Rozin, V. M. The Meaning of Discussions of the Future in Science Fiction in the Second Half of the 20th Century

Abstract: The subject of research is the discussion of the popularity of science fiction in the second half of the 20th century which faded away by the end of the last century after creating the fantasy genre. At first the author analyzes how fiction is interpreted and reconstructed in general and how their meaning is explored. Rozin shows that science fiction performed the two tasks. Firstly, it released the historical tension of the 60th and allowed to fulfill the myths of those times in a form of art. Secondly, it took the reader to the reality where, no matter how strange it may seem, those myths and expectations were falsified and uncovered. At the end of the article Rozin explains the reasons why science fiction decayed as a genre. According to the researcher, writers and science fiction authors depleted and to a significant extent falsified the main scientific myths and expectations of those times. Moreover, it became obvious that fulfillment of many aspirations of the humankind that appeared in the mid 60th (outer space exploration, replacement of humans with robots and nature management) would be achieved only in a distant and uncertain future. The research described in the article was based on a number of methods such as problematization, historical reconstruction (genetic analysis), comparative analysis as well as methodology of the humanitarian approach. The main conclusions made by Rozin are the following. As a literary genre, science fiction has undergone through certain stages of development and performed important functions in the cultural environment of those times allowing a representative of certain culture to achieve his aspirations and implement his values. When the latter were partially devalued and achieved and the time offered new problems and challenges, science fiction went off the scene.

Keywords: