Hey
Guys,
On
Thursday’s I will be looking into the different themes and genres of films. I
will be looking into what classes a film under the certain genres and what
themes tend to run through them.
There
will be a lot of films being watched that I or you have probably never heard
of, but that’s the experience of film.
This week’s focus has mainly been directed towards Sci-Fi. So why
should today be any different? We are going to travel into the world of Science
Fiction and discover great wonders.
So for a start let me explain that Science Fiction films are any
film that is set in the future or has some reference to other worlds. Content such
as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, parallel
universes, aliens, and paranormal abilities can feature in these films.
There are a lot of Genres and themes that appear in Science
Fiction films. So how would you know if you’re watching a Sci-Fi? Let’s list a
small amount of traits and themes.
·
Is the film set in the future?
·
Is the film set on a different planet?
·
Is the film set in space?
·
Does the film contain a creature/monster?
·
In the film, Is there a scientific research that goes wrong?
·
Does the main character have super powers?
·
Is there an alien attack?
·
Is there some sort of epidemic?
·
Do any of the characters time travel?
·
Is there an alternate/parallel universe?
·
Are there any robots/cyborgs/clone etc.?
·
Can the characters live under water?
·
Are there any flying objects? (E.G Space ships)
Now
some of these you would have already guessed, as did I, but others are quite a
surprise. Did you know any comic hero movie is classed as a Sci-Fi film? Now
that you know that, you will think over it and recognise some of the themes
that run through. For example the Iron
Man (2008 – present) films, Tony Stark uses Science and Computers to build
his Ironwear.
Science
Fiction films used to just primly be ‘about science’ it has evolved and transformed
into something greater with many different sub-genres. Here are just a few of
the subgenres with an explanation.
First of all any Apocalyptic, holocaust, or
post-apocalyptic story which focuses on the end of the world, or the world
just after "the end." Society is wiped out and must rebuild; humanity
is destroyed; humanity must cope with an aftermath.
Cyberpunk stories are set in a
high-tech, mechanical and advanced universe of computers, hackers, and hybrids.
"Cyberspace” films fall into this subgenre. Humans may spend time
"living" in a virtual environment.
First contact looks into the primary
meeting between humans and aliens. These can range from horrific tales of
invasions through to stories of gentle visitors bearing technology and peace.
The meeting may occur on Earth, in space, or on another planet. "alien
invasion" films fall into this sub-genre.
Military science fiction looks at futuristic combat
locations such as space, against opponents such as aliens or machines, with advanced
weaponry. This may include genetically modified warriors.
Near-future science
fiction
takes place in present day or in the next few years. Elements of the setting
should be familiar, and the technology may be current or in development.
Space operas are similar to Western
"horse operas," often contains good guys fighting with bad guys in space
or on distant planets. Star Wars is a classic example.
Time travel is where characters travel
to the past or future. It could also be where they are visited by other time travellers.
Topics range from seeing what the past was like, to paradox of killing somebody
who effected your future, through to "tampering" causing a massive ‘butterfly
effect’ altering the entire future/world. "alternate universes" where
each change in the timestream spins off a new universe can be classed in this
sub-genre.
So
hopefully you can understand more about how the Science Fiction works and you
can understand why a certain character is doing one of the listed things above.
Hopefully it makes you understand the film that little bit more.
For
those of you interested in finding out more about current Science Fiction
films, here is an Internet Movie Database
link listing all the most popular Sci-Fi films at present: http://www.imdb.com/genre/sci_fi
If
you have any views on what has been discussed or have any films, themes, or
genres you would like me to look into then comment below.
Stay
safe,
Matt
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