Speculative Fiction, notes for a lecture I didn't actually deliver

I spent some time deciding how much contextual detail was needed to share this. I think I could summarize the story thusly: I was asked whether I would like to participate in an event intended to promote literacy. I said sure, why not.

The format and topic of my presentation was left entirely up to me. I knew the audience would be parents with their children, but wasn't really given any numbers or age range. I decided to write a short (fifteen minutes or less was my estimation) lecture on the joys of speculative fiction, written for an about first grade or higher audience.

When I saw what I was dealing with as far as an audience, a lot of toddlers and a very small number in my intended age range I cut things down considerably: if I talked a whole five minutes, I would be surprised.

This is the full version of the notes I had written for this lecture:
So how many of you saw at least one of the six Star Wars movies? Or maybe one of the Lord of the Rings movies? Or Harry Potter or The Chronicles of Narnia? Did you leave the theatre going- “Wow! What an exciting world! I wish I could spend more time there!”

Well, I want to share one way that you can. I'm going to talk a little about one of my favorite kinds, or to introduce a new vocabulary word, genres, of books: speculative fiction. Genres, again that's a word meaning kinds or types or categories, can be big or little and can even contain other genres that are smaller. Speculative fiction is a big genre that contains the smaller genres of science fiction, fantasy, supernatural horror, and with Twilight being the latest big thing, paranormal romance.

Fantasy is any work that involves magic or the clearly impossible: Harry Potter, both the books and the movies, belongs in the fantasy genre. So do the Chronicles of Narnia and the Lord of the Rings. Star Wars might also be called fantasy, with the force being just another word for magic. Star Wars does dress itself up to look like science fiction, though.

Which gives me a good segue into science fiction. The science fiction genre tries to stay within the rules that scientists say the world works by and then adds an element of speculation. It asks questions often starting with the words "what if?". For example: "What if technologically advanced aliens made contact with Earth?" or "If technology keeps progressing at its current rate, what will the world look like in 500 years?". Even though Star Trek sometimes becomes another example of fantasy in space similar to Star Wars, it mostly stays within the science fiction genre. The Day the Earth Stood Still is another good example of science fiction. Oh, and The Day of the Triffids (when I was doing this lecture I was wearing my Day of the Triffids shirt).

Supernatural horror uses the magic and impossible stuff from the fantasy genre... Here's another vocabulary word: trope. The stuff in a genre, the defining elements, are also known as tropes. Elves, magic swords, and magic rings are tropes of the fantasy genre. Space ships, laser guns, and robots are tropes of the science fiction genre. Supernatural horror uses elements that are tropes of the fantasy genre, like vampires and werewolves, and uses them to try and tell a story that creates a sensation of fright, or well, horror. Dracula is supernatural horror. Most of Stephen King's better work, such as 'Salem's Lot, The Stand, and Christine, are supernatural horror.

Paranormal romance uses tropes from the fantasy and supernatural horror genres in service to a romantic plot. Again, vampires an werewolves would be good example tropes. Twilight is probably currently the most well known example of the paranormal romance genre. The Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris, which were adapted into the TV series True Blood, would be another example.

So, why do I like speculative fiction so much? Well, the real world can get to be a drag sometimes and a good book, particularly a speculative fiction one, can provide a bit of an escape into another world for a while. It can make your heart pound with excitement or laugh or even feel a bit angry or sad but in a good way. Everything you go to the movies for, except the popcorn, can be found in a book. In fact books are better because:
1) they're cheaper (libraries loan them out for free and Good Will and other thrift stores sell used books cheaply).
2) Anything can happen in books. They aren't held back by the limits that movies have as far as special effects. It's like having the absolutely best computer animators and other effects wizards work for free.

Now, I'd like to share a short passage from one of my favorite speculative fiction works ever, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (my original intent was to read the entirety of a short chapter pages 89-91 of the hardcover omnibus edition that I own, the bit about the whale and the bowl of petunias. Instead, I cut it down to about a page, just the actual thoughts of the whale and the bowl of petunias without the rest of the setup.).