The Other Genre That Doesn't Exist
Why "Fantasy" is as Fake as "Science Fiction"
Welcome back!
It's been rather crazy recently, hasn't it? Not much time to just sit back and smell the roses, as it were. So lets just dive into it today.
We've talked a lot about how fake modern genres are, but we tend to focus on the 1940s when such things were starting to be solidified. That was when the eggheads seized control of the industry to give shape to artificial frames that no longer exist. In fact, as I wrote about in The Last Fanatics, by the 1970s it was already starting to die out in the wider culture even as said Fanatics tightened their grip on their then-dying sector. All of this stems from a game of definition dodgeball that has never truly been won, despite their claims otherwise. The game is long since over, and they lost long before the first ball was even thrown. It was never going to end any other way.
What we don't tend to mention too much is that there was just as much nonsense in the decades after the 1940s that helped warp definitions even further. While I tend to bring up the phrase Science Fiction Doesn't Exist in regards to the Futurian crowd, what I don't bring up enough is the other side of this non-existent coin they forged: so-called Fantasy Doesn't Exist either. In fact, the term itself is already meant to be disparaging, the lesser, nonsense-fueled half of the superior materialist fiction genre . . . even though its hinged on the frame of a philosophical worldview that is deader than disco. (Literally deader, disco has more influence on modern underground movements than "Golden Age" siffy has on its medium.)
For an example of what I mean, check out the above video that goes into how Lester Del Ray's marketing in the '60s and '70s not only created a trend, but then inadvertently birthed a "genre" that centered on then-common surface level clichés that were then flipped and then flipped again in the decades to come, all to create an endless string of subversion capping off at where said "genre" is today: dead.
Much like the "Science Half" of the "genre" it is built upon a division that is not relevant to today, just as it wasn't for the several thousand years of recorded civilization from before eggheads were given paper crowns and a seat at the table. It has no relevance to today, and the case could be made that it never actually did--we all just had to pretend otherwise as those in charge declared what their subjects had to think about certain subjects and where their limitations lay.
The fact of the matter is the reason so much of the old literary space and store shelves is cluttered with generic "genre" fare is because the Thor Power Tool Case from 1979 cleared out the backlog of stories from before 1980 and kept them out of print while the shelves were then filled with pumped out factory belt-line product to make up for the loss. It's how important and influential authors like A. Merritt and EE "Doc" Smith were memory-holed over night. What you went from having is timeless tales of myth and adventure at your fingertips, to having a shelf of product created to fill a quota of checkbox fiction to match advertising trends of the 1970s decades afterwards.
This is why the lack of new or fresh literary "trends" in the 1980s and 90s are non-existent. As a consequence to all of this, readership dwindled over time and those that remained were more interested in the tropes being fed to them over and over again instead the wonder or the creativity of the stories themselves. It was a massive dead end, and we all recognize it now.
By the 2000s, all we were left with was subversions of subversions and endless mashups of tired tropes originating from the 1960s because that was the only frame OldPub had left to work from. There was nothing exciting or new to come, just more of the same originating from those ancient advertising campaigns. And that is essentially why the industry hasn't had a breakout hit since Harry Potter took everyone by surprise back in the '90s. How could they have another one, when everything they produce has to follow a strict formula from over half a century ago to appeal to an audience that doesn't even exist anymore? That is why nothing is coming out of that system.
And that has lead them to where they are today: dead and irrelevant, just like their made up genre boxes that ran out of steam long ago. All that's left is the future: NewPub. The only place you'll get anything new is among those who have no cap on their imagination, no quota to fill, and no boxes to check. The only thing left is the story itself.
That is what the future holds.
Some have taken to calling Oldpub "Deadpub" instead, and it's easy to see why. The only question is how long has it actually been dead for, and when can we finally admit the corpse is stinking up the place? It's only a matter of time before the remains crumble away. In the meantime, Newpub has a lot of work to do to fill the hole. Here's hoping we can manage before it all collapses in on itself. It's gonna take some time.
In related news, I also just released a new podcast episode on the Patreon on this very topic! It's over an hour long and I talk about the future coming down the pike and how much things have changed since the Fanatics failed to see any of it coming. Listen now to learn just why Science Fiction Doesn't Exist in the first place! I bumped the preview to 10 minutes for this episode, so jump in and listen for yourself to see just what that means.
We're going to have to change our entire frame in order to find a new way forward. I think we can do it. The only question is when, not if, that will occur, because it's coming. Time to prepare accordingly!
That's all I've got for this week. Have yourself a good Father's Day and a comfortable start of summer coming up. Things are getting better, just not in the most obvious ways. It's especially difficult to se it these days, but it is happening. Just keep your head up and you'll eventually be able to see it coming.
Have a good weekend, and I'll see you soon!
Are you talking about "epistemological reductionism?" Or perhaps "The human taxonomic impulse?" In general I am not a fan of the broad terms of Fantasy or science fiction because they are so limiting. But they better tell me what to expect than the larger idea of "fiction," for the even more massive category "Literature."
Human beings have an inherent, almost instinctual need to distill things into smaller and smaller boxes, giving them labels that make sense to them. It's why we struggle with new ideas, and rail against anything that challenges our worldview.
I have a tattoo that reminds me to embrace change. To accept it and not run from it. So I am all for coming up with some new system. But I have also been living in a place I hate for 10 years, because my human brain would rather have something familiar and comfortable (even if its unpleasant), than step into the chaos of the unknown.
That's why I prefer themes than genres since msot of the time, every book mixes the genres and never purely belongs to only one genre