First, something relates to science fiction. OK, whenever I think about science fiction, I always think about Jules Verne’s books, which I read when I was no more than twelve. There really isn’t anything else that I remember reading about science fiction. That is how poor my understanding of the genre is. I remember one book about travelling to outer space, although I don’t think that that book is ever considered science fiction.
The Little Prince, it was called, and it was written by a French guy named Saint- Exupéry. As a matter of fact, I still read it on occasion. It’s a small book, with less than one hundred pages, and full of pictures because it is written for children. It is about a little prince who lives alone in his tiny planet with his coquette rose. I find it fascinating, the way he looks at things. Below are the pictures that he asks the author to draw for him. What do you think they are? If you haven’t read the book, take a wild guess!
Here are the answers: (1) The boa who swallows an elephant, (2) The little lamb inside the box. Aren’t they full of imaginations? Sometimes I feel that my life would be much more colorful if I look at things with that much imagination.
My point is that we tend to look at things in a way other than how they should be seen. The inside, or the important message, tends to be overlooked. I think that this is one of the reasons why science fiction is always regarded as an “unsophisticated” form of literature. I’m surprised to see that science fiction nowadays deals with so many problems in society, but I wonder how many of the people who read it will see that those are the problems that are most in need of solving even today. We need to stop making “the others” so alien from us, shipping them to another planet (as in the case of Space Traders) in exchange for some gold or material well-being. I think that science fiction is becoming a forum in which those traditionally regarded as “others” can express their feelings of being alienated in this world, and I hope people who think they are not outsiders will understand “the others’” messages. Confused by my use of the parenthesis and apostrophe together? My clever but non-human MS Word is, but confusion is good … so don’t worry.
I suppose I better stop now before I turn crazy. If you don’t understand what I’m saying you’re a genius … because I’m not trying to say anything. I just swallowed a boa that has an elephant inside, and I need to digest both of them. It takes time.