: Re: Will science fiction as a genre ever go the way of the western? It is a fairly undisputed fact that the genre of western fiction has had a declining audience for decades. The Western Writers

@Turnbaugh521

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Westerns are essentially historical fiction, set in a very specific time and place. And there's a mythos associated with that time and place that may be out of step with modern life. Most successful modern westerns of which I'm aware have subverted the western tradition, making it grittier and more realistic. I'm thinking of movies, but also Cormac McCarthy's trilogy, etc. So maybe the traditional western tropes of simple, strong heroes and black and white hats/values no longer resonates with people. I wouldn't necessarily give up on the genre entirely, because there have been some successful recent iterations, but obviously it's in decline.

Will the same happen with Science Fiction? I doubt it, just because it's so much more wide-open. Westerns are linked to one place, one time. Science Fiction is anywhere, and almost any time. Science Fiction doesn't have to be about space, it's anything set in the future of the world. So even if society loses its belief in progress and science, it'll still be interested in figuring out what the world might be like in the future.

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