Science fiction is a genre that usually takes place in an imaginative but almost real seeming world where there is more that likely a picture of the future being painted. In this picture you will usually see robots, space ships, aliens, or even different worlds way beyond the place we call Earth. Other characteristics of science fiction are post- apocalyptic societies and environmental catastrophes (Edwards). You may wonder where the term “science fiction” came from. It wasn’t until the 1920’s when an american publisher named Hugo Gernsback invented the term (sterling). In today’s society Technology plays a huge role. In science fiction it plays an even bigger role. The whole genre depends on the furthering of wild inventions. In order for …show more content…
This revolution sparked the minds of many writers such as Mary Shelly. Mary Shelly started off 19th century science fiction with a bang when she wrote Frankenstein. This novel was very controversial at the time. Frankenstein is seen as a sign to go against science that doesn’t have moral context (Edwards). During its time it was against the law to go against the religious views of society. In the deeply religious Pre-Victorian age , suggesting a scientist could challenge God by trying to create human life was profoundly shocking (Edwards). The science fiction characteristic in this novel is the use of imaginative technology to create a human from dead body parts. One of the biggest authors of the 19th century is Jules Verne. He is responsible for many novels of this century. His most popular science fiction novel being Twenty thousand Leagues Under The Sea. In addition to imagining diving gear, Verne talks about uses for a submarine (Edwards). In this novel the protagonists are captured by a man named Captain Nemo on board an advanced submarine called The …show more content…
One major thing happened to science fiction in the last four decades of the 20th century, that being that it became less of a ‘Literature of Ideas’ (Roberts 264). Movies such as Star Wars, ET, The Terminator, and Alien were made thanks to our old friend Science Fiction Literature. Science fiction has done many things for us like provide a vision of the future, and provide entertainment for the family. Most importantly science fiction has helped guide us towards inventions that are now very important in today’s society. Thanks to Jules Verne, Simon Lake invented the modern submarine, and Igor Sikorsky invented the modern helicopter (Struass). Thanks to H.G Wells Robert H. Goddard invented the first liquid-fueled rocket, and Leo Szilard solved the problem of creating a nuclear chain reaction (Struass). Science fiction started from the very bottom at the first idea of things being beyond Earth and after many years new inventions inspired the idea of many new things such as time travel and robots. I dont know how writers from the 17th century would react today if they saw the things that are very popular today. Back then many of the things that were thought of were just thoughts and today many of them are reality. Man has been to the moon. Robots have been created. Technology has advanced and now many of the science fiction stories ma just be stories. The history of science fiction literature is very important
Some writers would tend to avoid controversy in their writing, to avoid offending or limiting their audience. Many choose to write brilliantly designed worlds, times or characters, that simply take a reader on a journey. They can use traits of realistic, non-realistic, and semi-realistic fiction. An effective storyteller can create plots, characters and settings which involve themes based on historical events, or mythology to present their tale. Classic themes within the science fiction genre; is this classic blending of scientific and technological facts. Then it is their job to take you to a place or time that shows their finely crafted potential situation and events.
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...
I do not agree with Richler opinion when he says fiction is a waste of time. Reading a piece of information or any novel contribute to human being educational enrichment, never a waste of time. Fiction movies are entertaining, I enjoy science fiction movies because they are interesting and mostly because they are short and easy to follow.
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.
H.G. Wells was one of the fathers of modern science fiction. He made his reputation as a writer through what he called “scientific romances”[2], a comment he made about his own science fiction in the 1930’s. However, he himself said that there were radical differences between his science fiction and that of Jules Verne. Wells said that his own work was “an exercise of the imagination”,[2] as in The Invisible Man and The War of the Worlds. In these books he was not suggesting a serious possibility, just trying to imagine what might happen in a given situation.[2]
As long as sci-fi continues to re-invent itself, the genre will remain relevant, challenging, and entertaining, which is why it will survive as long as cinema itself.
“I think science fiction helps us think about possibilities, to speculate - it helps us look at our society from a different perspective. It lets us look at our mores, using science as the backdrop, as the game changer” (Mae Jemison). Science fiction is a form of fiction that uses scientific knowledge using plot, setting, theme, etc. and has an impact on society. Authors and producers can turn a fiction piece into science fiction using different techniques. Some examples of these literary techniques include the nonfiction book, The Hot Zone, written by Richard Preston, the science fiction book World War Z, written by Max Brooks, and the scientific movie, Unbreakable, directed by Marc Forster.
Darko Suvin defines science fiction as "a literary genre whose necessary and sufficient conditions are the presence and interaction of estrangement and cognition, and whose main formal device" (Suvin 7-8) is a fictional "novum . . . a totalizing phenomenon or relationship" (Suvin 64), "locus and/or dramatis personae . . . radically or at least significantly" alternative to the author's empirical environment "simultaneously perceived as not impossible within the cognitive (cosmological and anthropological) norms of the author's epoch" (Suvin viii). Unlike fantasy, science fiction is set in a realistic world, but one strange, alien. Only there are limits to how alien another world, another culture, can be, and it is the interface between those two realms that can give science fiction its power, by making us look back at ourselves from its skewed perspective.
Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein cannot merely be read as a literary work of the early 19th century. It represents the workings of young Shelley's mind. Further, it represents the vast scientific discoveries of the time, combined with Mary Shelley's intuitive perception of science. She views science as a powerful entity, but also recognizes the dangers if uncontrolled. Shelley demonstrates this fear in the book as science drives Victor Frankenstein to create his monster. In the end, it is also his use of science that inevitably becomes his demise.
The advancement of technology also accounts for responses to sci-fi changing. Sci-fi stories have always needed a scientific premise. Very early sci-fi films did not look realistic and were often not taken seriously. These days, the film technology we have is amazing - just look at how realistic the apes were in Planet of the Apes! Added to that, the progress that mankind has made in the past few decades is incredible, so much so that a sci-fi films can present its audience with a fantastic idea such as time travel and make it appear possible. This the audience takes seriously. sci-fi is no longer just a fun
Science fiction is a genre, which depicts what life would be like in a world with major scientific and technological developments. When it comes to science fiction, the exploration of future technology is a major element. Many stories and films focus on space, robots, aliens, a mad scientist, and/or artificial intelligence. “The universal themes found in science fiction—themes of freedom and responsibility, power, love, individuality and community, good versus evil, technology run amok, and more—present ample opportunity to explore complex issues and compelling controversies at length and in depth in ways that not only engage the intellect, but involve the emotions and expand the imagination.” The story “Flowers for Algernon,” by Daniel Keyes, is an example of science fiction that examines the impact of artificial intelligence. “The End of the Whole Mess,” by Steven King, is an example of science fiction that focuses on the fall of a mad scientist. The film “Gravity” is an example of a science fiction movie that explores the use of major technological advancement within space. In this paper I will assess the major themes portrayed in “Flowers for Algernon,“ “The End of the Whole Mess,” and the film, “Gravity.” Additionally, I will examine how these models of science fiction teach a major lesson about the imperfections of future scientific and technological advancements on society.
The speculative question "what if?" is the starting point for all science fiction. Many scholars list Mary Shelley's novel "Frankenstein" as one of the first science fiction books. Shelley's book gave an answer
H.G. Wells was infamous for making scientific predictions of events that would later occur throughout time. Wells used his available platforms to convey his ideas of future progression. During his lifetime, he had produced novels such as The Time Machine, The Island of Doctor Moreau, and The War of the Worlds, which would later become three of his most famous works. These novels caused tremendous amounts of controversy due to their themes of science going “too far.” H.G. Wells used his novels to predict wars, genetic splicing, and various weapons of destruction that are used in modern day science.
...opose the things we can’t begin to explain like vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness. SF on the other hand, presents a backstory or plausible explanation like on how people could have their memories whipped, become slaves, and completely believe their someone else. Fantasy works don’t need to answers the who, what, when, where, and why questions in detail because by doing that they would step out of the mysterious realm of fantasy into SF. In SF the plot or setting usually refers back to current understanding of the real world. This is the key distinction. Fantasy does not require such explanations to have a basis in known science. Science fiction does. SF takes a supported, theoretical outlook about the future and makes predictions on what humanity could face. It’s the antithesis of Fantasy, which has every outlook as a scientific unexplainable existence.
Science and Technology can be traced from the origin of human life 2 million years ago and each era has significant advancement. The earliest known form of S&T were human artefacts found during prehistoric time about 2.3 million years ago, they were roughly shaped stones used for chopping and scraping, found primarily in eastern Africa. Some of the earliest record of science came from Mesopotamian cultures around 400 BC, disease symptoms, chemical substances and astronomical observations were some of the evidence of emerging science. During the same period in the Nile Valley of Egypt information on the treatment of wounds and diseases and even some the mathematical calculations you are currently doing now in fifth form such as angles, rectangles, triangles and the volume of a portion of a pyramid have been around for thousands of years.