當代科幻中的兒少處境

Children and Teens in Contemporary Science Fiction Writing

葛容均(Ko, Jung-Chun Roslyn)

《竹蜻蜓．兒少文學與文化》 8期 (2022/04) Pp. 97-138

https://doi.org/10.6738/bdclc.202204_(8).0003

摘要

本次論文側重探究當代科幻所想像並描繪的若干兒少處境，目的一為求深化理解當代科幻作品對於兒少身處高科技社會的敘事傾向，目的二希冀藉由此番討論促使研究者、閱讀教育推廣者，以及大小讀者群進而省思科幻敘事之於現實生活中兒少與科技社會的關係和影響。論文首先重新檢視當代科普與科幻的關係，並於其他小節內分別擇選「探險家學院」系列、「天防者」系列，以及《潘朵拉遊戲三部曲》為主要引例，探究以下四面向：一、科幻科普化的趨勢；二、當代科幻對兒少角色的賦權，其中包括成人與兒少間在權力與知識層面之刻劃；三、科幻作品中如何想像兒少與「機械（或科幻）他者」之關係；四、藉「遊戲」或「生存競賽」為由的作品設定下，兒少如何被他者化。結論期許臺灣創作端、教育端及閱讀端皆能更加重視科幻的力量，同時借鏡省思若干當代兒少科幻敘事傾向之必要性。

關鍵字

科幻與科普 ； 科幻敘事傾向 ； 機械他者 ； 遊戲與生存競賽

並列摘要

This thesis focuses on how contemporary science fiction writing imagines and depicts the situations wherein children and teenagers are placed. The overall aims are two: first, to better understand certain possibly ignored or rarely discussed contemporary sci-fi narrative tendencies, particularly when child and teen characters are concerned; second, to call for more attention and reflect on how such sci-fi narrative tendencies can possibly impact young readers. To achieve the above-said aims, this thesis opens with a re-examination of the relationship between popular science and sci-fi writing especially in our contemporary era with high demands of correct and most updated science knowledge and technological information. This part argues that not only have popular science and sci-fi writing formed a never-before closer relationship, but many genres of children's literature, including children's and young adult sci-fi novels incorporate the spirit of popular science. Furthermore, this thesis chooses three sets of rarely-discussed contemporary young adult sci-fi novel series-Explorer Academy, Skyward as well as Fire & Flood-to explore the following issues and writing tendencies: the empowerment of contemporary sci-fi child and teen characters; the relationship between child and adult characters, including on the level of power and knowledge; how child and teen characters regard and treat the machine other, especially compared to adult characters; lastly, how such works (particularly the Fire & Flood series) demonstrate the contemporary sci-fi narrative tendency of placing child and teen characters in extremely harsh situations, using the name of ＂games＂ and ＂missions＂ to test out their survival skills and instincts in tandem with their humanness and moral choices.

並列關鍵字

popular science and science fiction ； contemporary sci-fi narrative tendencies ； the machine other ； gaming and fight for survival