What's the Point of Science Fiction?

I saw Looper two weeks ago, and have been thinking about the role of science fiction ever since. Despite the (self-admitted) logical flaws of the film, it was beautiful. I am very biased; I'm a sucker for any film noir-esque Sci-Fi, and I think that Raymond Chandler would have been  proud of the first half of this film. I love stories that mix retro and futuristic elements, and I adore what Isaac Asimov calls "soft" or "social" science fiction (i.e. driven by idea, character, social implications, and atmosphere). However, Looper was not merely an exciting chase movie and the story of one surprisingly effective make-up job. It asked The Big Questions: what makes a person good or bad? How does a person become good? Do the ends justify the means? What is worth the sacrifice of a life? What is worth loving? 

Many people see science fiction as pure escapism; it often is just that. Others focus on how speculative media presents us with real life filtered through metaphor to make everything shinier and more interesting. Perhaps speculative fiction is meant to inspire, because if such-and-such a hero can overcome their obstacles, embrace hope instead of cynicism, etc., then surely we, with our little first world problems and our small emotional grievances, can do so.

                               

However, I think that this attitude may sell the real world short. Great stories do not use hyperbole and analogy because real life is not *quite* exciting enough. I would argue that they use highly symbolic, imaginative methods because we have forgotten that real life is in fact that vivid. 

No sacrifice, no matter how small, fails to be beautiful.

No act of love, no matter how mundane, is less than groundbreaking.

No connection, no relationship, no movement of the heart would fail to stun us if we could see it fully. 

Stories do not inspire us by giving us something more beautiful than actual life to yearn for. They remind us of the potential of every real breath to be wonderful, terrifying, and anything but boring.