Blurring speculative fiction lines: Children of Men

On December 13th, I posted an entry that touches upon the differences between science fiction and speculative fiction. Picking back up on this train of thought, I read a troubling statement in this linked article.

Regarding Cuaron's film version of P.D. James' Children of Men, it states: "This is a not a Science Fiction outing, future setting notwithstanding. As the director has said, Children Of Men just barely exaggerates various worrisome features of today to create the so-called future." Apparently, Cuaron does not consider this work science fiction.

Unfortunately, the reading public doesn't view the story in the same way as the director. In a quotation on BarnesAndNoble.com, a reader states: "Not worth the effort. I read this book for my contemporary lit class, hoping that it would live up to its fellow social science fiction novels. However, this book was very difficult to get through. The writing style was irksome and the ending was absolutely terrible. I recommend seeing the movie (with clive owen) when it comes out in November.
Also recommended: Fahrenheit 451, the giver, brave new world."

Many other readers did not find the book so difficult and praised it. Regardless of critical viewpoints, everyone considers this science fiction. Hollywood simply knows that science fiction as a genre scares away many viewers. It's not "date night" material but a gripping, socially-infused thriller would be...this is likely the impetus for Cuaron's statement.

If a book is set in the future and has a substantial scientific component (and human reproductive concepts can get pretty scientific), it will be considered by the genre-selecting folks to be science fiction no matter how badly Hollywood wants to nudge this away with thoughtful statements. This stigma can be annoying and the preconceived notions of science fiction can be problematic for writers. So, emerging genres like speculative fiction are growing in recognition.

It's a fine distinction: they're both SF but one leans more on science and the other focuses on the speculative aspect of the work. It wasn't until the middle of the 20th century that science fiction became broadly recognized in the first place. In the end, it's all labels and what they mean to people. They exist to help guide the reader and provide order to the literary universe. If the term speculative fiction will better help people understand what Children of Men really is, Cuaron should probably consider using this term. People will get it.