Recently, Amazon, JD.com, Dangdang and other platforms have released the 2021 book best-seller list, and some media combed and found: the popularity of science fiction novels has not decreased, explosive products continue to be popular, surrounding cultural and creative products are hot, science fiction original novel IP is scrambled by film and television companies, and the investment amount is often over 100 million... Therefore, some people have thrown out the "first year theory", saying that this year is the first year of China's science fiction cultural creation.
Whether the first year of science fiction cultural creation is this year, in fact, it is not very important, what is important is that the rise of the science fiction industry is already an unstoppable trend.
According to the data released by the 2020 China Science Fiction Convention, the total output value of China's science fiction industry reached 65.871 billion yuan in 2019, an increase of more than 40% year-on-year; and even in the epidemic period, the output value of the science fiction industry in the first half of 2021 has reached 36.292 billion yuan. If the direct reflection of the data is still a bit thin and hollow, then we may wish to analyze the foundation of several aspects of the mainland science fiction industry.
One is the IP pool. As we all know, from literary works to film and television dramas, games, and peripherals, the development of IP requires a process. In the past few years, the crossing drama, the big heroine romance drama, the xianxia drama, etc., have all experienced such a process. Due to the need for scene architecture and special effects production, science fiction is relatively difficult to convert, but with the advancement of technology and the enrichment of capital, this is more and more not a problem.
In recent years, some of the more successful sci-fi IP conversions have shown a good ability to absorb gold. For example, "The Wandering Earth" not only has a good box office, but its peripheral cultural creations range from a set of coasters of 99 yuan to a limited edition personnel carrier of 4999 yuan, which is a hot seller worldwide. And there are many IP that can be developed like "The Wandering Earth".
Last year, the "2021 Science Fiction Network Literature New Trend Report" jointly released by Reading Group and Shanghai Association for Science and Technology showed that as of August 2021, more than 510,000 creators had written science fiction online articles on the reading platform alone, and more than 22% of the top writers of Reading Group had created science fiction works. Such a large-scale creative subject, even if the high-quality rate is low, can not be underestimated.
In fact, after decades of great waves and sands, the mainland has formed a group of outstanding science fiction creators, including Liu Cixin, Wang Jinkang, Hao Jingfang and other well-known science fiction writers who have won international awards. It can be said that both the size of the creative group and the quality of the work are remarkable.
The second is the demand market. In the huge population of the mainland, the proportion of science fiction fans and potential science fiction fans is not low.
Take the childhood and youth memories of many people, "Science Fiction World", as an example, this science fiction magazine born in 1979 has a history of more than 40 years. According to some data, the circulation of "Science Fiction World" was 400,000 copies at its peak, and now it has 100,000 copies per month, making it the world's largest science fiction magazine with the largest circulation. Over the years, behind so many circulation, there is a huge readership, and now, they are also easy to turn into science fiction cultural and creative consumers.
Due to the relationship between science fiction and science, it is much higher than those martial arts, romance, fantasy, and magic works in the acceptance sequence of modern parenting consumption. Generally speaking, parents are happy to see children reading science fiction books and watching science fiction movies, which they believe can enhance children's scientific knowledge and cultivate children's interest in scientific research and imagination.
Science fiction is the most direct display of the human imagination. In fact, it is not only human beings' scientific imagination of the future world, but also a reflection on the development of human society, pinning on human beings' vision and pursuit of a better society. It is a kind of spiritual sustenance, emotional sustenance, and even more ideal sustenance.
Third, the above report data also shows that the post-90s generation of science fiction writers in the mainland now accounts for more than 70%, and the Z generation (post-95s and post-00s) accounts for more than 58%. Gen Z readers are also growing significantly, with Gen Z readers growing by more than 44% year-on-year in June 2021. It is precisely because the creators and readers are relatively young that they are even more doomed to the huge potential of China's science fiction industry and its consumption.
It can be said that China's science fiction industry is full of growth and nurtures infinite possibilities, which is the basis we can expect and trust.
In addition, in recent years, the rise of VR, artificial intelligence, biotechnology and other industries, these combined with reality, resonant with the times of the field, will stimulate a certain science fiction industry. The famous Russian novelist Nabukov famously said: "Science cannot be separated from fantasy, and art cannot be separated from reality." The application of emerging technologies in many life scenarios will not only not limit people's imagination, but also further broaden the boundaries of human imagination.
In summary, for the first year of science fiction cultural creation, we may as well maintain confidence and wait and see.
Text: Li Zhe
Image: Network
Column moderator: Zhang Yongqun
Editor-in-charge: Zhang Yongqun
Editors: Zhu Xiaofan, Chang Ying, Sun Xiaoting