Alternative reality fiction involves, as would be suspected, a fictional world like the actual world except for some key differences. In the case of alternative history fiction, the key differences arise due to some change in historical events—thus creating an alternative fictional timeline. One popular example of this is changing the outcome of WWII.
The idea the world could have been different is not just something for science fiction, but is also of interest in philosophy and science. Philosophers have long written about possible worlds and scientists got into the game relatively recently. From a philosophical standpoint, writers who create alternative histories are using counterfactuals in that they are describing a world that is counter to fact. For example, an author might explore what might have happened if the American Civil war ended with a Southern victory and a permanently divided United States and Confederacy. As another popular example, an author might change WWII. One example of this sort of counterfactual alternative history is the movie Inglourious Basterds. This is a clever piece of science fiction in which Jewish soldiers assassinate Hitler. There are, of course, also more extreme versions that are in the fantasy genre, such as the tale in which Lincoln hunts vampires. But counterfactual alternative realities are not just limited to entertainment; they are now a fundamental component of American politics.
While political narratives often distort reality by including straw men, modest lies and partial truths, some narratives present entire counter factual worlds. In some cases, the extent to which a politician or propagandist crafts an alternative reality would seem to make them a science fiction author. After all, they are describing a world somewhat like our own that does not exist, except in the imagination of the creator and those that share the creator’s vision.
While critics of Trump often present him as a departure from traditional Republicans because of his relentless untruths, this was an established well before Trump. One example of a Republican alternative reality is their narrative about the Obama administration. Paul Ryan’s 2012 speech is an excellent example of this sort of pre-Trump narrative. The world he describes is somewhat like our own and there is someone called “Obama” who was president of that America. However, the world of Ryan’s speech differs from the actual world in many important ways, as presented by Sally Kohn over at Fox. Another callback is when Clint Eastwood blamed Obama (or rather a chair standing in for Obama) for the invasion of Afghanistan—which happened long before he was president. Reagan was also skilled at presenting an alternative reality, one in which welfare queens drove the streets in Cadillacs. But these all seem quaint and restrained when compared to the alternative realities being presented by Trump and his Republicans today. In the Trump Continuum, leftists are attacking the reflecting pool with knifes, grocery prices are low and he keeps winning the Iran war. While I could list examples almost without end, to keep up with the latest truths, lies and distortions from politicians and pundits of all stripes, PolitiFact is a good place to visit.
While I suspect that Trump supporters do not read my blog, they would agree with me that politicians spin alternative realities. However, they would claim that Trump is describing the real world and everyone else is writing science fiction about an America that does not exist.
In the case of science fiction, the authors are aware they are creating fiction and, in general, the audience gets that the works are fictional. Of course, there can be some notable exceptions when fans lose the ability to properly distinguish counterfactuals and alternative histories from truth and history. One of William Gibson’s stories provides a fictional example of reality failure in which a photographer assigned to take pictures of surviving 1930s futuristic architecture begins to slide into an alternative reality, the Gernsback Continuum. This is a continuum in which the world of 1930s pulp science fiction became real. This story can now serve as a metaphor for what is happening now in American politics: there are people who seem to believe they are living in an alternative America. If you are critical of MAGA, they are the ones who think they are living in the Trump Continuum. MAGA folks presumably think everyone else is living in the Woke Continuum. But someone must be living in fictional political worlds that are populated by fictional political characters. The fight is over who and one key question is why they are doing this.
One obvious explanation is that people who do not know better and are not inclined towards critical thinking can be deceived by such fiction and accept it as reality. These people will, in turn, attempt to convince others of the reality of these fictions and will also make decisions, such as who to vote for, based on these fictions. As might be imagined, fiction-based decision making is unlikely to result in wise choices. Even when a belief is shown to be an error, people who believe because of their ideology will usually double down in the face of this disproof. This can make true believers almost immune to corrections. While this is a problem for those who are concerned about facts and logic, it gives the tellers of counterfactual narratives perfect audiences: believers who will reject challenges to the narrative in which they live and thus are willful participants in their own political continuum, be that the Trump Continuum, the Woke Continuum or whatever. For these people, art does not imitate life, nor does life imitate art. Life, at least is art—albeit bad science fiction.
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