science fiction

43
Science Fiction

Upload: taima

Post on 07-Jan-2016

30 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

DESCRIPTION

Science Fiction. ‘Genre is a constant process of negotiation and change.’ David Buckingham Genres: lack proscriptive and rigidly enforced conventions exhibit inherent flexibility as well as a loose uniformity are fluid and dynamic in form, permeable and - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Science Fiction

Science Fiction

Page 2: Science Fiction

‘Genre is a constant process of negotiation and change.’

David Buckingham

Genres: • lack proscriptive and rigidly enforced conventions

• exhibit inherent flexibility as well as a loose uniformity

• are fluid and dynamic in form, permeable and

ever-changing

• reflect a framework of repetition and re-interpretation

• norms are countered by diversity and hybridization

• are value-laden rather than neutral

• can be revisionist or subversive as well as stereotypical

and formulaic

• test the boundaries of what is familiar and what is new

• lack a ‘single, categorical straitjacket’ or set of parameters

Calmini Salgado

Page 3: Science Fiction

Genres: marked by features of similarity and difference

Page 4: Science Fiction

Defining Science Fiction• ‘A good science-fiction story is a story about human

beings, with a human problem, and a human solution, which would not have happened at all without its science content.’ Theodore Sturgeon

• ‘Realistic speculation about possible future events, based solidly on adequate knowledge of the real world, past and present, and on a thorough understanding of the nature and significance of the scientific method.’ Robert A. Heinlein

• ‘SF eases the 'willing suspension of disbelief’ of readers by developing an atmosphere of scientific credibility for its imaginative speculations in physical science, space, time, social science, and philosophy.’ Sam Moskowitz

Page 5: Science Fiction

Science fictionCommon Elements

• Space Travel

• Extraterrestrials

• Aliens, cyborgs and

robots

• Advanced Technologies

• Dystopic visions of a bleak future

• Superheroes or the hero’s journey

Page 6: Science Fiction

The Progenitor

Mary Shelley’s archetypal is generally recognized as the first true science fiction novel.

The monster is a product of a scientific experiment gone bad.

It combines social criticism with new scientific ideas.

Hideous Progeny• “I collected the instruments

of life around me, that I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet…

Page 7: Science Fiction

What if…the power to speculate and extrapolate

The best Science fiction represents an imaginative extension of scientific and technological knowledge, facts,

theories and trendsIt can cross boundaries found in other genres and show the

best and worst of what humanity is capable of achieving

Page 8: Science Fiction

‘Modern science fiction is the only form of literature that consistently considers the nature of the changes that face us, the possible consequences, and the possible solutions. That branch

of literature which is concerned with the impact of scientific advance upon human beings.’ Isaac Asimov 1920-1992

Page 9: Science Fiction

The ‘Golden Age’ of Science Fiction

Page 10: Science Fiction

Hard vs. Soft Science Fiction

‘Hard’ science fiction is both a descriptive and a evaluative term. Well-researched scientific components feature high-tech iconology. It values known scientific knowledge and facts, extrapolated to realize new fictional worlds.

‘Soft’ science fiction counterpoints hard science fiction by exploring a ‘human’ rather than a ‘technological’ focus.

Page 11: Science Fiction

New Wave

• Brought science fiction into the literary mainstream by typically showing greater concern for style than for scientific accuracy

• Editors encouraged literary experimentation and the movement became the focus for a re-evaluation of genre standards

• ‘Soft’ science fiction was primarily concerned with sociological and psychological themes rather than ‘hard’ science or technology

Page 12: Science Fiction

New Wave • pessimistic in tone and exhibiting a general

distrust of science, technology and of mankind itself

• fearful that issues and concerns could be solved

• perception that mankind is fatally flawed

Page 13: Science Fiction

Some feared that the ‘New Wave’ could trigger the demise of traditional Science Fiction

Page 14: Science Fiction

Modern Science FictionFrank Herbert's 1963 classic ‘Dune’ presents a complex, densely

detailed tale of political intrigue in a futuristic galaxy set on Arrakis.

Page 15: Science Fiction

What if…Recurring Themes, concerns and issues

Page 16: Science Fiction

• Notions of ‘monstrosity’ or something or someone seen as ‘other’

• Ramifications of man playing God

• Unchecked Science

The Promethean Theme‘The monster is the result of man’s tinkering with nature

and his untamed desire to create and apply his knowledge.’ Patrick Warrick

As science penetrates the secrets of nature, with each discovery generating new questions, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein will sound its note of warning. Many scientific developments have provoked references to Frankenstein, a story that, for nearly two centuries, has gripped our imaginations and haunted our nightmares. How can society balance the benefits of medical discoveries against the ethical or spiritual questions posed?

Page 17: Science Fiction

Recurring themes in Science Fiction

1.The Promethean Theme

‘The monster is the result of man’s tinkering with nature and his untamed desire to create and apply his

knowledge.’ Patrick Warrick

As science penetrates the secrets of nature, with each discovery generating new questions,

Mary Shelley's ‘Frankenstein’ will sound its note of warning.

Many scientific developments have provoked references to ‘Frankenstein’, a story that, for

nearly two centuries, has gripped our imaginations and haunted our nightmares.

Page 18: Science Fiction

2. Ambiguity of Technology

‘Frankenstein’s creature is at first gentle: representing the hope for technology. The

monster changes: representing the destructive nature of technology.’ Patrick Warrick

3. The irresponsibility of Science

No ethical concern for experimentation and creation

4. The Shifting Role of Master and Servant

‘The technology created to serve humanity instead becomes its master.’ Murphie and Potts, 2003)

Page 19: Science Fiction

Reversal of the roles of Master and Servant

‘We have programmed our own disappearance.’ Paul

Virillio

Page 20: Science Fiction

Hybridization

of mankind and machine

Cyborg = CYBernetic ORGanism

Combination of human and

artificial parts in a single system

Popular idea from 1970s

Intimate connection to technology

High tech in 1980s became more commercialised, domestic &

personal - CD player or Nintendo rather than threat of nuclear power

Page 21: Science Fiction

Questions the very meaning of humanity

Page 22: Science Fiction

Many Sub-genres ~ from space opera to steam punk and all places in between

Constant

process

of

hybridization

Page 23: Science Fiction
Page 24: Science Fiction

Recurring Themes…

Page 25: Science Fiction
Page 26: Science Fiction

Unchecked Science

Lack of ethical restrictions

Abuse of scientific and technological

power

Page 27: Science Fiction

Many movie scientists aremad, obsessive, or clinically insane or evil

…some are heroic or noble…

Page 28: Science Fiction

Dystopia and the

Machine Aesthetic

The late 19th/early 20th centuries saw mass production change labour practices for ever. Rather than being skilled individuals, workers were forced to adapt their working patterns to the machines that drove the production lines.The fusion between human and machine became a major theme.

Metropolis (1927)

Page 29: Science Fiction

Dystopic Texts…

Paint a bleak but credible view of the future

Page 30: Science Fiction

Caste SystemAlphas (Α)– highest, greyBetas (Β)- bottle green/mulberryGammas (Γ)- leaf greenDeltas (Δ)- khakiEpsilons (Ε)– lowest, black

“Over the main entrance…a shield [with] the World

State’s motto: COMMUNITY, IDENTITY,

STABILITY.”

Page 31: Science Fiction

Cyberpunk

Page 32: Science Fiction

The Birth of Cyberpunk

Page 33: Science Fiction

• n. Fast-paced science fiction involving futuristic computer-based societies.

• cyberpunk cy'ber·punk' adj.

“high techAnd low life”

Page 34: Science Fiction

Cyberpunk – Characteristics

Dystopian future worlds

Invasive body modifications

Pervasive influence of computersand data

Conflict between human/machine

Page 35: Science Fiction

Bruce Bethke coined the term ‘cyberpunk’ in a short story of the same name

• punk part reflects streetwise attitude

• tone tends to be dark, cynical

• subgenre of industrial rock music

• settings are post-industrial dystopias

• plots centre on conflict amongst hackers, artificial

intelligences

Page 36: Science Fiction

Common Themes

• Immersion in computer generated, shared worlds Alteration of human bodies, genes• Popular culture, music, media power• Critical of corporate power• Often rebellious protagonists

Page 37: Science Fiction

"a consensual hallucination experienced daily by billionsof legitimate operators, in every nation...A graphic representation of data abstracted from banks of every computer in the human system. Unthinkable complexity.Lines of light ranged in the nonspace of the mind, clusters and constellations of data. Like city lights, receding... "William Gibson in "Neuromancer”

What is cyberspace?

Page 38: Science Fiction

William Gibson•No particular knowledge of computers-uses typewriter•Imagines technology in very visual, impressionistic kind of way•Vivid, spatial, seedy (film noir influence)•Mainframes are like skyscrapers•Valuable data is protected by “Walls”, “gates” “mazes” of “ice”•Illicit programs are like illegal weapons, “I felt like a punk who'd gone out to buy a switch blade and come home with a small neutron bomb.”•Death in cyberspace can be real death

Page 39: Science Fiction

•Set in Chiba City, Japan, “the Sprawl”

•Representation of futuristic urban decay, marked by an atmosphere that is physically, morally and spiritually dark, morbid and violent

•Real world is juxtaposed with “jacking into the matrix”

•Fast paced action

•Cyborg enhancements have become the ‘norm’

•Artificial intelligences are dominant characters

Page 40: Science Fiction

Gibson’s Concerns…

• Gender ambiguity

• Male characters tend to see the women as ‘meat’ but

Molly has become independent of men by using

technology to become the femme fatale; a cyber-

enhanced killing machine

• Case is a flawed anti-hero who is self-destructive and

“Fueled by self-loathing”

• He questions the meaning of love, highlighting the

lack of human connection possible in a world driven

by cyberspace and corporate exploitation

Page 41: Science Fiction

Self-directed AIWintermute is

logic/Neuromancer is personality

Their agenda is to merge ‘minds’ and become a new, fully integrated hybrid entity

The matrix will thereby become conscious and

independent

This new entity contacts others like itself on distant worlds (Centauri System)

Page 42: Science Fiction

Novel queries:

• Ambiguous images of the future

• Destruction of the natural world by urban development

• Exploitative powers of corporate

hegemony

• A future where AI has a ‘mind’ that

transcends human consciousness

“Where do we go from here?...Tonight the very matrix

asks itself that question.”

Page 43: Science Fiction

Steampunk and beyond….