Have Computers and the Internet killed SciFi as a genre?

[MithrandirOlorin]

So I was watching a DigiBro video on YouTUbe about Cute Girls. But towards the end he suggests that the mysticism of SciFI is dead because of the Internet, and before that Computers becoming common. Because we are in the future now. And that SciFi that does still sell is all Throw Backs. And no one can really takes seriously the idea of fiction speculating on the future anymore.

It starts at the 34:30 mark.
https://youtu.be/LMdn0nrKi4Y?t=2073

It's an observation I figured I should share here, I'm not sure if I agree.

The whole, it has to be a throw back now, aspect does remind me of when I was watching Gundam The Origin, which I at first thought was a Prequel but is actually a Reboot that starts at a sooner point. Once I realized it wasn't bound to the old continuity, I felt that it's odd how this still clearly looks like a 70s vision of the Future, why not Update Gundam to fit a modern idea of the future. And that in turn reminded me of one of Chuck's observations in the War in the Pocket videos, about how Gundam's future seems closer to our present then the 50s Japan of Godzilla.

And I could expand that to stuff like the new ReBooted Star Trek, where it kinda still feels like the Future of the 60s.

[Robovski]

I cannot say I agree. While computers are omnipresent in western society and the internet is an important part of the economy and society that doesn't mean there is no where to go or new stories to be told. Look at The Expanse on tv right now, showing a possible future of man out in the solar system just as an example. We have worlds to fill here inside the solar system, let alone all the possibilities beyond it. We still do not understand the fundimentals of our universe; perhaps new discoveries will support new technologies? CRISPR gene technologies are just starting to be explored, what will that mean for us? If you can ask questions and wonder "What if?" then science fiction is NOT dead, at least IMO.

[Redem]

Yeah space exploration is hardly common

[TGLS]

I seriously doubt Sci-Fi will be dying anytime soon. Sci-Fi dying means that science has discovered all there is to know, which seriously isn't going to happen anytime soon unless a global regime that blocks all innovation is put in place. This also leaves aside all the *punk genres of Sci-Fi, wrong Sci-Fi (Science fiction that makes differing assumptions and works out what might happen, Nightfall is a fair example), as well as Science Fantasy.

[Rocketboy1313]

No. If anything having constant access to a reference about the various shows and movies will allow them to be more nuanced without fear of losing people who missed an episode.

Even if you ignore science-fantasy as an element, "Arrival", "The Martian", and "Ex Machina" show how harder science fiction can be done in near contemporary settings.

[ChiggyvonRichthofen]

Not at all. At its heart, most good sci-fi isn't reliant upon this or that technology being invented. If you look at movie and television sci-fi from the 50s through the 70s, it isn't the ideas that are outdated- its the era's sfx, filming style, and acting that might turn some people off. Otherwise it's mostly surface details that would have to change- you can still do invasion stories, but they probably won't be from Mars. The advancements in tech might not be as far-fetched.

As far as I can tell, sci-fi is, for the most part, telling the same sort of stories it always has been. I do miss the Asimovs and the Bradburys of the golden age, but there is still a lot of sci-fi out there. And a lot of it is as mainstream as it's ever been.

[MithrandirOlorin]

I think that's the point, we're speculating on the same things we speculated about 50 years ago, instead of moving forward.

[TGLS]

Modern zombies post-date 1967, so does Transhuman Sci-Fi (outside of pockets).

[MithrandirOlorin]

Modern Zombies really derive from I Am Legend.

Transhumanism is what Digi mentioned as pretty the last real wave of SciFi, and now even it's played out.

[TGLS]

Your argument seems to be revolving around that there are no new genre elements in Sci-Fi, which may be true. Things like Exhalation still come out though. But why does it matter that there aren't new elements? Novelty in concept is rare even in the best of fiction. Is there really that many new things in other genres? It would seem the last new story has been the Time Loop story; score one point for SF there.