“Live long and prosper” may be the words which bring back good memories for the average geek in America but this may not be the case for a typical British geek. This is despite the fact that science fiction series in television have been hugely popular in both the U.S. and the U.K. all throughout history. After the 1960s, ‘New Wave’ science fiction began to take over television screens. ‘New Wave’ refers to science fiction which was characterized by a high degree of experimentation (Wolfe). It was during this time when the U.S and the U.K started to telecast science fiction series which had a huge impact on society. Star Trek became the forefront of American science fiction series in television while British science fiction series could be best represented by Doctor Who, a hugely successful production which started in 1963 and still runs today. Both nations revolutionized the way science fiction was shared and interpreted, being the leaders behind this ‘New Wave’. Yet, the unique socio-cultural differences between both societies lead to slightly differing tracks of science fiction television series.
The influence which both sets of series had on the media and society is unremarkable. One of the most prominent series in the U.K., Doctor Who, is the longest running science fiction show in the world. The show was so successful that many science fiction spin-off series emerged throughout the show’s history. Examples include other hugely successful science fiction series such as The Sarah Janes Aventures and Torchwood. Star Trek’s success has made it a cult phenomenon, spawning many references in pop-culture and the construction of the Klingon language (used by a certain species called Klingons in the series) (Day). The series was t...
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...to improve this situation and a good example would be the inclusion of Kate Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway in Star Trek: Voyager, the first woman to take the role of the Captain in the series.
Unique cultural differences between Britain and America may have influenced the way science fiction was shown on television; in terms of plot, casting and the audience appeal. Yet, they are essentially science fiction series, fiction based on science and technology in the future which has paved the way for millions to set sights on the unknown and to imagine the impossible.
Works Cited
Wolfe, Gary G (2005) “Coming to Terms” in Speculations on Speculation. Theories of Science Fiction, James Gunn and Matthew Candelaria (Ed.), Scarecrow Press Inc, Maryland
Day, Dwayne. "Star Trek as a Cultural Phenomenon." US Centennial of Flight Commission. n. d. Web. 15 Sep. 2011.
Lind, Michael. "Why We Should Embrace the End of Human Spaceflight."Salon.com. N.p.: n.p., 2011. N. pag. Rpt. in NASA. Ed. Margaret Haerens. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.
Both texts are science fiction and show a deep concern with the effects of a technological revolution on human society.
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.
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...
Star Trek took the world by storm with its futuristic scenarios and outlandish ideas, which opened up the doors for science fiction in America as it gained recognition and popularity all across the world. It started as a television series in the 1960’s to becoming a multi-billion dollar franchise including 5 television series, 12 movies, and selling a magnitude of merchandise (Star Trek). People tend to look past the fact that Star Trek was so influential on the world, all they see is men and women in weird suits fighting aliens in space. But, what people don’t see is the how Star Trek inspired people and events that have drastically impacted not only America, but eventually the whole world. Things like the non-vehicular cell phone, iPad, and other devices and people were all inspired by the series (Star Trek). Fans dedicate themselves to Star Trek conventions and replica building and fanfiction. They even consider themselves part of the Star Trek family, calling themselves ‘Trekkies’ or ‘Trekkers’ (Star Trek). Star Trek fans have even gone as far as of learning to speak Klingon and use the Vulcan salute as a symbol to recognize another fan (Star Trek).
Star Trek was very culturally influential. When Nichelle Nichols, who played Uhura in the original series and several films, considered leaving the show during the second season to pursue a career on Broadway, she was persuaded to stay by Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., who told her that a show depicting a black woman working alongside white men in a position of power helped further racial equality. Nichols was later employed by NASA for recruiting African Americans and women to become astronauts. Actor Whoppi Goldberg ha...
Westerns and science fiction are two genres employed by popular culture that are, in that order, chronologically consecutive in history in terms of their popularity. When analyzed, they show themselves to be also extremely similar to one another, both thematically and structurally. Yet the shift in desirability from the dominant trend of western works to those of science fiction did occur, and I would argue is still occurring today. The reason for that shift in spite of the many similarities of the two genres, along with the factor of the added differences over time, may therefore be a convenient tool in revealing where exactly the ideologies of these respective generations diverge.
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.
Does Dr Who tell us about science and technology or the Britain of its time? Discuss.
In the science fiction realm, this word might conjure up images of Martian massacres, light saber standoffs, or robot regimes. While these scenarios certainly exist within many works of science fiction, however, the genre is not confined to such unbelievable and grotesque depictions of violence. Beyond its stereotypical guts and gore, the science fiction genre presents readers with unpredictable and unconventional—yet hauntingly believable—manifestations of violence: the mutilation of language; the burning of books; the destruction of identity; the commandeering of thoughts.
Men and women have had different roles in Star Trek as well as different progressions. Men in Star Trek have always had a leadership role. In the original series the four main characters are men. The captain, Kirk, the second in command, Spock, the doctor, Bones or McCoy, and the head engineering officer Scotty are all men. In the Next Generation series there is Captain Picard, the second in command, Riker, and there are others engineering roles played by Warf and Data who are all men. In the Deep Space Nine series Captain Sisko and the head engineer is male. In Voyager the second in command, Chakotay, as well as Tuvok, a Vulcan Spock like character, and Neelix, the cook are all men. Women in Star Trek have made a real progression, at least more then Men have. When men are already at the top having leadership roles there's no place to go but down. This isn't necessarily there work performance or merit is going down but the women's performance, merit and acceptance going up. The women of Star Trek started at the bottom and could only go up. The original series did have one woman in a starring role. Uhura was the head communication officer, however her role was really more of a secretary and didn't really have many lines and if she did they weren't very lengthy, nothing much more than, "Yes captain." In the Next Generation series the women started to move farther up the leadership ladder. The women starring roles were Beverly Crusher, the doctor, and Diana Troy, the counselor. In Deep Space Nin...
Tikkaken, Amy, Erik Gregersen, Swati Chopra, Darshana Das, and Grace Young. "Television (TV)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 01 Dec. 2006. Web. 16 Feb. 2014.
Originally published in Cinema Journal 40, No. 3, Spring 2001, Jason Mittell’s “A Cultural Approach to Television Genre Theory” conceives of television genre as a cultural category rather than merely a textual component. In the decade since the original publishing of the article, television has evolved out of the multi-channel era and into the post-network era. In this new television landscape, genres are no longer a fixed entity1, and there is great academic potential in the in the study of television genres. The text, Thinking Outside the Box: A Contemporary Television Genre Reader, aims to explore and analyze genre in the current television landscape, and the Mittell article, republished in the book, serves as an entry point to such scholarship.
Nightingale, V & Dwyer, T 2006 ‘The audience politics of ‘enhanced’ television formats’, International Journal of Media and Cultural Politics, vol. 2, no.1, pp. 25-42
Science fiction deals with the impact of actual and imagined science on society or individuals. It mostly speculates the technological advancement that may be obtained in the near future. Although most of the story is based on fiction, different elements of science that exist in the real world are also depicted in it. Some schools show science fiction movies to the students to enhance the learning process, while others only rely on text books. Not all classroom materials can be covered by science fiction narratives. However, making this genre a part of the education system can help students learn better and become more enthusiastic about any subject matter.