Notes on a Theme: SciFi

This past Sunday we brought the theme of Science Fiction to a close. Minority Report, Contact and Terminator 2 were out choices. Within these three movies, there are multiple common sub-genres and themes of scifi that were covered. This included but was not limited to:

Futuristic Technology
Aliens
Future Dystopia
Time Travel
Robots
Complex Moral/Ethical/Social Issues

In Minority Report we saw a great deal of futuristic technology. Eye scanners, self driving cars, and that cool interactive hologram screen. Which is real by the way.

g-speak overview 1828121108 from john underkoffler on Vimeo.

More important to the plot we took a close look at the Ethical implications of arresting and judging people for crimes that they are supposed to commit in the future.

Contact was our alien movie. The bigger theme of the film is the exploration of the social issues that would arise from actual contact with extraterrestrials. *Spoiler Alert. On a side note, the first machine deserved to get blown up. NASA must have the crappiest security if bleach blond preacher guy can get onto the base, into a suit, out on the launchpad, up the structure, wander about for a couple minutes, get coffee, talk about the weather, go the bathroom, pretend to work to avoid getting actual work, smile like a creeper, and then stand around looking evil for five minutes before someone notices he's not supposed to be there.

Moving on, Terminator 2 had a our biggest collection of sub-themes. Time Travel, Dystopian Future, Robots and as a bonus, the very same ethical dilemma of judging someone for "crimes" they haven't yet committed. That particular theme is an undertone of the turning point in the story. Where they go from defense to offense.

I feel pretty good about the movies choices for this theme. The movies were old enough that they weren't fresh in our minds. Except Val with Contact, apparently she watches it all the time. If you are looking for other good Science Fiction movies here are a couple recommendations:

Primer (2004)



















A great indie film about time travel. The story telling is wonderful and the tech isn't over top, it's actually pretty 'realistic.' For as realistic as time travel can be.

Alien (1979)



















A dark, gritty space movie about average people, but they live in space. I think space was the biggest, most common scifi theme we didn't cover. In Canada the scifi channel is named Space. Space is the final frontier. It's also big, i mean really big. I mean massively, mind-bogglingly big. And so on, you get the idea. Anyways, the suspense is fantastic, and if you like scifi you need to see this movie. It's relatively violent though, so screen it for the kiddies.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)



















If you are looking for something a little lighter then you should consult the Guide. Based on a series novels, the first of which starts with the same name, this movie provides a light-hearted romp through the galaxy in a search for the ultimate question to life, universe, and everything. It is important to note that the Guide series is British. Which will explain a lot. Also, it's awesome.

I'm a big fan of Science Fiction, and I know Stevox enjoys it as well. So if you have any suggestions for scifi movies we should watch, not necessarily at movie club, that aren't your normal 2001 a Space Odyssey or Blade Runner, let us know.

Next Sunday we actually won't be having movie club. And I know, I'm disappointed too. But get over it, because you don't own us. Also, we are going to the beach. So there's that.