Genre: Science Fiction

November 9, 2019

Science Fiction: Vision of Potential

   

     The science fiction genre is an undeniable classic when it comes to cinema.  Starting all the way back in 1902 with "Le Voyage dans la Lune," science fiction has had an enduring presence in the box office.  For the uninitiated, science fiction depicts a world in which major scientific or technological advancements have been made, allowing for settings, plot points, and other features of the world that could not be present in any other genre.  Due to said advances in technology, many science fiction films are set some time in the future in space or on planets other than Earth.  In the past, science fiction films were typically very dialogue heavy and put a focus on the social implications of the technological advances.  More recently, most science fiction films put greater emphasis on special effects and exciting action sequences that show off the advances of the fictional setting.  

Bringing the Future to Life

     Science fiction films make heavy use of special effects and CGI to portray their world on the big screen.  Sets are constructed to resemble the interior of a spaceship or the streets of a futuristic city.  Make-up and costumes are designed to portray the fashion of the future as well as whatever otherworldly creatures may inhabit that world.  CGI has been used for a long time to create the effects of lasers and various other special effects, but further development has led to CGI filling the role of practical effects in many films, used to create the environment and its inhabitants on a green screen instead of spending all the time and money required to build sets and create costumes.  When used together, practical effects are used for set and most character costumes and CGI is used to create backgrounds, special visual effects, and creatures that would be impossible or extremely difficult to produce in the same way with practical effects.

Selling Sci-Fi

     With the main attraction of science fiction films being the fantastical worlds themselves, it only makes sense that the marketing would put these aspects of the film first.  The advertising will prominently feature whatever advancement, creation, or creature is primarily driving the plot, such as a cybernetic android assassin (The Terminator) or the strange egg from which an otherworldly horror will be hatched (Alien).  Second to that would be the star or starring cast of the film, especially if it includes an extremely famous actor.  Sci-fi films have primarily targeted a demographic of white males ages 18-29, so they will commonly (but not always) have an actor in that demographic as the main character.

Example #1: Blade Runner (1982)

     In Blade Runner, directed by Ridley Scott, Deckard (Harrison Ford) is forced by his boss in the police force to reclaim his former job as a Replicant Hunter in order to pursue and eliminate four rogue Replicants, extremely human-like androids, who have returned to Earth from the colonies in space.  This film covers all the essentials of science fiction: a futuristic setting, advancements in science and technology, and the social implications of those advancements.  The film takes place in a dystopian Los Angeles, set in the far future of 2019 (what a coincidence).  Humanity has colonies in space, people travel around gigantic cities in flying cars, and Replicant androids are used to serve their masters' every whim.  The Replicants themselves introduce the theme of "humanity" to the film, being so life-like that some believe themselves to be human and are fearful of their inevitable "death."  The film perfectly encapsulates all the best aspects of science fiction in a movie considered by many to be an all-time classic.

Example #2: Dune (1984)

     Dune, directed by David Lynch, is an adaptation of the iconic sci-fi novel of the same name, released in 1965 and written by Frank Herbert.  The film tells the story of Paul Atreides (Kyle MacLachlan), the heir of a noble family involved in a conflict over control of the planet Arrakis, homeworld of a substance known as "the spice" which is essential to interstellar travel.  Dune covers many of the basics of science fiction, but is unlike many more recent offerings in the genre in the sense that the film is far more reliant on dialogue for furthering the plot.  It is iconic for the giant sand worms that inhabit the deserts of Arrakis, which were brought to life through the use of practical effects.  It is also of note that the cast of the film is overwhelmingly white and the main protagonist is a young white male.  While it was negatively received upon release, Dune has developed something of a cult following over the years and many of the ideas introduced in its source material have been used over and over again in science fiction films released since then.

Other Examples:

Interstellar (2014)

Annihilation (2018)

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

Arrival (2016)

The Martian (2015)

Ex Machina (2014)