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Space Operas and Beyond

I’ve always loved the genre of science fiction, how it could be so personal and yet so distant. I especially loved the exploration aspect of it; how the audience could sit and be awed by the atmosphere every once and awhile. I’d never touched on early science-fiction and the space opera, though. Reading a few short stories by both Arthur Clarke and CL Moore was a brand new experience for me.

These futuristic settings and technologies could be the basis of real tech fascinated me as a connection to today. Satellites, touchscreens, even the modern space program wouldn’t be here if not for these fantastic first goes at what laid beyond our stratosphere.

While that influence is truly awe-inspiring, the most interesting part of this genre is the very human aspects as well. Science was only part of the show, as Hugo Gernsback's description of 75% literature and 25% science stated. The idea of a space opera is they’re horse operas set in space: more about adventure, more about action, more about romance. The setting of outer space, spaceships, and distant planets are just fun, exciting, and add to the adventure - as well as the audience’s awe factor. A perfect example of this is CL Moore’s Song In A Minor Key short story. An intergalactic outlaw returns to his home planet where he committed his first crime against the man who murdered the girl he loved. Seems super steeped in Western tradition to me.

The early authors also used this genre to speculate and cogitate on already existing wonders. Arthur Clarke’s short stories, The Nine Billion Names of God and The Star, both deal with humans and their relationship with God, as well as how technology could effectively both prove God’s existence or question if He is truly out there. These stories can be as morally complex as much as they make your brain strain. As with most early science fiction, which tended to be earthbound monster stories that could fall into the horror genre if the audience was so inclined (such as Frankenstein and the Invisible Man), these stories talked about how expanding knowledge could be extremely dangerous in the hands of mankind.

Overall, the space opera genre is made to be entertaining and cheesy, even if it makes your head hurt a bit. I’ll be honest, I’m always up for some space cowboys, ya’ll. Yeehaw.
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