In high school English class we are made to read many literary works that encompass a variety of themes. However, science fiction and fantasy literature has long been relegated to the niche classes, taught to only the specifically interested and those looking to fill requirements. Works in the genre are rarely considered seriously, but are banished to the basement with the nerds.

Fantasy, a story in which events that are not possible in our knowledge of the world occur, has been around almost as long as writing itself. Sci-fi’s depiction of events that are technically possible or may be possible in the future using scientific knowledge, is more recent, but can still be traced back to the 1800s with works like Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds, and Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days. Such distinguished works as those mentioned above clearly come within the realm of science fiction and fantasy, and are considered classics--so why is modern science fiction and fantasy looked upon with a sneer by the classically-taught literate?

Yes, it can be kind of ridiculous. Any novelizations of movies or TV shows such as Star Wars or Star Trek can’t be treated with any kind of respect (I know. I’ve read them.), and many of the books lining the shelves of the science fiction section of Barnes and Noble can be summed up in one glance at the cover, often featuring a fantastical landscape and a man in a flowing cape with a sword or some other weapon. No, those aren’t exactly going to become classics, nor am I advocating that they should.

But what about the hidden gems of books among them? Just by being labeled as science fiction or fantasy, they become less of a book in the eyes of many. The genre has connotations of worthlessness, which is unfair. Yes, most of it is no good. But just having the label Science Fiction/Fantasy shouldn’t be a death knell. Most books labeled ‘mystery’ are no good either, but any negative implications associated with the mystery genre aren’t nearly as strong. Science fiction and fantasy shouldn’t receive the treatment they get.

The science fiction and fantasy genre- often unfairly lumped together- encompasses a huge number of books that are often not recognized for what they’re worth. What novels in this genre bring that is unique, is a moral imagination. Many sci-fi and fantasy books actually examine philosophical questions, such as ‘what makes us human?’ or look at the ethics of right and wrong, set in a place or time foreign to us, enabling us to see these problems in a different light, separated from the subjectivity we have as residents of Earth in 2010. 

This allows for the examination of different ideas and problems in a new way, away from the overused examples of Earth that have been discussed to death. It appears as a clean palette, while being not quite so clean because the author has deliberately planted those questions in it- it’s designed to make you think and perhaps allow you to come to conclusions that you otherwise wouldn’t have been able to reach.

Science fiction, in particular, goes beyond fantasy in allowing for a future moral imagination. Because it deals with possible science, it has long addressed moral questions surrounding science that we are just beginning to face. Cloning, robotics, dystopian settings- all have been discussed in science fiction and their moral implications examined again and again. Science fiction historically has also represented allegories of history in a very interesting and Americanized way, particularly the Cold War. Reading vintage sci-fi gives a fascinating perspective on the way people thought back then, as optimistic and as hateful as it was. Never have I understood nationalism (and the pitfalls of nationalism) so well as from sci-fi, even if the book presents a viewpoint opposite my own.

There is so much that we can learn from science fiction and fantasy. Often a philosophical or ethical question has been posed in a class at school that I’ve been able to relate back to a Star Trek episode or even Terry Pratchett. There are so many life lessons to be gained from reading and watching science fiction and fantasy, and they’re worth knowing.  I know that in the future we should not give robots personalities, because that can only lead to trouble, and if a stranger offers you a chance to change your destiny you should probably take it, and for God’s sake not to ever mess around with the wibby-wobbly timey-wimey stuff.