Humans are Space Orcs and the Importance of Fanfiction
(a trope analysis)
Due to it being an internet trope, the true origin of Humans are space orcs is almost as hard to pin down as what I ate for breakfast this morning. It is anybody's guess. We know for sure that it started on either Tumblr or the Reddit channel “Humanity Fuck Yeah,” bled over into Ao3 (a notorious fanfiction website) and continues to progress to this day. A general overview of the trope; In a conceptual future/alternate dimension where humans make contact with aliens, we end up being massively overpowered in comparison to them.
Considering the large range of space horror and otherwise grim futures for humanity common to the sci-fi genre. This is a bit strange. It speaks to the ego, bigging us as a species up, in our narrow view of sentient creatures this air of superiority is directed by and towards our own species. Coming in all sorts of forms such as racism, white supremacy, ableism, sexism, homophobia, classism, etc. All based on the idea that those not of the “undesirable” group are superior to those who are. In our fragile human existence sometimes people’s sense of security within themselves is dependent on putting others down to make themselves feel better. This mimics the way this trope parades humans as this obviously superior (and unexpectedly so) species.
However the name “Humans are Space Orcs,” is literal. Not only are humans viewed as terrifyingly strong in this trope, but also plain terrifying, mindless brutes. Invincible but not infallible, their intelligence as their weakness, resilience is a lucky coincidence not a sign of sentient life. So in a way here, despite positioning humans as superior, the trope also places us as oppressed, mistreated. We are, if we are using this as a metaphor, the “undesirable” group. Powerful in physical strength not status. We are actually fully divided, this trope does not present humans as a unified group but rather stragglers, barely surviving by the skin of our teeth. Most humans in space never meet another human within the span of their lifetime, just wandering around for a safe place. We can see the parallels between this and refugees, from immigrants unable to find a community. We can see parallels in humans being painted as dangerous that are popular in racial stereotypes.
It is grim, it is definitely not inspiring, and it leads to many very very sad fanfictions. Oh yes, there’s fanfictions. Fanfictions galore. (Fanfiction, for those of you who don't know, is: Stories derived from another piece of media that may use the same characters or settings.) There are over 860 tagged fanfictions on Ao3 with the tag “Humans are Space Orcs,” and 1,440 bookmarked. I’ve seen a Humans are Space Orcs fic in almost every fandom I’ve been in. There’s hundreds of interpretations, of add ons, of lore drops I haven't included here. However they are in overwhelming capacity, hopeful. Though many I read are intertwined with sadness and a tangible feeling of grief, they almost always have a happy ending. They fall in love, they find a family, they make a life, they do it all not in spite but in tandem with being human. It causes all of these characters so much grief, it scares the ones they love, it harms many, and it protects them too. It is this sense of pride, of community that allows them to thrive. I know a majority of fanfic writers are teenagers, kids, and young adults. (Though shoutout to Ginny who's 62 and still kicking with her bomb ass marvel fanfiction.) But the fact that through this medium that many look down upon as not being real art, as only a derivative, so many people have come to this conclusion. The conclusion of hope and love and culture and literature, and perseverance, and strength. It shows how much writing matters, how much fiction writing matters. Because through this convoluted idea we have people making and learning about real commentary on the world, we have people coming to their own conclusions on these large topics that many think young people are unable to handle or address. We learn through creating. We learn through perseverance. In this day and age where criticism and constant harsh feedback and self loathing are common, a world appearing on the edge of pure hopelessness. The idea that perseverance is possible, that not only will we continue in the future, but thrive? I think it’s something we need more and more everyday now.
Fanfiction is additive in nature, a continuation, something built off another, and that is what it has done with this trope, warped it in some manner, used it as an additive, a preservative, a carcinogen. But fundamentally, I think this trope is about hope. I think it’s so interesting that so many people have connected this trope with writing about this isolation and struggle and strength, not only physically, but emotionally. How interesting it is that without even knowing it all these people have been writing about the most radical thing, pride and hope?