Chaidh mi gu clas litreachais aig Mark Wringe an-diugh gus bruidhinn mu dheidhinn ficsean saidheans agus bha còmhradh sgoinneil againn anns an do thogadh iomadh cuspair inntinneach, nam measg, ceist mu dheidhinn ficsean-saidheans diostopach vs ficsean-saidheans eutopach agus mun phoileataics air cùlaibh an dà ghnè sin. Mar cho-thuiteamas, nuair a thàinig mi air ais dhan oifis agus fhad ’s a bha mi a’ gabhail mo chuid lòin, chunnaic mi an t-alt seo air Boingboing, In defense of left-wing space utopias, a bha a’ toirt iomradh air alt a nochd ann an Current Affairs, The Regrettable Decline of Space Utopias. Tha mi air sgrìobhadh mun cheist seo rud beag roimhe ach tha an dà alt gu h-àrd a’ toirt an deasbaid mòran nas fhaide air adhart, agus an ùghdaran a’ beachdachadh air an dreuch aig ficsean diostopach ann an ideòlas ar cultair anns an latha an-diugh:

The slate of previews at every movie theatre has become an indistinguishably sepia-toned effluence of zombies, terrorists, and burnt-out post-apocalyptic hellscapes. […] But my general feeling is that our fondness for dystopian narratives is a pretty nasty indulgence, especially for those of us who live mostly comfortable lives, far-removed from the visceral realities of human suffering. […] Immersing ourselves in narratives where 99% of the characters are totally selfish also engrains a kind of fashionable faux-cynicism that feels worldly, but is in fact simply lazy.

Is toil leam The Walking Dead gu mòr, ach bha mi a-riamh a’ faireachdainn rudeigin salach an dèidh dhomh a choimhead, gu bheil am prògram gu bunasach glèidhteach, taobh-deas na shealladh:

We have come to view utopian narratives as inherently hokey, and preachy. But dystopias are, of course, their own form of preaching; they are preaching another hypothesis about humanity, which, due to moody lighting and oblique dialogue, has an entirely undeserved appearance of profundity, and the illusory farsightedness of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Tha mi fhìn a’ sgrìobhadh ficsean saidheans diostopach, agus tha mi an dòchas, bho shealladh adhartach, ach tha an dà alt seo a’ toirt orm smaoineachadh: A bheil ficsean diostopach gu bunasach glèidhteach ann an seagh? A bheil cothrom ann am ficsean diostopach teachdaireachd nas adhartaich a chur air adhart, no a bheil e nas fheàrr a bhith a’ feuchainn ri ficsean eutopach a sgrìobhadh, ge b’ e cho doirbh ’s a tha sin?