The Changing Role of Science Fiction Essay

Science fiction is broadly defined as a film about the future or alternate realities, often but not always set in space, and frequently incorporating horror elements, science-fiction movies are wildly popular among fans (Goodykoontz, 2014). As a subgenre of fantasy, science fiction enables viewers to relate to themes from an idealized alternative version of reality (Edwards, 2014). Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope is a feature-length film that fits this genre perfectly. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope unfolds as princess named Leia is held hostage by the evil Imperial forces in their effort to quell the rebellion against the Galactic Empire. Luke Skywalker and a smuggler named Han Solo team together with the lovable droid duo, R2-D2 and C-3PO, to rescue the beautiful princess and restore justice in the galaxy.

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

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

Dictionary.com lists science fiction as “a form of fiction that draws imaginatively on scientific knowledge in its plot, setting, theme, etc.” goodreads.com lists science fiction as, “a broad genre of fiction that often invgolves speculation based on current or future science or technology.” Harrison Bergeron is science fiction for several reasons. First, it assumes that humans will develop extraordinary abilities that force the government to “handicap” them, so that all have the same ability level in this society. Merriam-Webster defines satire as, “a way of using humour to show that someone or something is foolish, weak, bad, etc.”

In conclusion, science fiction is ultimately a genre of displaying humans present state of being and displaying how catastrophic the future can be if we neglect to point out the flaws and challenge each other. Science fiction of course contains information on aliens, futuristic-looking gadgets, distant worlds, and robots but in the core of it all, sci-fi is the ultimate genre of warning. Warning of hazardous technological advancements and utter carelessness to the craft of inventing. Be careful of what the future holds. The future started yesterday and we’re already

Science fiction is a genre of books that focuses on the future of our world/society where one our problems or habits in the present day is amplified into extreme ends, this world is called a dystopia. For example, Fahrenheit 451 is a science book written in 1951 by Ray Bradbury. In 1951, Ray Bradbury noticed that many children was attached to TV screens but not to books. He took this into the extreme and created a dystopia where even books are outlawed and burned by fireman. To add on, in the short story "Harrison Bergeron,"the author created a dystopia where the government forces everyone to where hindrances to their body so no one is stronger, more beautiful, or even smarter than anyone else. The theme of the science fiction book, Fahrenheit

So, what makes this novel science fiction? Well, there's still a lot of classic sci-fi stuff, like parallel universes, strange new technologies, and speculation on what the future will be like for humanity. But this novel is a little different, because it focuses more on inner space than outer space in Portland, Oregon. The setting book is heavily dystopian and even though Haber tries to make it a Utopia, it remains more so till the very end of the

Arguably the beginning of science fiction started with artificial life. We all know that Frankenstein is the story of a scientist’s creation. He tries to create the ideal human by piecing together an assemblage of human parts that were acquired from graves. Ultimately the monster of a human is brought to life and then continues the story by ruining the scientist’s life because he will not create a companion for the monster. Story line aside, Shelley creates artificial life in her character’s world.

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.

“Beam me up, Scotty”, is an iconic line from Star Trek, a late 1960’s science fiction television series that focused on great story-telling, but at the same time, provided a glimpse of futuristic technology that could possibly become tangible in the future. Unintentionally, the show proved to be a major influence on modern technology. Both written and recorded media have played a huge part in developing the technologies we use today and continues to be a source of inspiration as we look toward the future. Although all past media has had some impact in shaping our ideas, science fiction in film has seemingly had more influence than it has in books. They say, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”

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.

“Science fiction is not predictive; it is descriptive,” Ursula Le Guin wrote this in her introduction to her book The Left Hand of Darkness (Le Guin 14). In the introduction, Le Guin writes a section about science fiction and other fiction and how they are the same because they all have the same purpose and that is to lie. However, when Le Guin writes about lying she doesn’t mean the sky is orange, no, what she means is authors, herself included, created stories, characters, and settings for readers. They create these unbelievable worlds and the readers use their imagination to create the characters and settings in their minds. Readers of fictional stories use their imagination to find the truth in these false stories or as Le Guin phrased it, “ the truth is a matter of imagination,” (Le Guin 16). Le Guin uses lies throughout her story The Left Hand of Darkness to express metaphors and through these lies, the reader uses their imagination to find the truth.

There are many ways to supplement a story in order to add lucidity. It is done through literary devices and Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried" is no different. "The Things They Carried" is a narrative about a soldier at war in Vietnam. However, this story provides multiple layers of meaning through O'Brien's tone and style that help the reader further understand it. Both of these literary devices are embedded in the story and gradually help define it.

The genre of historical fiction novels can be subdivided into many categories and often crosses genres, such as historical mysteries and romances. The traditional definition of the historical fiction genre is “fiction set in the past” where the author is writing from research rather than personal experience. This definition leaves a lot of room for interpretation, controversy, and contradiction. Critics in the media, even when they praise individual historical novels in their reviews, somehow manage to turn this praise into criticism of the genre as a whole. In 1950, author Howard Fast, a historical novelist himself, wrote: “This is an era of many historical novels, few of them good and very few indeed which have more than a nodding