Elizabeth Barrette (ysabetwordsmith) wrote,
Elizabeth Barrette
ysabetwordsmith
  • Mood: frustrated

Untapped Potential in SF

This article talks about untapped potential in SF.

Untapped?  I've been banging it like a rented drum since I could hold a pencil.  So have lots of other writers I know.  So have my favorite shows.  There's a reason most of my favorites run high in diversity, and why I've taken to dicing up ensemble casts to make a good mix.  It's how I want to see the future.  Plus I have an increasing tendency to look at the cast first when considering a new show.  All white male?  Back on the shelf it goes.  Some female, multicultural, disabled, etc. representation?  Flip it over and read the back.  The higher the mix, the more likely I am to buy it.

Steampunk?  It's not just for white blokes anymore.  Superheroes?  Explosion in a paint factory.  Far-future SF?  All my diversity, let me show you it!

I also used material created by and for people of color to entice prison inmates to read poetry and fiction -- to show them that people like themselves could be writers, heroes, could have a future.  It's one of the most subversive things I've done, and it worked.

But every time somebody says "untapped" or the like, they are dismissing  decades worth of awesome accomplishments by all us folks who have been make this stuff.
Tags: ethnic studies, networking, reading, science fiction
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  • 11 comments
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ysabetwordsmith

Re: Yes...

ysabetwordsmith

November 23 2014, 03:58:08 UTC 6 years ago

It's more common for species senses to diverge than overlap. A human's color vision is much better than a dog's, but the dog has better smell. A human cannot echolocate like a dolphin does, but has a far more refined sense of touch and more manipulatory organs. Sometimes people feel inadequate over what they can't do. Sometimes they feel smug over what they can. It's more fun if you just compensate for each other's differences. But look at how humans deal with each other, and that's likely how they'll respond with other species. Some cooperate and some act like jerks.

But hey, feel free to prompt for this at any relevant prompt call.
rhodielady_47

Re: Yes...

rhodielady_47

November 23 2014, 04:10:23 UTC 6 years ago

I've often wondered what would happen if we came across a species we felt comfortable with that had a complementary range of talents to our own.
Sort of like Piper's "Little Fuzzy".
:^}
ysabetwordsmith

Re: Yes...

ysabetwordsmith

November 23 2014, 04:15:28 UTC 6 years ago

I've always enjoyed Alan Dean Foster's Humanx Commonwealth for that reason.

For my own version, well, see the hiveships in The Blueshift Troupers. They are much happier and healthier with a crew than alone. They're people, but they're not humanoid at all, so they have a very different range of strengths and weaknesses. Oh, and I've done fuzzy aliens in The Godship Wanderers, if you'd like to explore that relationship further.
rhodielady_47

Re: Yes...

rhodielady_47

November 23 2014, 04:20:03 UTC 6 years ago

Sounds interesting. Would you give me a link to it?
:^)
ysabetwordsmith

Re: Yes...

ysabetwordsmith

November 23 2014, 04:36:34 UTC 6 years ago

See the Serial Poetry page for The Godship Wanderers. The two poems written so far are "Estrellado" and "Gathering Family."
rhodielady_47

Re: Yes...

rhodielady_47

November 23 2014, 06:45:26 UTC 6 years ago

Thanks!
:^)