What was ruined when it became popular? And everyone was wearing it, saying it, doing it, watching

[First Speaker]

37. science fiction...

...until about 1977, real SF films were rare, and almost always dreadful. (*Forbidden Planet*, and of course *2001*, were exceptions.) Sf was a print medium, with books and magazines, a relatively small but very enthusiastic audience, and a very defined history with strong traditions. It was also the inventor of the concept of "fandom", and was still the main stem of fandom. Star Trek began shifting this to some extent, but it was *Star Wars* in 1977 that was the real change. Since then SF films have become almost the mainstream of movies, fandom has evolved along a thousand paths, and the original literature and fandom has to some extent withered on the vine. Written SF now has all sorts of branches, and no one person can keep up with it anymore. Dinosaurs like me are--ironically enough--out of place here in the "future", and nostalgic for the past...