The Importance Of Science Fiction In Our

Society Essay, Research Paper

Science fiction is important to any society, most people see science fiction as entertainment but they don’t realize that science fiction has inspired and expanded many ideas. Canadian science fiction has the potential to inspire ideas through the use of a society, utopian or dystopian through characters that the audience can relate to and verisimilar plot. Science fiction uses a society with utopian or dystopian characteristics. The story “No Renewal” by Spider Robinson cantinas a society which displays dystopian characteristics. The world that this story takes place in has no more natural resources and is over populated. Douglas Bent the main character in this story finds on his birthday that no won cares to show up or bring him any gifts, “The concept of neighborliness, too, has predeceased him; not because he has none, but because he has too many.” This shows how this world is over populated and nobody cares for each other. The society whether it is dystopian or utopian is important in making the audiences believe the story in which the society takes place. Science fiction uses characters, which the audience can relate to. In the story “No Renewal” the main character, which is Douglas Bent, lives a simple life in which most people can relate to. “All his life, Douglas has made winter green tea from fresh maple sap, which requires no sweetening,” this shows how Douglas has simple pleasures like most

of do, also showing that he cares about certain things in his life, which gives us a sense of emotion toward the character in this story. A character in which the audience can relate to, be important in letting the audience share, and under stand the world the character is living in.

Science fiction contains a verisimilar plot. In the story “No Renewal” the plot revolves around a man forgetting how old he is on his birthday, and the world is over populated, the natural resources are gone and the world is over run by industry. “Once Douglas’s family owned hundreds of acres along what was then called simply The Shore Road;” this shows how Douglas use to live on a farm with many acres and his life was simple, now his life in confined and his life is becoming more confusing. In our world today is starting to happen, many families used to own farms, now there are fewer and fewer farms in Canada. Big companies are buying out farmland to make way for the future, they make amusement parks and skyscrapers, and they will only make our life more confusing then it is already. A verisimilar plot is important in a science fiction story, it makes the ideas of the writer’s come to life in a realistic plot were the audience can believe. Thus concludes that Canadian science fiction can inspire ideas or expand existing ones, through the use of a society, utopian or dystopian through characters that the audience can relate to and a verisimilar plot.