Throughout science fiction films, there are different icons that vary from film to film. One of the most predominant icons in science fiction film is the robot. Iconography is the visual images and symbols used in a work that can be studied or interpreted. Elements of visual content that appear over and over again in film become visual conventions or icons that are understood by the filmmaker and the audience. Robots are seen in a wide range of science fiction films, which allows the viewer to be drawn to recognition of their expressive singularity. Both Gort from The Day the Earth Stood Still and Robby the Robot from Forbidden Planet, are icons of science fiction robots, who each carry out a different function and are presented differently to spectators, but are still both visualized as science fiction robots. Gort is a mysterious “policeman”, while Robby the Robot bears no resemblance to Gort and serves as a sort of “butler”. Gort and Robby the Robot obtain super-human qualities which allow them to be innovative and intellectually complex to the audience. Although, both characters may be called the same thing, …show more content…
Klaatu is the character who parallels political thinking of the 1950’s, as he comes to Earth to keep the peace, explaining the he understands the key to peace. While Klaatu is depicted as the reversal and goes from costumed alien to human, Gort represents an unimaginable force. Gort represents a bomb, destruction, and the idea that if you (you being the United States) act out, you will be destroyed. This reflects the American ideology of this time that we do not care about other internal affairs but when other countries are doing something that is affecting us, the United States, we will intervene. This film uses Klaatu and Gort, to represent peace and destruction respectively, to reflect the American Foreign
Literature and film have always held a strange relationship with the idea of technological progress. On one hand, with the advent of the printing press and the refinements of motion picture technology that are continuing to this day, both literature and film owe a great deal of their success to the technological advancements that bring them to widespread audiences. Yet certain films and works of literature have also never shied away from portraying the dangers that a lust for such progress can bring with it. The modern output of science-fiction novels and films found its genesis in speculative ponderings on the effect such progress could hold for the every day population, and just as often as not those speculations were damning. Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein and Fritz Lang's silent film Metropolis are two such works that hold great importance in the overall canon of science-fiction in that they are both seen as the first of their kind. It is often said that Mary Shelley, with her authorship of Frankenstein, gave birth to the science-fiction novel, breathing it into life as Frankenstein does his monster, and Lang's Metropolis is certainly a candidate for the first genuine science-fiction film (though a case can be made for Georges Méliès' 1902 film Le Voyage Dans la Lune, his film was barely fifteen minutes long whereas Lang's film, with its near three-hour original length and its blending of both ideas and stunning visuals, is much closer to what we now consider a modern science-fiction film). Yet though both works are separated by the medium with which they're presented, not to mention a period of over two-hundred years between their respective releases, they present a shared warning about the dangers that man's need fo...
The science fiction film, Blade Runner, directed by Ridley Scott, first released in 1982 and loosely based on Philip K. Dick's novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?,1 has continued to fascinate film viewers, theorists and critics for more than fifteen years. Writings include Judith B. Kerman's Retrofitting Blade Runner, a collection of academic essays;2 Paul M. Sammon's book on the making of the various versions of the film;3 and an extensive network of publications are available via the World-Wide Web.4 A student colleague has just seen the film for the eighteenth time.
It is my analysis that Kurbrick was not just showing America the stupidity of nuclear war, but was also showing that the United States government often makes mistakes. One mistake, not just in the movie but in life, is the allocating of power to an individual who is not fit, whether mentally or physically, to have this power. When these individuals are allocated this power their actions can have a worldly consequence.
Science fiction writing began in the early 1800’s as a reaction to the growth of science and technology. The genre is characterized by its intellectual excitement, high adventure, and its making of the fantastic possible. Due to the nature of science fiction, film has become an essential part of its popularity. Science fiction films have been popular since the earliest silent clips because of the outlandish visuals and creative fictional story lines that capture an audience’s attention. Under the guise of this popular platform, writers relay political, social and philosophical messages to their audience.
[12] Slade, Joseph W. "Romanticizing Cybernetics in Ridley Scott's Blade Runner." Literature Film Quarterly 18.1 (Jan 1990): 2-64
Symbols usually consist of objects, characters, or figures expressing a larger concept or idea. In 1984, symbols find themselves in many main ideas and themes. Some symbols are used to represent a deeper meaning in characters and plot, while others show comparison and contrast between ideas. Several of these symbols are clearly shown throughout the book, catching the attention of the reader to further the understanding of the battling themes. Sometimes, words do not come close to describing what is going on.
...es, we must change for the better. In the movie, Klaatu appears before Barnhardt's colleagues and warns them that because the universe grows smaller every day, threats of aggression cannot be tolerated. Klaatu assures them that they will be under the watchful eye of a robot named Gort, who was invented by an organization of planets determined to stamp out violence. Each planet is guarded by a robot that impartially acts against aggression, and the inhabitants live in peace. He informs the crowd, "Your choice is simple: join us and live in peace, or pursue your present course and face obliteration."
“Science fiction often plays off the real against the artificial, either in the form of humans versus non-human (androids, cyborgs, synthetics), or the world versus the non-world (cyberspace, inner-space, intentional space)”.
Star Wars is a franchise which has successfully adapted a set of recurring themes throughout its films; themes that keep the audience captivated in the storyline, while at the same time using symbolism to express different thoughts and ideas to help develop the plot. Everything in the films, whether it be a lightsaber, an outfit, or the color of a room, has a hidden significance, greater than is first apparent. The audience is given the option to dig deeper into the symbols displayed through the films and decipher the meanings behind each one. Due to the immense amount of literary devices, such as motifs, themes, and symbols, Star Wars is regarded as one of the most significant film franchises in history.
Nevertheless, Lucas took the protocol droid idea from Forbidden Planet and made it original. A franchise like Star Wars might have defined sci-fi for generations, but Forbidden Planet essentially created Sci-Fi’s platform as we know it. Coining ubiquitous sci-fi terms Star Wars associates itself today with, such as “hyper drive” and “blaster”. Along with 2001, Forbidden Planet stands as one of the most fundamentally groundbreaking sci-fi films of all time. Drawing on real sci-fi concepts and enhances a stimulating use of an electronic music score. Forbidden Planet provides cinematic depth at a time where 1950’s B-movie box office sci-fi flicks were the Hollywood nomenclature. Compromising a blend of technological paranoia (computers and technology
Another element of Bradbury's writing is robots. Wayne L. Johnson explains that "the robot represents the ultimate heart of the scientific conceit, wherein men's knowledge of the universe becomes so great that he is able to play God and create other men" (73). Robots represent the degrading value of life present in society. All of Bradbury's robot stories found in The Stories of Ray Bradbury come to unhappy endings. They are "horror stories as well as light-hearted warnings against taking robots for granted" (74). Many stories with robots are considered science fiction because robots are considered to be futuristic things. Bradbury uses robots to show the value people place on science over human beings. In "Marionettes, Inc.", two men are unhappy with their wives. One man, Braling tells the other man, Smith, that he has purchased a robot to take his place as a husband.
While the movie is more action based, Asimov’s books are focused on human-robot relations. In a lot of Asimov’s robot stories, rarely any robot breaks the three laws. The biggest connection between the movie and the books are the leading characters like Dr. Susan Calvin and Dr. Alfred Lanning. The “I, Robot” book is a complete history of robots told through Dr. Calvin’s eyes and the movie is just a part of this huge history. Although the plot of the movie isn’t a part of the book, it surly speaks the words and ideas of Isaac Asimov and I think that if he were alive, he would very much appreciate the movie and his acknowledgment and respect in the world of robotics.
An iconography is a symbolic representation that carries hidden meaning of a term, image, and item. Both Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Achebe’s Things Fall Apart fully describe many symbolisms of specific items and all of them are attached to different kinds of meaning behind. Although Heart of Darkness is a famous literature that was criticized by Chinua Achebe and each of their work represents different point of views during similar time of history, both literatures have a similarity that they operate iconography in relation to race, class and identity with their own interpretations of symbols and icons.
Sir Isaac Newton, born on the 25th of December 1642 in Woolsthorpe by Colsterworth, Lincolnshire, England, and passing away on the 20th of March 1727, is regarded as one of, if not the most influential Mathematician and Physicist of all time and he was a huge figure that took a great part in the scientific revolution. Sir Newton was born 3 months after his father (a profitable farmer), also named Isaac Newton passed away, followed by his Mother re-marrying when he was 3 years old to a stepfather that Sir Newton grossly disliked, so much that in his list of sins up to the age of 19 he confessed to; "Threatening my father and mother Smith to burn them and the house over them." The great brain of Sir Newton remained unused between the age of 12 and 17 where at “The Kings School, Grantham” he learnt Latin but not the Mathematics we all recognise him for today. He was eventually removed from the school by his mother who attempted to make Sir Newton become a farmer like his father prior to the master of “The Kings School”, Henry stokes persuading Sir Newton’s mother to allow Sir Newton to ...
Many people have probably heard of Sir Isaac Newton. He is a common household name nowadays, but few people actually understand the extent or value of his contributions to our modern societies. He is known to be one of the most influential scientists and mathematicians of all time (Issac Newton Facts). Many theories and laws that we now take for granted are attributed to the work and research of Sir Isaac Newton. He is especially popular for his laws that govern the natural world around us. Sir Isaac Newton did not confine himself to just one area of research. He was a man of many talents and was well versed in many areas such as Mathematics and Science. Throughout Sir Isaac Newton’s life, he made multiple discoveries and contributions to our modern world including his laws of gravity and motion, the improvements to the telescope, and the formation of calculus.