Well, the last few years have seen a great number of alternate history novels, movies (both original scripts & adaptions), television series, documentaries etc become massive hits.
Some alternate history enthusiasts even complain that the genre now is too mainstream and they long for the days when it was only discussed among a few dedicated members. Some of this older AH enthusiasts, who have been around for a long time, complain that many new AHers are "too cheesy & sleazy" & "do not understand what AH is all about". Robert Tanzinikoh, an old time AHer, told The Economist that "These newbies are destroying the genre. Being a fan of AH since the 1970s, I always lamented the fact that AH remains a fringe interest. But now it seems that we get the quantity but not quality."
Some pundits are worried that the popularity of AH is detrimental for the learning of actual history. "Nowadays kids watch Napoleon The Great (a massive 2012 box office hit, which has Napoleon rules the entire world) before learning about what happened in Waterloo in the real world. This is not healthy," an educational think tank researcher told New York Times. The person refused to be named, citing a recent incident where a history teacher received death threats from overzealous AH enthusiasts over her critics of AH in her Facebook.
During an interview with CNN, Ian Montgomerie (known here as Ian The Admin) responded to the said incident by stating that "those who sent the death threats do not represent the whole community of AH lovers". When asked about the plan by Republican Congressman Scott Perry to table a bill to regulate the propagation of AH & his comment that the www.alternatehistory.com run by Mr. Montgomerie is "too liberal", he firmly denied that the board is leaning towards any political stance & stated that "we welcome diversity. This is what AH is all about".
I know many of us here will quickly scream ASB to my question, but I still want to ask. What if AH genre never become mainstream? Bonus point if the answer is a detailed one rather than just "I pity the people in that timeline" or "such and such (insert the name of members of this forum who have become millionaires courtesy of their published works and its adaption to Hollywood) will never make their millions".
Some alternate history enthusiasts even complain that the genre now is too mainstream and they long for the days when it was only discussed among a few dedicated members. Some of this older AH enthusiasts, who have been around for a long time, complain that many new AHers are "too cheesy & sleazy" & "do not understand what AH is all about". Robert Tanzinikoh, an old time AHer, told The Economist that "These newbies are destroying the genre. Being a fan of AH since the 1970s, I always lamented the fact that AH remains a fringe interest. But now it seems that we get the quantity but not quality."
Some pundits are worried that the popularity of AH is detrimental for the learning of actual history. "Nowadays kids watch Napoleon The Great (a massive 2012 box office hit, which has Napoleon rules the entire world) before learning about what happened in Waterloo in the real world. This is not healthy," an educational think tank researcher told New York Times. The person refused to be named, citing a recent incident where a history teacher received death threats from overzealous AH enthusiasts over her critics of AH in her Facebook.
During an interview with CNN, Ian Montgomerie (known here as Ian The Admin) responded to the said incident by stating that "those who sent the death threats do not represent the whole community of AH lovers". When asked about the plan by Republican Congressman Scott Perry to table a bill to regulate the propagation of AH & his comment that the www.alternatehistory.com run by Mr. Montgomerie is "too liberal", he firmly denied that the board is leaning towards any political stance & stated that "we welcome diversity. This is what AH is all about".
I know many of us here will quickly scream ASB to my question, but I still want to ask. What if AH genre never become mainstream? Bonus point if the answer is a detailed one rather than just "I pity the people in that timeline" or "such and such (insert the name of members of this forum who have become millionaires courtesy of their published works and its adaption to Hollywood) will never make their millions".
Last edited:
