According to Time, science fiction is “stuck in a rut of hopelessness” with “cynicism and surrender at its core.” And Time isn’t looking at dystopian sf, but doomsday sf, like Oblivion and After Earth. Then there’s World War Z, which seem even bleaker than the others, and even Elysium. These are all good points, and will the pendulum swing the other direction? After all, the real world is mired in a sense of hopelessness as well, with persistent economic problems and constant acts of war and terror nearly worldwide. Surely that impacts science fiction books and movies as well?