ART | LITERATURE
The Genres Of Tomorrow
Dreaming about the next Sci-Fi and Fantasy
Our time is flying sub-light. Fifty years ago, it was hard to imagine seamless wireless communication reduced to a pocket-sized box.
Ten years ago, the existence of a program capable of complex data analysis in a matter of seconds, activated by a single push of a button, seemed unlikely.
Now, there’s no way to predict the inventions of tomorrow.
A teleportation device?
A sub-atomic microscope?
A printer that doesn’t break the night before your project deadline?
The question I find most intriguing is how this turbulence affects us, writers. After living with this thought for a while, I now believe that we exist in a time when new genres of literature (and art in general) will appear and gain popularity.
AI-Realism
Let’s begin with a simple fact — AI is not capable of overshadowing real meat-and-bone creators. It is merely a tool for enhancing creativity. Not long ago, I wrote about the reasons why AI is not here to take our jobs. Regretfully, there will always be people who try to utilize this new horse to its maximum capacity. But nothing in this world can make AI develop its own voice because a voice is experience, not a machine learning sequence.
That said, I must acknowledge the growing presence of AI in our world. When we say AI, we still think of science fiction, the future, Blade Runner, and HAL 9000.
However, the fact is that AI has already happened. If we take out the clause “in the nearest future” — a novel about planes won’t fall into a sci-fi category. The same goes for mobile phones and the internet.
Why should AI be treated differently?
AI-Realism is a genre that explores Artificial Intelligence and neural networks in their current form, either as a character or a cause of the inciting incident, without adding non-existing features. From here, the possibilities are endless — an epistolary satiric comedy where a developer discusses philosophy with an AI model. A thriller where a detective utilizes AI to analyze crime scenes — a partner he never knew he needed.
Surprising as it is, we don’t require a robot rebellion or an alien intervention to write a story about AI. It’s already becoming a part of our day-to-day life.
Magical Expressionism
The beauty of magical realism can be described for hours. I can only compare reading related books to swimming in the ocean on a tiny canoe while having a conversation with a god of time.
While it is among my most beloved genres, it focuses greatly on the world around the protagonist. Setting and time period become independent characters, living on their own and changing everyone around.
In the era of social borderlessness and privacy deprivation, I find it of great comfort to concentrate on the inner, intimate world, rather than being a simple participant in goliath events.
As a natural reaction to the world grotesquely screaming “Look at me” at us, magical realism might shift towards something more personal. Although the term “Expressionism” gravitates towards an art movement rather than a genre, I can’t find a reason for its inapplicability.
Magical Expressionism presents the modern world solely from a subjective perspective, predominantly in the form of thoughts and observations. The protagonist is not only a key character but also a narrator and a ring announcer for other characters. The magical, fictitious element becomes the protagonist’s visualization of the events — be it an imaginary companion or a world presented in different colors.
I have to make a small remark — Magical Expressionism is not new to literature. It is present in the works of Franz Kafka and can be traced in Mikhail Bulgakov’s novels. Yet, with the lack of quantity, I can’t say it was considered a free-standing genre — a thing that can change during our time.
Social Network Folk
A fair warning, this folk subgenre is a little far-fetched. Nonetheless, it proposes a good deal of interest. I came up with it angry at myself for wasting precious time on another failed attempt to understand the Instagram algorithm.
Social Networks are a gift and a burden of the modern age. Who wouldn’t like instant popularity? Dopamine balance and screen addiction seem like a fair price.
For the last ten years, social networks have evolved into ecosystems with their lore and mechanics. Social Network Folk can be presented as a genre where the narrative solely happens on a renowned social network platform. Every aspect of the story happens or is directly connected to the platform, its features, real existing opinion leaders, and utilities.
Although I can imagine stories built around social networks, for this subgenre to truly become folk, it lacks traditions and customs. The only tradition I know on TikTok is washing a legendary amount of time down the drain.
If you enjoyed this story, you can always follow me for more. Maybe somebody will even give you a cookie. Who knows, the world is full of surprises!
