In a century that has taken us from the horse and buggy to the
world wide web, science fiction has established itself as the
literature to explore the ways in which technology transforms
society while its counterpart, genre fantasy, insistently reminds
us of the magical transformations of the individual in response to
the demands of the social. So it should come as no surprise that
the fans and producers of these genres come together to create the
culture of the future around the ideal that tales of wonder about
the future and the imaginary past can be shared as both symbolic
communication and social capital. In "Science Fiction Culture,"
Camille Bacon-Smith explores the science fiction community and its
relationships with the industries that sustain it, including the
publishing, computer, and hotel/convention industries, and explores
the issue of power in those relationships: Who seems to have it?
Who does have it? How do they use it? What are the results of that
use? In the process, Bacon-Smith rejects the two major theoretical
perspectives on mass culture reception. Consumers are not passive
receivers of popular culture produced by the hegemonic ideology
machine that is the mass media industry, nor are they rebels
valiantly resisting that machine by reading against the grain of
the interpretation designed into the products they consume.
Bacon-Smith argues that the relationship between consumers of
science fiction and producers is much more complex than either of
these theories suggests. Using a wide range of theoretical
perspectives, she shows that this relationship is based on a series
of continuing negotiations across a broad spectrum of cultural
interests.
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