At Spacefreighters Lounge, Laurie A. Green blogged about
The
Paradox of the SciFi/Romance Fandom. Her post focuses on the question of
"… what does the big screen have that books and small screen don't?",
but the subsequent comment discussion she and I had made me realize there's
another layer to this issue: accessibility.
Does science fiction romance lack a mainstream fandom, in part, because
it's not as accessible as it could be?
Here's how I arrived at that question. In the comments,
Laurie
stated, "As a society, we seem to have acquired collective ADD when it
comes to entertainment."
Her comment gave me food for thought, and I responded with
the
following:
I'm uncomfortable with the idea of applying a mental health
diagnosis to the state of how consumers approach entertainment. Technology has
led to more entertainment choices because artists can exploit more mediums.
Consumers don't have attention deficits as a result--they are simply trying out
new things or migrating to new mediums (e.g., network television viewers who
now watch shows via streaming).
Print books can be limiting and inaccessible for many readers (some can't hold
physical books or have trouble reading the text for one reason or another. Then
there are things like prohibitive prices or difficulties traveling to brick and
mortar bookstores.). I'd like to see SFR expand into things like podcast
stories, more audiobooks, comic books, video games and the like because it'd
mean more consumers could enjoy this genre in more accessible ways. In other
words, if SFR could tap into more mediums, it might find more fans.
Some SFR readers/fans will find it no matter what and
regardless of medium. On the other hand, SFR may experience more growth if
creators explore ways of telling the stories that extend beyond the written
word. How can SFR go to where the fans are? How can this genre bridge the inaccessibility divide?
