Science Fiction as Modern Myth - Part I

Science Fiction as Modern Myth - Part I - Daryl G. Frazetti

For the first blog, I wanted to begin a short series discussing science fiction as modern, or contemporary, myth.  Science fiction is the most visible form of contemporary influential form of futuristic thinking.  What makes this genre so popular?  Well, one reason may very well be how holistic it is in its exploration of the human condition across space and time.  It speaks to the whole person, the whole person on an individual level, about the future.

It is difficult to define science fiction, in part because not all science fiction is focused on the future or written in a futuristic setting.  Though, its primary focus has been to act as a  narrative on the future.  Basically, for the purposes of this blog and future blogs here, science fiction is a narrative on the future of the human condition.  It utilizes  plots and storylines that involve humans and human problems and makes use of aliens to also represent human problems.

Science fiction engages the total capacity of the human mind. It instills a holistic, forward thinking consciousness in individuals.  It combines realities from the human past and present while speculating about the future of humanity.  It offers glimpses into possible outcomes of the various choices humans make and the various paths they choose to follow.

Since science fiction is a reflection of the human condition across space and time, and since it promotes futuristic and forward thinking about the human condition, science fiction can indeed be said to be a form of contemporary, futuristic, mythology.

In the next blog, Part II, I will discuss religion and religious myth, and traditional myth as compared to science fiction to further support science fiction as true mythos for the future of the human condition.

I shall attempt to post weekly or biweekly blogs !