This is Your Postcolonial Science Fiction
Someone once asked me: why bother with Science Fiction? Among all the genres and subgenres of speculative fiction, Science Fiction is supposedly the most Western in thought and story. Any Filipino tale about the future, technology, and science might be a slavish copy of the form rather than a vehicle for thought on what makes us Filipinos.
But I disagree: among the three genres, Science Fiction is actually the best genre to appropriate in order to talk about our own history. If a type of writing like Science Fiction could be used to deliver the Western World’s message and culture, why not subvert the trend and adopt Science Fiction for our own purpose?
It’s similar to how our own people have managed to make themselves an integral part of the world’s informal service industry. Yes, we are domestic workers, nannies, drivers of the world. But we are also the people the world misses when we are gone.
For example, we are the ones who teach the world’s children, from our homegrown values to our ubiquitous swear words. Trust me, it’s fascinating to see French children use Filipino profanity like “p*tang-ina mo!” like it was their own.
So yes, it might not be something to be proud of, being servants in another country. But somehow, our OFWs carry Filipino ethics and culture wherever they go, like hard work, family values, etc. And maybe these French children will remember the stories and values told to them by their Filipino yayas even after they grow up.
I guess the point I’m trying to make is that I think some metaphors in stories can be best conveyed by a vehicle like Science Fiction, because historically, Science Fiction has its own link to colonialism, and I think it’s the best tool to write postcolonial stories in relation to our own history. Hence this ebook edition of Diaspora Ad Astra: An Anthology of Science Fiction from the Philippines.
Yes, we still need time to shape and sharpen our stories—or History—the right way. But like a virus (whether biological or electronic) that’s trying to take over a system, I think we’ll be able to get it right.
Joseph F. Nacino
2014
Taguig City