My favorite sci-fi always uses its hook to amplify some bigger theme or idea - some emotional thrust.
“We are having the single worst recovery the U.S. has had since the Great Depression. I don't care how you measure it. The East Coast knows it. The West Coast knows it. North, South, old, young, everyone knows it's the worst recovery since the Great Depression.”
“Words and pictures can work together to communicate more powerfully than either alone.”