Science Fiction As A Thought Experiment

Star War, Star Trek, those are probably the names that pops into your head when you think of science fiction. However, for over a hundred years, artists and philosophers from all around the world, has never been certain of the true definition of Science Fiction. Although, individual definition of science fiction has erupted in the few decades, especially during the 19th century, when the idea of extraterrestrial surged the media. Today, there are numerous definition of science fiction, each different from one another in its own element. For example, science fiction stories, according to Ray Bradbury are a possibility that has happened in the past or will happen in time. This means that science fiction is the past, the present and the

Extraterrestrial beings, dazzling light shows, and dangerous laser guns are among the many thoughts that go through a person's mind when the genre science fiction is brought up. It seems as if each piece is so different, and so unique. However, many science fiction pieces are extremely similar. The science fiction pieces "Anthem," "Fahrenheit 451," and "The Pedestrian," are similar in the fact that they all encompass an expansion of technology, a new perspective on the well being of society, and each author's purpose for writing the book.

Science fiction is a genre that has characteristics such as a futuristic setting and a human element. It is based on controversial areas of science or specific theories that have not yet been proven to be true. Science fiction works depict what may happen in the future as an effect of what technology and events exist presently. The genre of the short story There Will Come Soft Rains by Ray Bradbury is identifiable as science fiction through the setting, character and plot.

Science fiction is a genre in which the story is fiction but the topic is what could be.

Science fiction is defined as a genre of fiction dealing with the impact of imagined innovations in science or technology, often in a futuristic setting. The worldspace of Blade Runner and the plot of the movie perfectly fit into this definition. The movie itself revolves around the impact of the creation of replicants, which is an imaginative innovation in technology. The movie itself is also set in the future (the year 2019).

Science fiction or speculative fiction is defined by The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms as “a popular modern branch of prose fiction that explores the probable

On a more superficial level, the fact that the novel has been deemed as "science fiction" opens it up to a

Some science fiction is really not much different than any other sci-fi story and does not really require the reader or viewer to think very deeply. However, Arthur C. Clarke's "The Star"

While these concepts are new and different to those who read Wells’s novel, the main idea that revolutionized science fiction was the introduction of the time machine. The time machine has become a staple in the science fiction genre. Many movies incorporate the idea of a vehicle that can move the characters years ahead or behind the present. The time machine is integral to the fantasy aspect of the story. A fantasy is fiction made

Much of the appeal surrounding science fiction is the fact that a lot of the genre exists far from what we experience in our own world, and far from what exists within our own imagination. The phrase, “cognitive estrangement” has been used to describe the way that a lot of science fiction makes us feel. In his essay, “Estrangement and Cognition,” Darko Suvin describes cognitive estrangement and its relationship with Science fiction as a genre. He writes, “Thus it is not only the basic human and humanizing curiosity that gives birth to SF. Beyond an indirect inquisitiveness, which makes for a semantic game without clear referent, this genre has always been wedded to a hope of finding in the unknown the ideal environment, tribe, state, intelligence, or other aspect of the Supreme Good (or to a fear of and revulsion from its contrary). At all events, the possibility of other strange, covariant coordinate systems and semantic fields is assumed,” which explains that the strange is what drives interest in Science Fiction. He emphasizes that it’s the weird that sets science fiction apart from other genres, including fantasy. This sentiment has been echoed by many other writers. In the same essay, Suvin writes, “The effect of such factual reporting of fictions is one of confronting a set normative system—a Ptolemaic-type closed world picture—with a point of view or look implying a new set of norms; in literary theory this is known as the attitude of estrangement.” This statement

Literature sounds too stuffy and high-browed an descriptor for Science Fiction as a genre. Science fiction is meant to be fantasy, something that is not real and does not strive to meet the literary aspirations of those who would write meaningful prose. Not to say that science fiction writers do not want to something meaningful, but even though the genre may be filled with writers who are degraded by "real" authors as a breed, does not mean that there are not classics that have been recognized as achieving a literary mark. It can be argued, because of the use of literary devices, that there are those science fiction novels that definitely reach the level anyone would consider literature, and among these is a book from Phillip K. Dick called The Man in the High Castle. This paper examines what literary devices were used in this book to make it both a work of science fiction and a work of literature.

The science-fiction film genre serves as an excellent medium for examining shifting power structures, social paranoia and Cold War politics during the 1950s. A number of films released during this period, including: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), Them (1954) and Attack of the 50ft Woman (1958), are particularly symptomatic of the social and political atmosphere of the time. These films navigate not only narrative based issues such as the threat of aliens and science experiments gone wrong; but also wider issues of the time, such as the Cold War, changes in the US film industry, urbanisation, politics, the growing power of women and most significantly, social concern about nuclear energy.

Throughout this semester our literary material dealt with themes of technology, modernization, the imponderable bloom, human nature, and truth to name a few of the most overarching. Each text has woven an impression of the possible near future for humanity if the patterns we are creating continue at an exponential rate. Patterns such as consumerism, neglecting unpleasurable emotions, using drugs, and controlling the environment for our short term benefits will write an unsavory and inevitable future. Science Fiction often reflects on society by exaggerating their negative characteristics and advancements to seem far-out, but often it is ironic how close many aspects of the fiction are a direct reflection of the present condition. Even now, the possibilities of utopias and dystopias forming are not so out of reach. The ability of our culture to control an entire population with a self-satisfied culture of vices outfitted with technology is less and less science fiction as the years pass.

In a Utilitarian world the lives and needs of the many in the society are put over the needs of the few. This idea is seen in a lot of popular dystopian movies like the hunger games, divergent, and harry potter. This is a common theme in literature and movies because it is a safe way to picture the crazy “what ifs” in life. In “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas ” by Ursula Le Guin, all of humanity will be happy and safe if one child is kept neglected and abused for all life. Obviously, in an ideal world the rights of every single person would be important but when not only your happiness is on the line but your children, family, friends, and the rest of the society’s happiness and livelihood is on the line I believe that most people would trade the happiness of one for the happiness of all society. In “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" the true purpose of the article is to debate the ethical ideology between a utilitarian vs. egalitarian society. It is uncomfortable to discuss because there is no obvious answer, no matter what there will be negative consequences. Also, it's a real life question, it’s not something purely fictional, its something a debate that occurs every day and effects the lives of many. Societies are built on the foundation that every person is equal, and in theory this is a wonderful idea.When we live in a world of over 7 billion people, the question has to be asked “if the good of the society is more important than the suffering of one person”. Take

Moreover, the positive messages embedded in science fiction works can have powerful influence on the audience and the society, both locally and globally. In particular, most of the messages embedded are prompted by the past events of world history or by the contemporary social phenomena, and