What is Science Fiction

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What is Science Fiction

Science Fiction Class Notes

What is Science Fiction?

A. Definition: Science Fiction is an imaginary story that usually could not occur in the present time. It deals with scientific and technological advances might make possible in the future, without the use of magic.

B. Similarities with other types of fiction:

Plot
Setting
Characters
Conflict
Tone
Theme

C. Unique qualities of the Science Fiction genre:

It has some basis in scientific fact.
It must be believable.
It can be about the future but might also involve the past.
It adheres to natural laws as we know them.
It tries to interpret change and discuss what tomorrow may bring, in essence, it asks, “What if…”

D. Early Sci Fi Pioneers

Leonardo Da Vinci – drew the first flying machines
Edmund Rostand – wrote the first science fiction novel about space travel

E. Early Sci Fi Authors

Edgar Allan Poe – wrote about a balloon flight to the moon
Jules Verne (1870s) wrote 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Journey to the Center of the Earth
H.G.Wells (1890s) wrote War of the Worlds, The Time Machine
Edgar Rice Burroughs (1940s) wrote about Mars, lost cities (Atlantis)
Mary Shelley – wrote Frankenstein

F. Modern Sci Fi Authors

Isaac Asimov – scientist who was famous for his novels about robots
Orson Scott Card – Ender series
Ray Bradbury – Martian Chronicles, Fahrenheit 451, and many short stories
Robert Heinlein – Tunnel in the Sky, Starship Troopers
Arthur C. Clarke – 2001: A Space Odyssey

Common Themes/Plots of Science Fiction

1. Theme: Journey into Space

Examples: Star Trek, Farscape, Lost in Space, Armageddon, Gattaca

Theme: Energy

Where has all the power gone
Nuclear Fission
Far-future energy

Examples: Highlander 2, The Saint

Theme: Aliens

First Contact
Communication
Alien life-styles/societies

Examples: Star Trek: First Contact, E.T. Contact, Men In Black

Theme: Limits of Possibility

Faster than light and relativity
Hyperspace
Instantaneous communication
Anti-matter
Gravity and anti-gravity
Stars, nebulas, black holes

Examples: The Langoliers, Star Wars, Outland, The Black Hole

Theme: Time Travel

Past
Future
Alternate universe

Examples: Back to the Future, Planet of the Apes, The Time

Machine, Next, Frequency

Theme: Holocaust and Catastrophe

Warfare – future weaponry, chemical/biological warfare
Natural disasters – new ice age, drowned world, plague, pollution, overpopulation, famine

Examples: Men In Black, The Stand, Children of Men, Logan’s

Run, Waterworld, The Day After Tomorrow

Theme: Intelligent Machines

Mechanical brains
Robots
Cybernetics and information technology

Examples: The Matrix, I, Robot, War Games, Lost in Space

Theme: Men and Supermen

Better brains
How mutations work
Cyborgs
Aging and immortality
Cryonics
Clones
Androids

Examples: Blade Runner, X-Men, RoboCop, Universal Soldier

Theme: Dreams and Nightmares

Machines and leisure society
Conditioning and brainwashing
Psychotropic drugs
Crime and Punishment

Examples: Logan’s Run, The Manchurian Candidate, Batman

Begins, Judge Dredd

Theme: Powers of the Mind

Telepathy
Telekinesis
ESP

Examples: Scanners, X-Men, The Empire Strikes Back, Star Trek

Theme: Mysteries of the Past and Present

Flying saucers
Ancient astronauts
Vanished civilizations

Examples: The Day the Earth Stood Still

Theme: Miscellaneous

Invisibility
Force fields and force shield

Examples: Fantastic Four, The Incredibles, Highlander 2

Source : http://lincolnparkpublicschools.com/web/userfiles/teachervader/Science%20Fiction%20Class%20Notes%20completed.doc

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