As a member of the science-fiction writing community, I have to deal with a phenomenon that probably comes up in our genre more often and much more strongly than in any other genre, that of the “suspension of disbelief.” This refers to the fact that in science fiction we write stories that utilize objects, phenomena, activities, even living beings which are not only not of the world we really live in, but which violate some or most if not all rules of physics, chemistry, biology, and even sociology of this world, and—this is the important thing—we expect our readers or viewers or listeners to accept these abnormal, unrealistic objects and events as real. As though they actually exist. As though they are a part of our fictional characters’ everyday life, even though they may be so outrageous as to make you want to not believe them at all. But to enjoy the story you have to “suspend your disbelief” in them. Think of the invasion of Earth by highly advanced beings from Mars in H.G. Wells’s novel War of the Worlds. We know enough about Mars now to realize that such an invasion would be virtually impossible. Yet to enjoy the book (or the movie) you have to accept what is happening as real. As though it’s actually happening in our (your) world. As though those green death rays are blasting everything in sight. For most people, I suspect, that’s not too difficult. After all, it’s fiction. It’s just a book or movie. Just someone’s vivid imagination. It’s a form of entertainment. Don’t make a big deal about it.
I’ve written about this before: see my previous post, https://rogerfloyd.com/2018/06/suspending-disbelief/. But what I want to suggest in this post is that there are two different kinds of suspension of disbelief, the technical ones and the ones more integral to the plot.
In the first type, the suspension of disbelief is limited to simple technical details such as, for example, the phasers used by Star Trek personnel. The weapon can do everything from stun an enemy to kill outright. But that’s minimal to the plot. It’s merely a weapon, and almost any weapon could do in whatever situation the Trek personnel find themselves. In most cases it doesn’t affect the plot or story line, even though we as the watchers of the show are asked to suspend disbelief that such a weapon exists. Or could exist. Simple enough.
But the second type of suspension of disbelief is more involved in the actual story line. It can be the entire plot by itself, or be an important part of the plot. A good example of this second type occurs in the second Star Wars movie made, The Empire Strikes Back. (It’s now the fifth in the overall series, but it was actually the second movie made in 1980.) Near the beginning of the movie, after the forces of the Empire have invaded and captured the rebel base on the Hoth Ice Planet, Luke Skywalker and R2-D2 escape in Luke’s X-wing fighter. In an X-wing fighter, mind you. Luke wants to meet the Jedi Master and learn the ways of the Force. To do this he has to travel to the Dagobah star system. Nothing is ever said about how far this star system is from Hoth, but it could be tens or hundreds or even thousands of light years away. The X-wing fighter is a short-range craft, not designed for interstellar travel. But we are asked to suspend belief to the absolute maximum that this little ship can, in fact, take him there. Light years away. And in a short period of time, too. Did the makers of the movie realize how close they came to so overstating their asking of us to suspend disbelief that they might have overdone it? Yet this represents a turning point in the plot, and it’s extremely important to the entire series. Luke finally lands on the planet of the Jedi Master Yoda, completes his training, and the rest . . .well you know the rest.
I think the main reason this extreme instance of suspension of disbelief works is that the entire Star Wars franchise is so filled with things like it that we suspend disbelief when we enter the theatre (or slip the disc into the player) and just give ourselves up to the idea that this sci-fi movie is just something to be entertained by, and not taken seriously. I have to admit that when I saw the movie for the first time, I didn’t even notice how over the top it was. Even the most flagrant example floats right by us. That’s sci-fi for you.