Some quick notes on surviving the 2023 Hugos controversy – it’s easy, just channel your Inner Han Solo. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, the Guardian has a comprehensive breakdown on the controversy. The quarrel attacks our rich scifi heritage – going back to the first Hugo Award in 1953.
This isn’t my first ‘Hugo Controversy’ rodeo and maybe it isn’t yours, either. Nonetheless, scifi as a genre and a community will survive this moment. Our key to surviving the Hugos comes down to: ‘channel your inner Han Solo.’
I’ll explain what I mean in a minute.
Here’s what we know so far:
- Chengdu, China chosen for awards location – this upset people
- Nomination stats – normally released within 24 hours or so of the awards – weren’t made public until three months later – this upset people
- Dave McCarty, division head of the Hugo Awards, made ‘inappropriate, unprofessional, condescending’ but did not address the censorship theories – this upset people
- The Hugo team preeemptively identified works and individuals … they also compiled dossiers about potential Hugo finalists and combed their social media feeds for potentially problematic content – this upset people
- Special report released by Hugo-nominated sci-fi author Jason Sanford and Hugo-winning fan writer Chris M. Barkley. Report showed certain books kept off-ballot ‘to follow Chinese censorship laws’ – this *really* upset people
- The high number of disqualifications, mysterious patterns in the statistics, and other errors in the 2023 Hugo data mean that the entire Hugo Awards nomination process and results are being called into question.
It Gets Worse
Additionally, others are reporting on toxic work environment issues at Science Fiction World, a magazine in China featuring scifi stories. Scifi authors and fans have navigated a vast mix of emotions, from ‘I’m not a real Hugo winner’ to “This is really a clown show … I was a finalist but of course now I can’t hold my head up high about that one.” As Polygon noted, ‘the community is determined never to see a repeat.’
I don’t have any direct experience to speak to, so I want to talk to the rest of us. We’re standing at the fence between ‘unofficially professional’ and ‘unprofessionally official.’ How do we make sense of this? Some are taking the stance listed in the quote below. I’m advising the opposite. My advice is to channel your inner Han Solo. That’s what the rest of this blog post is all about.
Channeling Your Inner Han Solo
If you recall the mythos of Han Solo’s origin – he started out as an Imperial cadet but over time learned that he and the Empire had different goals. Sacrificing his future to do the right thing, Han Solo rose to the rank of General in the New Republic and is listed as the ’14th best hero’ by the American Film Institute. As George Lucas said, “[Han Solo is] a cynical loner who realizes the importance of being part of a group and helping for the common good.”
When you consider Han’s change of heart in A New Hope, you see him as more than just a mercenary. Watch him accept responsibility in Empire Strikes Back. Then watch his final act of sacrifice in The Force Awakens … there’s something to be learned from Han Solo. He places principle above position, common good in a world full of common greed. You can’t help but admire him for being that way. We all left the theater that first time believing something about ourselves, because of Han Solo.
Rigidity Isn’t Strength – Ideologies Aren’t Institutions
One of the major themes – at least in my mind – in Star Wars is the struggle between good and evil. In the Empire, you have a rigid institution dedicated to the preservation of an ideology at any cost. Then you have the Rebellion, who sees strength in gentleness, kindness, and love. Good people from unlikely places, heroes with horrible origins.
Channeling your Inner Han Solo means embracing strength, not rigidity. It means helping for the common good, even if it means sacrificing everything. I’m seeing a clash between ideologies within the Hugo controversy, our survival will come from moral courage, not ‘moral righteousness.’ You’re seeing examples of the failure of institutional ideology wherever you look. The Hugos are no exception, so what do you do when faced with a rigid institution defending an ideology at any cost?
This is an opportunity for us to show moral courage. We can watch what’s happening, and allow the feelings to pass with mindful acceptance. Yes, what’s happening doesn’t make sense. Yes, there are events with alarming implication. Do we join the mob and add our voice to the noise? No, we channel our Inner Han Solo.
Would Han Solo be upset about the Hugos? Sure, but he’s not gonna fly down the Death Star’s throat over it. Does he have a sense of humor about censorship, or bureaucratic nonsense? Absolutely not. But he’s not going to wait around, changing people’s minds – he’s going out into the cold to find his friend. When his friend starts freaking out and threatening to get everyone hurt, does he start throwing punches? No, he calms the situation down, recognizing confrontation would hurt more than help. He gives Chewie the best advice:
There’ll Be Another Time
We’ll figure out what the right thing to do with the Hugos is, eventually. In the meantime, we have to protect what matters. Science fiction as a community, as a genre? That’s what matters – not awards. Han didn’t save Luke at the Death Star for a medal, he did it because it was the right thing to do. He did it because it was a good thing. We can do the same.
Find good things to do. Embrace strength, not rigidity. Don’t fight to preserve ideologies or institutions if they aren’t strong enough to help the people they serve. If an institution is strong enough to be defended, it’s strong enough to defend itself. Channel your inner Han Solo to survive the Hugos. The Hugo Awards are strong enough to take care of themselves.
