When Mary Shelley penned down the words “It’s alive!” in her timeless novel Frankenstein, she was unaware of the cult classic she was breathing life into. The genre of science fiction (sci-fi) film enthusiasts obsess over today was brought to life when Victor Frankenstein played God by using science to create a gothic creature. Fast forward 200 years, and Shelley’s main themes live on in movie houses and bookstores.
The Birth of Film’s Most Immersive Creature
The seed of this genre was planted by Shelley as she played with the idea of a creature being created through unorthodox scientific methods. These ideas only began to take root much later in the 20th century. Hugo Gernsback, an American publisher, popularised the world of sci-fi in his magazine Amazing Stories. This was the modern-day birth of Shelley’s whisperings. Known as the father of sci-fi, Gernsback opened the stage for sci-fi to be celebrated through the Hugo Awards. This award ceremony has been hosted annually since 1953 and honours top sci-fi editors, writers, illustrators, films, and fanzines. The film industry jumped on the bandwagon in the mid-20th century as sci-fi sets popped up. Aliens, robots, time-travel machines, and spaceships were all getting a moment of limelight on planet Earth. From here on, it was lift-off. Sci-fi filtered out into all forms of media such as television, computer games, comics, collectors’ items, books, and websites.
Questionable Utopias and Dystopias
Sci-fi is concerned with the impacts science and technology can have on society. As defined in the name, it deals with fiction that could be plausible as it is rooted in science. A little too much laboratory experimentation here and there could become catastrophically real if not practised with caution. The worlds created in sci-fi are either utopias or dystopias and are rooted in places familiar to viewers, making the scenario seem ever more real. These imagined worlds are brought to life with special effects that immerse viewers in a new reality, and the main themes include prophetic warnings, titanic disasters, strange voyages, and political agitation. Science is set up as the main cause of conflict, and tension is created through the characters’ responses to this. Often, the saving grace in sci-fi is an emphasis on humanity. What distinct human attributes will overthrow the crushing effects of science and essentially save the day?
The “Scientists” Behind the Scenes
Influential individuals who have contributed to the genre include Mary Shelley and Hugo Gernsback, as well as writers such as HG Wells and Aldous Huxley. Shelley and Gernsback are the Victor Frankensteins of sci-fi. With Shelley’s thematic experimentation and Gernsback’s honorary celebrations, sci-fi was able to blossom into the film utopia it is today. This groundwork gave Wells the platform to radicalise the genre. He focused on aggressive satire and utopian political agendas, predicting technological destruction, and some of his notable works include The Invisible Man and The War of the Worlds. On the other hand, Huxley counteracted the utopias Wells wrote by using Brave New World. As a social satirist, Huxley commented on the dystopia the world had become after the catastrophe of the First World War. Brave New World placed fifth on the Modern Library ranking of the 100 Best English Novels of the 20th Century. Utopias and dystopias alike touched down on the world as radical change swept through the 20th and 21st centuries.
The Bookworm’s Guide to the Sci-Fi Galaxy
One of the earliest sci-fi novels is Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea: Exploration of the Unknown by Jules Verne, written in 1870. This novel follows the undersea adventures of the despotic Captain Nemo on the Nautilus. During this time, submarines were in the early stages of development, making this novel representative of vast utopian exploration. The novel inspired real-life scientists and explorers such as Ernest Shackleton and Jacques Cousteau to leap into deep-blue utopian waters. Shackleton led four expeditions to the Antarctic, and Cousteau co-invented the first underwater breathing apparatus, which led to the first underwater documentaries. Here, sci-fi paved the way for development and discovery.
A more dystopian world can be found in George Orwell’s 1984. Written in 1949 during the Cold War, Orwell zooms into a near-future Britain strangled by government monitoring. People are deprived of their individuality and freedom by a totalitarian party. One can only hope that Orwell does not serve as inspiration for developments in the same way Verne has.
A must-read in the sci-fi genre is, of course, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Adams infuses the genre with humour through his satirical comments on the British space opera. He creates a parody with themes of rebellious technologies, time travel, galactic catastrophe, and cosmic bureaucracy.
Cinematic Cult Classics
Sci-fi made the greatest impact in film. James Cameron’s Terminator Two: Judgement Day stands as a sci-fi landmark in cinematic history. Cameron took immersive effects to a new level with heart-pounding action and gripping narration, which captured audiences worldwide. The film also birthed Arnold Schwarzenegger as the ultimate action hero. Following this was Jurassic Park, directed by Steven Spielberg. Here, prehistoric life was unveiled – in the flesh. The science used to clone dinosaur cells to create an amusement park goes dangerously wrong, and the storybook giants of childhood wreak very real havoc on visitors.
You cannot forget the timelessness of Keanu Reeves in The Matrix. This film explores the consequences of human bodies becoming obsolete while their minds are trapped in a simulated reality. The groundbreaking world of The Matrix blended visionary sensations through its use of martial arts choreography, bold visual effects, and gripping philosophical and existential themes.
Lastly, George Lucas’ unforgettable Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope can easily be seen as one of the most influential franchises in motion picture history. This space opera is set in a faraway galaxy, following the life of Luke Skywalker. His journey is set in motion when he needs to help save Princess Leia from the infamous Darth Vader during an interplanetary war. This is no doubt a cult classic.
Sci-fi also joined forces with animation in The Iron Giant and Ghost in the Shell. The Iron Giant centres on human attributes, bringing together a young boy and a benign alien in the form of a robot. Their friendship is one of innocence, sacrifice, and selflessness as the robot navigates his destiny. Mamoru Oshii’s Ghost in the Shell carries much more explicit themes, such as extreme violence and connections to tech porn. It follows the journey of a cyborg federal agent contemplating her own existence and how her life might change if she were to live according to more human attributes.
Television also explored the world of sci-fi through the Star Trek series created by Gene Roddenberry in the 1960s. This series takes place in the 23rd century and shows the journey of the USS Enterprise crew as they discover new civilisations in space. This is enabled by new technological advances that have been introduced to Earth by an advanced alien people called the Vulans. Although the series was cancelled because it received poor ratings, it has remained one of the most recognisable sci-fi brands in television history with its devoted Trekkie fans. Star Trek is sci-fi to the core with its aliens, immersive effects, and fictional world.
The world of sci-fi is even greater than the immersive utopias and dystopias it has created. This genre continues to influence multiple forms of modern media, and its legacy lives on in the characters of those such as Frankenstein, Darth Vader, and Captain Kirk. As every Star Wars fanatic states, “May the force be with you” as you delve into the rollercoaster utopia that is science fiction.
