classic sci-fi elements as pioneering in strange new worlds and experimenting with variations of thehuman anatomy) and partiallyhigh fantasy (e.g., fantastical species that satirize various sectors of society).
One of the writers who used science fiction to explore thesociology of near-future topics wasH. G. Wells, with his classicThe Time Machine (1895) revealing the human race diverging into separate branches ofElois andMorlocks as a consequence ofclass inequality: a happy pastoral society of Elois preyed upon by the Morlocks but yet needing them to keep their world functioning—a thinly veiled criticism ofcapitalist society, where the exploiter class, or thebourgeoisie, is symbolized by the useless, frivolous Elois, and the exploited working class, or theproletariat, is represented by the subterranean-dwelling, malnourished Morlocks. Wells'The Sleeper Awakes (1899, 1910) predicted the spirit of the 20th century: technically advanced, undemocratic and bloody. Next to prognoses of the future of society if current social problems persisted, as well as depictions of alien societies that are exaggerated versions of ours (exemplified byThe War of the Worlds of 1897), Wells also heavily criticized the then-popular concept ofvivisection, experimental "psychiatry" and research that was done for the purpose of restructuring the human mind and memory (clearly emphasized inThe Island of Doctor Moreau, 1896).
In the U.S., thetrend of science fiction away from gadgets andspace opera, and toward speculation about the human condition[5] was championed inpulp magazines of the 1940s. Prominent authors includedRobert A. Heinlein andIsaac Asimov, who invented the term "social science fiction" to describe his own work.[6]
Utopian fiction eventually gave birth to a negative and often more cynical genre, known asdystopian fiction:Aldous Huxley's "negative utopia"Brave New World (1932), as well asAnimal Farm (1945) andNineteen Eighty-Four (1949) byGeorge Orwell. "The thought-destroying force" ofMcCarthyism influencedRay Bradbury'sFahrenheit 451 (1953).The Chrysalids (1955) byJohn Wyndham explored the society of severaltelepathic children in a world hostile to such differences.Robert Sheckley studied polar civilizations of criminal and stability in his 1960 novelThe Status Civilization.
Thenew wave of social science fiction began with the 1960s, when authors such asHarlan Ellison,Brian Aldiss,William Gibson andFrank Herbert wrote novels and stories that reflected real-world political developments andecological issues, but also experimented in creating hypothetical societies of the future or of parallel populated planets. Ellison's main theme was the protest against increasing militarism.Kurt Vonnegut wroteSlaughterhouse-Five (1969), which used the science-fiction storytelling device oftime-travel to explore anti-war, moral, and sociological themes.Frederik Pohl'sGateway series (1977–2004) combined social science fiction withhard science fiction. Modern exponents of social science fiction in theCampbellian/Heinlein tradition includeL. Neil Smith who wrote bothThe Probability Broach (1981) andPallas, which dealt withalternative "sideways in time" futures and what alibertarian society would look like. He sharesRobert A. Heinlein's conceptionindividualism andlibertarianism, in the tradition ofAyn Rand.[7]
Kim Stanley Robinson explored different models of the future in hisThree Californias Trilogy (1984, 1988, 1990).
Doris Lessing won the 2007Nobel Prize for literature. Although known mostly for her mainstream works, she wrote numerous works of social science fiction, includingMemoirs of a Survivor (1974),Briefing for a Descent into Hell (1971), and theCanopus in Argos series (1974–1983).
Examples ofyoung adult dystopian fiction includeThe Hunger Games (2008) bySuzanne Collins,The House of the Scorpion (2002) byNancy Farmer,Divergent (2011) byVeronica Roth,The Maze Runner (2009) byJames Dashner, andDelirium (2011) byLauren Oliver.
Some movies speculate about human behavior and interactions when people are placed in extreme and strange environment likeCube (1997),Cube Zero (2004),Cube 2: Hypercube (2002) orPlatform (2019).Ted Chiang's short story, "Story of Your Life" was adapted into the movieArrival (2016) and focuses on alinguist who learns how to communicate with aliens.
Star Trek is a notable example of a popular TV show that shows the characters interacting with many different societies, to provide political and social commentary on contemporary societal issues.Doctor Who is another example of a popular TV show that showcases ethical and societal issues through social science fiction.
The genre has been very popular in Poland.[1]
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