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Science Fiction

Science Fiction. Defining Science Fiction. What is Fantasy? A genre that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting. Many works within the genre take place on fictional planes or planets where magic is common. Defining Science Fiction.

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Science Fiction

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  1. Science Fiction

  2. Defining Science Fiction • What is Fantasy? • A genre that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting. Many works within the genre take place on fictional planes or planets where magic is common.

  3. Defining Science Fiction • What is Science Fiction? • A genre that, within the context of the story, imaginary elements are largely possible within scientifically-established or scientifically-postulated laws of nature (though some elements in a story might still be pure imaginative speculation). Exploring the consequences of such differences is the traditional purpose of science fiction, making it a "literature of ideas".

  4. Consider this quote: • “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” • -Arthur C. Clarke • What does this quote mean?

  5. Elements of Science Fiction • Setting: • Future • Alternative Reality (Ex: What if Hitler won WWII?) • Ahistorical Past (Ex: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court) • Outer Space/Involves Aliens. • Often features advanced or fantastic technology.

  6. Key Terms in Sci-Fi:

  7. Some Definitions: • Utopia- an ideal place or state. Any visionary system of political or social perfection. • Dystopia- a society characterized by human misery, as squalor, oppression, disease, and overcrowding.

  8. Pop Sci-Fi vs. Hard Sci-Fi

  9. Science Fiction Writers

  10. Mary Shelley • Early 19th Century English writer. • Wrote Frankenstein. • She was a Romantic, and warned about the dangers of science. • A “Frankenstein Monster” has become an idiom for science out of control.

  11. Jules Verne • Late19th Century French writer called “The Father of Science Fiction”. • Wrote about many technologies before they were invented. • Nuclear power, space travel, submarines, air conditioning, automobiles, and global communication

  12. Notable Works by Jules Verne: • Journey to the Center of the Earth • From the Earth to the Moon • 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea • Around the World in Eighty Days

  13. H.G. Wells • Early 20th Century English writer. • Also called “The Father of Science Fiction”. • Predicted the European Union, genetics, and the atomic bomb.

  14. Notable Works by H.G. Wells • The Time Machine • The Invisible Man • The Island of Dr. Moreau • War of the Worlds

  15. Isaac Asimov • 20th century Russian-American scientist and science fiction author. • Considered the greatest science fiction author of the 20th century. • Novels focused on future history and robotics and featured rational thought.

  16. Michael Crichton • Late 20th century American author and movie director. • Writer of hard science fiction or “technothrillers”. • Main theme is the development of advanced science that gets out of control.

  17. Notable Works by Michael Crichton: • The Andromeda Strain • Congo • Jurassic Park • Timeline • Prey • Next

  18. Science Fiction in Film:

  19. Some Famous Science Fiction Movies: The Road Warrior Blade Runner ET Jurassic Park Gattaca The Matrix I. Robot Children of Men • The Day the Earth Stood Still • Forbidden Planet • 2001: A Space Odyssey • Planet of the Apes • Star Wars • Close Encounters of the Third Kind • Alien

  20. So what is the point of Science Fiction? • It allows writers to explore the “what if?” even if it is out of the realm of everyday possibilities. • What if Hitler had won WWII? • What if robots became so advanced that we no longer needed people? • What if we gain the ability to live in outer space? • What if we could time travel? Would we change the past?

  21. So what is the point of Science Fiction? • It allows us to reflect on governments and societies by looking at them through an exaggerated lens. • Would a world with no pain be the best world possible? • Can government control go too far? If so what would it look like? • Would it work if computers/robot governed our country?

  22. So what is the point of Science Fiction? • It helps people predict the future by giving them an outlet for the fantastic and “impossible”. • When we have the power to clone humans, will we want to? • If we could make it so people never died, what would the implications be? • If aliens came to earth, how would we react?

  23. Moving Forward: • Think about the way that science fiction allows human beings to do things and say things that they wouldn’t normally be able to do and say. • Think about how powerful that “what if?” can be when told in an interesting and compelling way.

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