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There seems to be an ongoing war debate on social media about whether or not science fiction is inherently liberal/progressive or conservative.

I should say that “woke” is the more common word used for “liberal” or “progressive” although the two terms are not exactly synonyms. Since, in certain circles, “woke” is used as a pejorative, I’ll be using “progressive” in the body of this wee article.

It is (mostly) conceded that across the history of science fiction (and the length of that history is also under dispute) that SciFi has tended to be progressive relative to the era in which it was created.

I bolded that statement because depending on when the piece of science fiction was created, the definition of “progressive” might not fit what it is considered to be in 2023.

Side Note: I took the image above from the movie The Thing from Another World (1951). The military people tend to be conservative and the scientists liberals. The Air Force people end up destroying the monster while one scientist almost gets them killed trying to communicate with the superior, intelligent (and extremely violent) alien.

For example, original Star Trek showed a black woman as the head communications officer and an Asian man as the helmsman on the bridge of a starship. That sounds like nothing now, but in 1966, it was a big deal. Some people felt that especially in the Bible belt, people wouldn’t accept a mixed race crew working together.

In that particular case, no one complained. People just assumed by the 23rd century, none of that would be an issue anymore.

Of course, there was no such thing as social media, let alone the internet, so opinions were expressed to the public with much less speed and frequency.

That same 1960s Star Trek addressed issues as ageism, war, overpopulation, class division, sexism, female servitude, and so on. It really was a pioneer for its time.

On the other hand, Captain Kirk was a sexist, womanizer, military force was used as a problem solver far more often than diplomacy or cooperation, and all the women on the Enterprise were attractive and wore miniskirts.

“Relative to the era in which it was created.”

But I’m not here to talk about that. An analysis, even a fairly shallow one, on the nature of science fiction across the decades and how it cannot and does not automatically conform to the perception of 2023 “woke” is lengthy. I didn’t get much sleep last night and I don’t have a lot of time.

So I’m going to come at this from another angle.

Next year, I’ll turn seventy years old. Yes, I’m a geezer. I was twelve on September 8, 1966 when Star Trek first came to television. I’ve been a life long science fiction fan (although some “modern” fans may disagree based on their political/social viewpoints on what makes a SciFi fan).

That doesn’t mean I’ve read every science fiction short story and novel ever written, or seen every SciFi movie and television show ever manufactured. But I’ve consumed my fair share.

This sounds like a change of subject but it’s not. Whenever I drive somewhere and turn on the car radio, my music selections tend toward popular rock from the 1960s through 1990s, although they center on the 60s through 80s.

I’m sure plenty of pop and rock music has been produced since nineteen-ninety something, but my interest wanes as it crosses the threshold into the 21st century.

I’ve become “stuck” in my music preferences, partially due to nostalgia and partly just in terms of what I happen to like.

I’ve watched TV and movies made in the 21st century and read more recent books. What I’ve chosen to consume I’ve generally but not universally enjoyed. I still tend to like entertainment more founded in the past than the present. Even the comic books I’ve enjoyed and read to my children when they were young seem to stop being fun sometime around the turn of the century.

In other words, I’ve become habituated, for lack of a better word, to a certain style and nature of entertainment founded in a particular time frame. After that time frame, even when I try to watch, listen to, or read the “stuff,” it doesn’t do it for me, at least mostly.

My viewing and reviews of 1990s Quantum Leap vs. the 2020s version of the show is a good example.

I wasn’t a fan of the original when it was on the air, but I’d heard of it. I rented the DVDs of the series from my local public library and watched enough of the episodes to tell me I really enjoyed it. Not every episode was a gem, but in general, the program was fun and entertaining. Yes, it addressed many, many social issues, but it also had fun with itself. The chemistry between Sam (Scott Bakula) and Al (Dean Stockwell) was to die for.

I also watched the entire first season and the first five episode of the second season of the “continuation” show. I tried, and I tried, and I tried to like it, and some of the elements worked for me.

But overall, it had a very different tone. It also addresses social issues, but in a more “hitting the viewers over the head with a blunt instrument” method. It doesn’t have a lot of fun. I gave my final analysis and farewell to the program a few days ago.

I’ve also sampled “Star Trek: Discovery,” “Star Trek: Picard,” and “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.” It’s not like I haven’t given the 21st century a chance.

Is it the shows or me?

Probably both, but let’s center on me for a moment (yes, that sounds terribly arrogant). Like my tastes for a lot of things, they’ve become routinized. I’ve become “set in my ways.” Certain things I will enjoy and certain other things I won’t.

It’s like saying I’ve tried Brussel sprouts a few different ways but I still don’t like them. On the other hand, I’ll always have my “comfort foods.”

The science fiction I like, let’s say from the 1950s to the end of the century, reflects the values and societal trends of those times. I was born in the mid-1950s and hit young adulthood in the early 1970s. I’m sure you see where this is going.

It’s not that older people can’t learn to like newer things. I love the Sherlock (2010-2017) television series starring Benedict Cumberbatch. I liked most of the movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) from “Iron Man” (2008) through “Avengers: Endgame” (2019). I absolutely adore Martha Wells Murderbot Diaries (except for the initial pricing model) which began in 2017 and is still coming.

But my “go to” entertainment will always be at least two decades in the past. I think that’s just how life is for some of us.

That’s how some people might say that “science fiction is conservative.” It’s not, because SciFi is not one thing. However, the slice of science fiction these folks like may come from an era that reflects their social and political preferences.

For other people “science fiction has always been woke,” not because that’s true either, but because the SciFi they enjoy was (and is) produced in an era that reflects their social and political perspectives.

If you’re interested in what I have partaken in SciFi and what my thoughts are about it, I do keep an extensive list of reviews.

That’s as far as I’ll go for now. Later, when I’m up to it, I’ll address not just bad writing (because every era has bad writing), but substituting good writing for representation in the name of “revenge” activism. The little snippet below I took from twitter/X illustrates some of that. I’m not a Doctor Who fan, but there’s no avoiding it entirely.

And what the hell is “male presenting?” I’m not “male presenting,” I’m a man. It’s not anymore complicated than that.