CCBC-Net Archives
Dystopias, Disasters, and Other Futurescapes
- Contemporary messages sorted: [ by date ] [ by subject ] [ by author ]
From: Megan Schliesman <schliesman_at_education.wisc.edu>
Date: Fri, 06 Aug 2010 14:41:14 -0500
Lynn Rutan asked: "Why are we getting so much dystopian and so little of the themes that dominate adult science fiction? "
Lynn, as someone who is not a reader of adult sci fi, I'm wondering if you could elaborate on what a few of those themes are?
In my mind I have this (contrived?) split between dystopic and idealized views of the future, but I imagine adult sci fi offers a much fuller continuum of perspectives, and perhaps a much richer balance within a single book regarding the good and the bad of its futurescape.
Even as we note that there are many dystopic y.a. novels coming out, I can't lump them together as representing a single type of book or theme. Most of my favorite y.a. sci fi books are "dystopoian," but they are so much more than that. They are books set in whole, distinctive worlds full of complexities, with complex characters inhabiting them. Those characters are facing challenges unique to the worlds they inhabit yet that speak to our humanity now and in the future.
There are books that explore those characters' ability to retain (or not) that humanity in the face of so many challenges in worlds where survival is dependent--or SEEMS dependent--upon a "me-first" mentality. Moving beyond that "me-first" mentality to "others too," or moving beyond mere survival to thriving because you are fighting for something more, or bigger, than your own survival--a principle, or a friend, or your community--is where hope lies. (e.g., "The Hunger Games" trilogy by Suzanne Collins, "Chaos Walking" trilogy by Patrick Ness, "Feed" by M.T. Anderson.)
Some are books that show characters moving from innocence/ignorance to knowledge about their world--they are coming of age stories, with the characters facing challenges distinct to the time and place in which they live. The decisions they make and the actions they take based on the knowledge they gain is where hope can be found (or not found). (e.g., "The Giver" by Lois Lowry, "The Silenced" by James DeVita.)
Megan
-- Megan Schliesman, Librarian Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison 600 N. Park Street, Room 4290 Madison, WI 53706
608/262-9503 schliesman_at_education.wisc.edu
www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
Received on Fri 06 Aug 2010 02:41:14 PM CDT
Date: Fri, 06 Aug 2010 14:41:14 -0500
Lynn Rutan asked: "Why are we getting so much dystopian and so little of the themes that dominate adult science fiction? "
Lynn, as someone who is not a reader of adult sci fi, I'm wondering if you could elaborate on what a few of those themes are?
In my mind I have this (contrived?) split between dystopic and idealized views of the future, but I imagine adult sci fi offers a much fuller continuum of perspectives, and perhaps a much richer balance within a single book regarding the good and the bad of its futurescape.
Even as we note that there are many dystopic y.a. novels coming out, I can't lump them together as representing a single type of book or theme. Most of my favorite y.a. sci fi books are "dystopoian," but they are so much more than that. They are books set in whole, distinctive worlds full of complexities, with complex characters inhabiting them. Those characters are facing challenges unique to the worlds they inhabit yet that speak to our humanity now and in the future.
There are books that explore those characters' ability to retain (or not) that humanity in the face of so many challenges in worlds where survival is dependent--or SEEMS dependent--upon a "me-first" mentality. Moving beyond that "me-first" mentality to "others too," or moving beyond mere survival to thriving because you are fighting for something more, or bigger, than your own survival--a principle, or a friend, or your community--is where hope lies. (e.g., "The Hunger Games" trilogy by Suzanne Collins, "Chaos Walking" trilogy by Patrick Ness, "Feed" by M.T. Anderson.)
Some are books that show characters moving from innocence/ignorance to knowledge about their world--they are coming of age stories, with the characters facing challenges distinct to the time and place in which they live. The decisions they make and the actions they take based on the knowledge they gain is where hope can be found (or not found). (e.g., "The Giver" by Lois Lowry, "The Silenced" by James DeVita.)
Megan
-- Megan Schliesman, Librarian Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison 600 N. Park Street, Room 4290 Madison, WI 53706
608/262-9503 schliesman_at_education.wisc.edu
www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
Received on Fri 06 Aug 2010 02:41:14 PM CDT
