Essays on Science Fiction

It is often the case that science fiction writers infuse aspects of religion in their works. In the case of the two books Out of the Silent Planet and Bellwether the authors have infused aspects of religion in their works as will be shown in this essay. The presence of science fiction in books makes the genre more interesting to read. In the two novels the two main characters are characterized by their agency and their subjectivity. This means that they exhibit a mythic dimension and an ethical dimension. Characterized by their agency, the main characters in these novels Continue reading...

The Changing Identity of the Invaders in Science Fiction

INTRODUCTION
There are very few people in the United States who do not know what the quote “May the Force be with you” means, even if they are not fans of the Star Wars franchise. The same could be said for “beam me up,” “resistance is futile,” and “boldly go where no one has gone before.” Science fiction, its characters, phrases, and worlds presented, have become part of the social paradigm. Granted, science fiction is a genre that does not appeal to everyone, but to those who favor the genre they are often committed and loyal. Science fiction can Continue reading...

Literature

In the modern world, authors have employed science fiction as one of the mode of representing their main message and themes. Much of this science fiction is completely based on an author’s imaginative content and as such, the setting of such works of literature tends to adopt a futuristic background. Space travel, science and technology, parallel universe and time travel are some of the aspects that authors incorporate in science fiction films (Seed, 11). The essence of this genre is to explore the possible consequences of innovations that are scientific in nature. In most cases, they use science Continue reading...

English: Research Paper

Film and literature industries show the men as Superman, Spiderman, Xman and many other types of superhuman characters, however, same has not been the case with the women. The movies which depicted women as superhuman did not achieve much success at the box-office. In this research paper, an analysis of success of men as superhuman and failure of women as superhuman has been carried out to identify the reasons to make it even for both genders. Also, depiction of women as superhuman in the movies and comic books will critically be looked at, with some examples from some prominent Continue reading...

Striking Features of the Story

Blood child is a science fiction novelette by Octavia E. Butler. The piece is quite striking because of the enormous emotional impact it has on the readers. Anyone reading the book is just blown away by Butler’s ability to blend excellent characterization and complex ideas. For example, the piece’s main protagonist, Gan, encounters many fascinating and maybe disturbing experiences such as the rite of passage in an alien planet where men’s bodies were used to incubate the eggs of the aliens.
Another striking feature is how incredibly written the piece is. The flow of Butler’s Continue reading...

Introduction

Science fiction in the modern world plays a crucial role in providing imaginative contents of the things that human beings should expect at some point in time. This genre explores the likely effects and consequences of the innovations that are scientifically based. This genre is used by people to address current trends in the world and warn them of the possible effects that may be brought by the trends in the late life. The setting of such content is based in futuristic events and addresses issues such as the development of science and technology and the most likely scenarios Continue reading...

James Cameron is a household name in the film industry. He is widely acknowledged for his expertise in film production, film directing and screen writing. His works include two of the world’s all-time best films. As a testament to the crucial role that Cameron has played to the general film industry, he has been nominated six times for the Academy Awards, something that few film directors have achieved. In essence, two of his movies, Avatar and Titanic are two of highest earning films of all-time, respectively raking $2.19 billion and $2.78 billion all over the world. Vanity Fair Continue reading...

Science Fiction

Introduction
Fantasy as well as science fiction answers this question –What if? Science fiction often takes our understanding when it comes to how our universe works and even imagines technologies and ideas that people have not witnessed yet, but could still fit within our understanding. The fiction, which expands on what people know about science, is working on known principles. There are many roots of science fiction and fantasy as a genre that can be explained through the course of this study.
In this research, we also argue that there are major creators of science fiction and fantasy who Continue reading...

Defining the Odd: An Exploration of Slipstream

When Bruce Sterling published his article “Slipstream” in SF Eye #5 (n.pag..), he defined a genre that from then on would be characterized by a variety of words. He said that slipstream “is a kind of writing which simply makes you feel very strange; the way that living in the twentieth century makes you feel, if you are a person of a certain sensibility”. He described this new kind of writing as “a fantastic, surreal sometimes, speculative on occasion, but not rigorously so”. The whole of the article narrates how the literary science fiction genre’s chance at being “ Continue reading...

Stanley Weinbaum

ALIEN IN THE EYES OF THE BEHOLDER
Abstract
Stanley Weinbaum and Frederic Brown wrote stories that broke new ground in science fiction. In the stories “A Martian Odyssey” and “Arena,” they created aliens that had nothing that was physiologically or motivationally similar to human beings. The aliens in these stories had capabilities that were, in some ways, superior to humans. However, the struggles that characterize these stories are recognizably human, displaying as they do human fears and shortcomings.
Keywords: Stanley Weinbaum, Frederic Brown, “A Martian Odyssey,” “Arena.”
ALIEN IN THE EYES OF THE BEHOLDER
Stanley Weinbaum
The great science Continue reading...

The interaction between science and fiction in our day and age is for everybody to see and experience. The subject is a vast one and often kept separate from formal discussions its effects on the society and how it is affected by it. A science fiction topic which gained massive popularity in the decade of the 80’s and continued through to the 90’s was the subject of virtual reality. Virtual Reality simply refers to environments generated by a means of a computer program where physical presence is simulated. Such environments can be imaginary but very often bear Continue reading...

Science Fiction between 1900 and 1960s

According to McGraw-Hill (2001), “between the year 1900 and the 1960s, science fiction was greatly influenced by the hopes, fears and concerns associated with the social and political changes that took place across the world” (p. 24). For example, many nations in the world were struggling with liberations from colonialism and wars had ensued in many parts of the world. Also, there were various changes that occurred in intellectual and spiritual aspects that were associated with social transformations. Some scholars tackled issues to do with gothic mystery, pessimistic visions, and apocalyptic visions in a bid to expound on issues Continue reading...

The works of Ray Bradbury have long been held up as examples of speculative fiction: the forms of genres which, generally, encompass a wide range of imaginative features. His work often presents common themes such as those with pertain to the future, space, science fiction and the dystopian qualities of future societies. For example, in Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury discusses a future society where books are banned: presenting the reader with a hint of anti-meta narrative, given that the book is the very thing in the readers’ hands. This also represents Bradbury’s most famous Continue reading...

Introduction

This paper aims to propose a discussion on science fiction movies and presents comparative analysis on two science fiction movies ‘Blade Runner’ and ‘Wall-E’. Both these movies have entertained audiences and made them acquainted with various innovative ideas of future world. There are various differences, as well as similarities in both these movies and both of them depict a glimpse of the world that is influenced heavily by the science. ‘Blade Runner’ is a granular science fiction that may have various differences with the movie Wall-E but on the basis of genre of both these movies, this paper proposes Continue reading...

Introduction

Cyberpunk is a form of science fiction that emerged in the latter half of the 20th Century. This genre of science fiction involves the envisioning of a near future that is characterized by scientific advancement in the form of cybernetics an information technology. This advancement is however coupled with societal order breakdown where chaos and anarchy reigns. Many of the cyberpunk narratives revolve around conflicts between technological experts like hackers or even conflicts between technological mega-corporations. A lot of cyberpunk plots are set in dystopian societies marked by massive cultural rot as well as the use of advanced technology Continue reading...

As a big fan of Science Fiction Horror movies, I like the types of aliens that are strong looking, love to exterminate anything, and take over the land to spread out their horrendous empire. To me aliens are pretty cool creatures to explore and learn about. Aliens have been known as strangers or outsiders who are not in the same category as human. Therefore, we believe if they really exist and the way they came on earth is because they want to suck the potential source that we have and start their invasion.
When I was in Vietnam, television Continue reading...

INTRODUCTION

In the 1982 science-fiction film Blade Runner, director Ridley Scott takes great care to fashion a detailed, unique dystopian world for the characters to inhabit. The setting is Los Angeles in the (at the time of production) dystopian future of 2019, where corporations rule the world and synthetic humans called replicants have been outlawed. The film follows bounty hunter Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) as he is tasked to hunt down several replicants who have escaped to Earth. The care taken in the creation of the world of Blade Runner, in combination with the dreamlike, meandering story, creates a visual and cultural futurist’s painting of a realistic dystopia as yet unseen in science fiction. This is combined with deep themes of identity and man’s interaction with technology to create a meaningful and interesting masterpiece of speculative fiction. In this paper, we will analyze the production elements of the film, and how they work to tell this story of robots and humanity in the way that Ridley Scott envisioned.

Continue reading...

Essay

The Martian Chronicles, a science fiction short story collection is dated by 1950 year, was written by a famous fiction-writer, Ray Bradbury. This story collection tells about the colonization of Mars by humans, running from their troubled and devastated Earth; about the conflict between the aboriginal creatures of this planet and the newcomers, resulted in annihilation both Earth and Martian races.
But, The Martian Chronicles isn’t only the science fiction story collection at all, but it can be a version of mythology, made by Ray Bradbury with involving a lot of sci-fi techniques as rocket ships and space Continue reading...

Essay

The Martian Chronicles, a science fiction short story collection is dated by 1950 year, was written by a famous fiction-writer, Ray Bradbury. This story collection tells about the colonization of Mars by humans, running from their troubled and devastated Earth; about the conflict between the aboriginal creatures of this planet and the newcomers, resulted in annihilation both Earth and Martian races.
But, The Martian Chronicles isn’t only the science fiction story collection at all, but it can be a version of mythology, made by Ray Bradbury with involving a lot of sci-fi techniques as rocket ships and space Continue reading...

Define or describe the following terms and their importance to the history of the American science fiction and horror genre:

1) Expressionist film in Germany is a period of silent movies. The primary feature of Expressionist film is the theatrical appearance in the films. The actors used painted, dramatic scenery and exaggerated make-up. The changes in the German art were reflected in the sets, which had high contrast between white and black, different geometric shapes were used, all of which created exaggerated light and shadow.
2) Dracula of 1930 was inspired by the novel written by Bram Stoker and it is significant to the history of the American cinematography, as its main character, Dracula, set the bar for numerous Continue reading...

Introduction

‘The Planet of the Apes’ is an American science fiction film released in the year 1968. On the surface, the sci-fi film tells the tale of a post-apocalyptic universe where apes have evolved and essentially taken control of a world seemingly destroyed by human beings. However, a deeper analysis reveals that the film is charged with various political allegories about the social struggles and allegories of the time. The film explores serious issues including violence, race, religion, prejudice as well as the pathologies of power. The film is premised on a classic reversal of the slave-master relations, whereby humans Continue reading...

Define or describe the following terms and their importance to the history of the American science fiction and horror genre:

1) Expressionist film in Germany is a part of the Expressionism movement in the country of 1920ies. This was a period of the silent movies and their main feature was the theatrical look in the films. The actors used painted, dramatic scenery and exaggerated make-up, which is commonly used in the theater. The changes in the German art were reflected in the sets, which had high contrast between white and black, different geometric shapes were used, all of which created exaggerated light and shadow. Although this movement did not last for long, it had significant impact on film makers Continue reading...

Introduction

In the current world, science fiction has been employed by many people to address political, social and economic issues. Through their imaginations, which are in a way related to the day-to-day real events, fiction plays a crucial role in maneuvering these issues. To some extent, science fiction achieves a great role in that some of the things that would be unimaginable in the real life scenarios. In order to achieve this, however, a high level of creativity is needed. This is effectively carefully address the contemporary issues that happen in the society. Failure to capture them effectively would mean Continue reading...

Many authors use science fiction and fantasy to explore complex and difficult themes and issues that may be invisible in the everyday world. In both Ray Bradbury's “A Sound of Thunder” and Robert Heinlein's “--And He Built a Crooked House--,” the authors use the hypothetical science fiction worlds and technologies that exist only in the abstract to discuss issues and themes that apply directly to the current day. Both Bradbury and Heinlein are masters of the science fiction genre, creating worlds and scenarios that are both whimsical and impactful to the present day.
“A Sound of Thunder” follows a Continue reading...

The world of the dystopia is one type of science fiction story that often presents a world in chaos; these works are dark and gloomy, showing us what is in store if human society continues down its path of consumerism and control (Heuser, 2003). The cyberpunk genre is full of these stories - the works of Philip K. Dick often show polluted, grimy worlds where morality is fluid and people sell their identity and sense of selves to the highest bidder. However, Dick also find sways to demonstrate hope and optimism despite the terrible settings their characters find themselves Continue reading...

Is it or is it not Magical Realism?

When speaking about García Márquez’s inventive narratives, Spiller (1999) a professor of Renaissance literature, notes that his use of magical realism (MR) demands that the reader “accommodate both fantasy and reality within a single narrative structure” (475, para. 2). Magical realism is similar to (or perhaps the same as) fantasy and science fiction because the reader is asked to do the same thing; that is accept fantasy as reality. Gene Wolfe (science fiction and fantasy author) was asked to explain the difference between science fiction, fantasy and magical realism. He explained that the difference is “Plausibility. . . . Continue reading...

Science fiction is a fairly new genre in the spectrum of literature; the earliest practitioners include Mary Shelley, H.G. Wells and even Mark Twain (if you’ve read A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, then you’ve read an early work of science fiction) – both of whom wrote in the nineteenth century. Some of this has a lot to do with the fact that science and technology did not really take off until the early 1800’s, which brought the Industrial Revolution. What with steam engines powering vast machines, the imagination of writers soon foresaw the wonders Continue reading...

Introduction

Theologically speaking, the nature or concept of God and beliefs or practices differ based on religious doctrine. In some cases, some religious groups base or borrow their doctrines on established ones or from known mythological narratives. This is especially true for cult groups that establish their significance on symbolism that is familiar to most people. Heaven’s Gate set an example because it is a cult that formulated its doctrines from pre-established canons such as those found in the Holy Bible infused with elements of science fiction. The result of which is a reinterpretation of the Bible within the Continue reading...

Aspect of H.G. Wells’ Novel “When the Sleeper Wakes”
“When the Sleeper Wakes,” an original story published between 1898 and 1903 and written by H.G. Wells represents the passionate, socialistic outcry of the author in the form of a futuristic tale that features an Englishman (protagonist) called Graham. The story takes place in London, and the man Graham finds himself a bit disoriented due to the fact that he has slept for approximately 203 years apparently as a result of tampering with drugs to cure his insomnia. Apparently H. G. Wells embraces a fascination pertaining to dystopian literature that Continue reading...

Critical reviews of a recent Sci-fi film:

A science fiction film (Sci-fi) is a movie that encompasses an extreme sense of science and imaginary picture design. At most, they use advanced technology For Example devices, robots, and spacecraft assumed to grace the world in the future. A number of Science fiction films tend to travel in the future, outer space or introduce supernatural beings from other planets. This paper will review the movie ‘the day the earth stood still’ comparing it with the ‘Invasion of the body snatcher’ of 1956 as a Sci-fi film. In addition, the paper intends to connect and explain the themes and Continue reading...

The two science fiction short stories written by the prominent American writers Isaac Asimov and Avram Davidson are the examples of brilliancy in their genre. Both, “The Golem” written by Davidson in 1955 and “Reason” written by Asimov in 1941 share similar themes and details of the plot, although the settings and the development of the stories are very different. The stories gradually unfold the intricacies of the encounters of humans and intelligent robots, whose views on the world are very different. The meeting of two dissimilar kinds of mind produces difficulties both for the robots and people, and Continue reading...

Ender's Game is a novel written by an American author called Orson Scott Card in the year 1985. It is a science fiction in the military because it tells about imaginary future reality offering the reader an unprejudiced point of view on the condition of human beings. The story presents a combination of the modern technology in connection to today's world, in an innovative manner. The book fits very well in science fiction literature. It is very easy to understand the book because it captures major elements of strategic leadership and combat to make a commander in the battlefield Continue reading...

Identify the members of the League and the books they come from. Who are the writers of these works and what kind of literature seems to be the main source of inspiration for the comic?
The members of the League include Captain Nemo (Prince Dakkar), The Invisible Man (Hawley Griffin), The Honourable Mr. Edward Hyde, and Allan Quatermain. The team was reportedly gathered by its leader, Wilhelmina Murray. Captain Nemo was the character that was apparently developed in a novel written by Jules Verne and entitled Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. As could be deduced, the original literary Continue reading...

Rossum’s Universal Robots, or R.U.R., is a play written by the Czech playwright Karel Capek. Capek, as a playwright, made a distinct attempt to create a new type of world on the stage, a world in which he could utilize the thought experiment of Robots, or synthetic humans, to examine the very fabric of humanity. Because of the tumultuous historical time in which Capek lived, his work was focused directly upon the the inability of the human race to break free from the cycle of repeating historical mistakes over and over again. Capek was particularly concerned with the Continue reading...

For André Bazin, the famous film critic and theorist from France, cinemas were a realist medium. This is why majority of film theorists would perhaps argue that that if he got a look at the computer-animated film WALL·E (2008) by Disney/Pixar, he would turn over in his grave. His theories revolved around the notion that there is always a mummy complex underlying the origin of any form of art, including cinema. Bazin’s notion suggests that art struggles to immortalize the mortal, to preserve the physical existence on screen. According to Bazin, the medium that eliminates most of Continue reading...

Since the rise of computers, robots and robotics have captured the imagination of mankind. Science fiction has made many observations regarding robots and potential future artificial intelligence; utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics to examine fundamental questions of humanity and philosophy has been a method that is used by a variety of different science fiction writers. By creating a world in which artificial intelligence can be compared and contrasted to human intelligence, writers and philosophers can answer questions about the nature of humanity, ethics, and the future of the human race as a whole. In a world where robots Continue reading...

In Ridley Scott’s 1982 science-fiction film Blade Runner, the detailed world that provides the film with its setting is created and filmed in a unique and interesting way. The setting is Los Angeles in the far-flung future of 2019, where corporations rule the world and synthetic humans called replicants have been outlawed. The film follows bounty hunter Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) as he is ordered to hunt down several replicants who have escaped to Earth. The care taken in the creation of the world of Blade Runner, in combination with the abstract, breathtaking story, creates a visual and Continue reading...

Response Paper 3: Wild Seed

Power dynamics is essential in understanding myth as most mythological stories depict power dynamics not only in the stories themselves – in their context, in their characters, and their story cycles – but also in the message being portrayed by the story and even by the background of the author who writes the story.

For example, in Wild Seed, the author Olivia Butler is a female African author and this in itself tells something about power dynamics or the shift thereof. This is as highlighted by Thaler who pointed out that myth-making and science fiction used to be a white genre ( Continue reading...

Cyberpunk is a fiction genre that depicts a high-tech environment while focusing on low-life characters in the story. Cyberpunk was influenced mainly by postmodernism, so it depicts advanced technology while also focusing on revolutions in the social order. “The Matrix” is an example of a cyberpunk film that uses a desperate and dark setting with advanced technology to address the despair in the social position among the human characters and their fight with the oppressive machines. “Count Zero” depicts a struggle for power in cyberspace between various corporations and the roles of low-life characters in that power struggle. The Continue reading...

Aliens Films (1979-1997)

What is the significance of events in films? Are all the bits and pieces in films intentionally included by directors? These are some of the questions I asked myself as I set out on a comprehensive analysis of the audience message in the Aliens Films (1979-1997). According to film analyst Greg Smith, different events in films are not to be treated as accidental encounters of random occurrence and spontaneity. They are instead purposefully planned series of events with cause and effect and with nothing left to chance (Greg 128). Greg explains that Hollywood films are inadvertently one of the Continue reading...