Sci-Fi Essay

Sci-fi is a genre where the “make-believe” comes to life, all theories about the beyond of space, or even here on earth that is hidden away from the regular mundane. There are two ways to reflect on this genre, both the scholars and devotees have different views. One way to view this is to bring in the sub-genre of fantasy, where there are demons, angels, witches and warlocks, maybe even aliens. The opposing side is the more academic view, which bring along physics, astronomy and mathematics.

There are certain factors for a Sci-Fi to be what it is, and for people to recognise it, there are robots, people in lab coats, space ships, use of CGI & Weapons of Mass Destruction!!

This genre started off with many shocked watchers by the special effects that were never seen before. With these new methods of special effects, a 14-minute film was made with 30 separate scenes, “Le Voyage Dans La Lune (A Trip to The Moon) (1902)” created by the French filmmaker Georges Melies. This short film was inspired by Jules Verne “From the Earth to the Moon” and H.G. Wells “First Men in the Moon”. Another ground-breaking film was a silent film of six one-hour parts, “Homunculus (1912) by the filmmaker Otto Rippert. However, the first Sci-Fi feature film was after the Great War in the 1920s, directed by Fritz Lang, “Metropolis (1927)”.

Also, if talking of the history of Sci-Fi films, then “Frankenstein” and the “Bride of Frankenstein” needs to be mentioned, which were both directed by James Whale. As these were known as the most memorable blends of Sci-Fi and Horror. Within the 1930s the most popular films were the low budget films that portrayed space exploration. More specifically the first of the genre to have Sci-Fi heroes – Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers. These serials had ‘invented’ the marvels of anti-gravity balls, laser guns and even spaceships.

After the period of the wars, Science Fiction films sky rocketed in the period which is known as ‘the Golden Age of Science Fiction Films’. Within the 1950’s there were two films that pioneered this period: “Rocketship X-M (1950)” directed by Kurt Neumann & “Destination Moon (1950)” directed by Irving Pichel. This helped to make this genre profitable and many people to the theatres for these films. As of this the first science fiction film was filmed in colour “Flight to Mars (1951)” directed by Lesley Selander. With this Hollywood then pursued commercial success of the post-war science fiction films. Which led to a sole academy nomination for best visual effects, which is “Forbidden Planet (1956)”. This later inspired Gene Roddenberry to create TV’s Star Trek and George Lucas to create Star Wars. As of these, there was a sudden flood of Alien Monster films, such as;

- Creature from the Black Lagoon by Jack Arnold (1954)

- 20 Million Miles to Earth by Nathan Juran (1957)

- The Blob by Irving S. Yeaworth (1958)

- Gojira by Inoshiro Honda (1954)

(This movie was later Americanized by Terrell O. Morse)

- Godzilla, King of Monsters by Terrell O. Morse (1956)

Even though there were some brilliant films within the beginning of the mass production of Sci-Fi movies, there were many “flops” that are said to be “too cheesy” and very “low budget”. This includes movies such as;

- Cat-Women of the Moon by Arthur Hilton (1953)

- Bride of the Monster by Ed Wood (1956)

- Teenagers from Outer Space by Tom Graeff (1959)

- Attack of the Killer Tomatoes by John DeBallo (1980)

After this there was then a rush of hit movies that include either Time Travel or Aliens. Some of these hit films are still popular to this day and even have many sequels or remakes. There’s “The Terminator (1984)” and “Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)”, “Planet of the Apes Series (1970- 2017)”, “Back to the Future (1985-1990)” & “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) for the Time Travel movies. As well as, “Alien (1979)”, “Jaws (1975) & “Halloween (1978)”.

With the sudden outrage of Sci-Fi movies, the visual effects and set designs had started to improve greatly, which helped to revolutionize this greatly. Within 1982, there were seven major films which was what changed everything:

- TRON (1982)

- Blade Runner (1982)

- The Dark Crystal (1982)

- E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

- Pink Floyd the Wall (1982)

- The Road-Warrior (1982, US Release)

- Poltergeist (1982)

From the 1960-80s there were various films that were popular within either Britain, America or even elsewhere around the globe, a widely popular trilogy of films is Mad Max directed by George Miller, even though this has hints of ‘film noir’ and the western genre it is still a Sc-Fi tale. Within the first movie being on a low budget, it would have been very liked, enough for two more sequels to be released, “The Road Warrior (1981)” & “Mad Max Beyond Thunerdome (1985)”. Other films that were popular for this reason are; “A Clockwork Orange (1971)”, The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)” & “Nineteen Eighty-four (1984), which is a remake of the original 1956 by Michael Anderson.

Along with these key major films, there are some brilliant directors/writers/creators, that have made many famous movies, these consist of: Ridley Scott, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan, Paul Verhoeven, & many more. Their movies, even though the original movies are not known to the younger teens of the generation, they still may have heard of it and they are very popular today with the many remakes and cartoons made, as Fox originally had full ownership of the Star Wars franchise, but with the recent merge with Disney, they can spread the franchise within their animations, making younger children, know of the Star Wars franchise, but not the films.

Another thing that would make people watch the Sci-Fi films is the consistency of famous actors that people would recognise when seeing a movie poster, many of these actors are mostly known for starring in Sci-Fi films, which means they are then casted into more of them. Among the long list, there is; John Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, Bill Paxton, Clancy Brown, Neal McDonough, Ron Perlman & Karl Urban.

All in all, after talking about the history, the famous films, directors and actors, why not move on to talk about what makes up a general Sci-Fi film. Like in most movies, there’s always an obstacle for someone to face, which, as you know ends up resolved at the end. There are even points that would be based upon scientific principles and ideology, such as the problems that aren’t being resolved in society, or even a whole worlds concern of a problem (Global Warming). With the use of this it helps the audience feel more connected to what is happening in the movie as it is happening to them in real life. There are even factors of new technology, species, changes in characters that are either biological or psychological from experimentation. There’s even alien invasions, that almost always happens, or even darker, the whole destruction of Earth.

There are certain themes that help people identify a film as Sci-Fi, whether it be time travel, space travel, the fear of the unknown (space, even further than 35,756 feet below sea level), revenge (on other planets/species), paranormal abilities or new discoveries.

As expressed throughout this writing, here is a given guide to know more about the genre that is Sci-Fi. Maybe more people will see that this genre isn’t just for the geeks and nerds, it can be for everyone to enjoy watching, with a given insight to the Golden Age of Sci-Fi, the famous Mad Max trilogy, well-known actors, for instance John Hurt or even George Lucas for a popular writer.