Stories as vehicles for change

I’ve been a sci-fi/fantasy consumer from way back (ie. the 1970’s, which is not that far back in my perspective). My teenage years were filled with Star Trek tie-in novels, Orson Scott Card series, and pretty much anything else I could get my hands on. I loved it. It was intelligent. It was fun. It engaged the imagination. It’s why I began writing; I wanted to tell stories like that.

Today there are people who tell us that speculative fiction has a duty to address the ills of society, and that the only authors worth reading are either those of minority status, or those who take up social issues. It probably goes without saying, though I’ll say it anyway, that by “take up social issues” they really mean “take the approved stance on social issues.” Never mind that this movement can’t quite find consistency within themselves as to what is acceptable. For example, they can’t quite make up their mind whether it’s okay to write about the “other” if you’re not part of that “other”.

(This latter is a particularly shallow view, even hypocritical view, anyhow, given the nature of science fiction and fantasy. Who then would be qualified to write about aliens, elves, orcs, vampires, etc?)

I’m not here to argue that stories can’t or shouldn’t address social issues. Any story of sufficient depth is going to at least inadvertently or obliquely tie into social parallels. But I fail to see that there is an obligation to do so. In fact, I’d wager most people are wary of stories that purposely set out to right social wrongs. No one likes to be preached to, even if the cause being preached is a cause de jour.

That said, sci-fi and fantasy are often great vehicles for raising issues that are on our minds. Speculative fiction can enable us to take current issues and situations, pull them out, and recast them in a way that allows us to examine them in more detail without bringing in the emotional baggage that may accompany those issues in the real world. Any tale, told well, can make us re-examine ourselves without beating us over the head with an agenda.

I remember the novel “The Final Reflection”, by John M. Ford. In hindsight there was a good chance this novel at the least had parallels in and at most made a statement on the Cold War. The novel takes the point of view of a Klingon officer, tracing his upbringing and his rise through the ranks. Much of what was written on Klingon culture was largely discarded in the Next Generation forward, but it didn’t matter to me. I was entranced. I connected with someone I’d been taught was the enemy, but who turned out to be a good man (being) of conscience. In my teenage, black-and-white world this was a unique concept: even the “bad guys” are not cut and dried. There are good people and bad people on all sides of the dividing line.

Tom Clancy later finished my conversion with the same concept applied more directly to current events, but the seed was already there, thanks to pop-culture sci-fi.

But neither of them could have convinced me had they handled the story differently. Had they attempted to portray all the Klingons or Russians as noble, upstanding, honest people and/or tried to flag the Federation/Americans as all evil and corrupt I probably would have thrown the books away without finishing them. Had they not given their characters depth and motivation I would have felt insulted at the stereotypes and straw-men.

Yeah, I know, subtlety is a slow way to change the world, and most writers with social axes to grind can’t wait that long. It’s easier to hack away with that ax than delicately carve with a well-sharpened knife. But just as surgeons don’t perform operations with chainsaws, social change works best when it leaves the least amount of scarring. The best way to change a person’s mind is to lead them so gradually in that direction that they arrive there thinking they got there all on their own.

But it’s slow. It also requires a level of craft that takes time to develop. It takes a measure of restraint. In short, it’s hard to change the world overnight, and most people just can’t wait that long. The trouble is, rapid change usually brings about open conflict. They wanted rapid change in the Balkans, too. The quickest solution they could see was to kick out or kill anyone they felt was part of the problem. Surprisingly, those people didn’t want to just roll over and die, and as soon as they got the means to fight back, they did.

So slow down, peoples! You want to preach to me? Tell me an irresistably good story that doesn’t feel like preaching. Give me characters who don’t make me feel like a punching bag. Give me complex, sophisticated situations that make me think. Make the pieces available, and then trust me enough to put them together myself. Trust your storytelling enough to let it lead your reader along gradually, willingly.

That’s hard work, you say? That takes patience? The world can’t wait for change?

Rapid change almost always comes through violence. If that’s something be avoided in your mind, then you’d better learn patience.

As I said, I’m not here to tell people not to write about causes that matter to them. I’m not sure there’s any such thing as a story that doesn’t make some sort of statement about the writer’s values and desires for society. I’m just suggesting that it will be hard to sell your point unless you can first and foremost tell a good story. Tell me something in an interesting, engaging way, and I’ll at least listen to anything you have to say. Make it a story well-told and I’ll give your ideas some thought.  I may even change a little.

Remember, the pen is mightier than the sword, but if you’re just going to use it to gouge someone’s eye out, you may as well use the sword. It’s more efficient. And more honest.