Let's talk about Sci-Fi movies

[faniebraai]

Star wars can never happen, because we lack the Force So it cannot be sci-fi. Definitely fantasy or space opera.

opera? i didn't see any fat people singing, unless whatever Jabba was doing can be considered singing :erm:

 

[RazedInBlack]

I long for the day when sci fi films (even the good ones) can hold a candle to proper sci fi literature.

Frank Herbert, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, Philip K Dick, William Gibson, Arthur C Clark?

 

[RazedInBlack]

Avatar

The story line . . . unoriginal!

 

[Nerfherder]

opera? i didn't see any fat people singing, unless whatever Jabba was doing can be considered singing :erm:

Opera is more about story then singing...

See Soap opera.

 

[faniebraai]

Opera is more about story then singing...

See Soap opera.

yeh, i know. it's a joke, get it? nevermind... :erm: you nerds have no sense of humour

 

[OrbitalDawn]

Sci-Fi is exactly that.... its all about the "What if ?" thats the basis of the genre. Its an actual thing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_fiction

Like I said before... Star Wars is more fantasy than Sci-Fi

Yes and no, as I explained. You get 'what ifs' in genres other than sci fi as well.

And what if a story features space travel, parallel universes, faster than light travel etc. but doesn't feature a 'what if', is it then not sci fi?

Something like faster than light travel can easily be used as a standard element of a story without it in any way forming an important part of the the actual story, or in any way being a 'what if' part of the story. It's just part of the setting.

I don't know if there is a single good scifi movie that is not based on a book...


Ok... perhaps District 9

Moon.

And 2001: A Space Odyssey.

opera? i didn't see any fat people singing, unless whatever Jabba was doing can be considered singing :erm:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_opera

Frank Herbert, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, Philip K Dick, William Gibson, Arthur C Clark?

Alastair Reynolds, Stephen Baxter, Greg Egan, Stanislaw Lem, Iain M. Banks, Gene Wolf, Ursula Le Guin, Neal Stephenson, Neal Asher,

The list can go on...

 

[RazedInBlack]

Something like faster than light travel can easily be used as a standard element of a story without it in any way forming an important part of the the actual story, or in any way being a 'what if' part of the story. It's just part of the setting.

Battlestar Galactica should be an apt example then.

 

[furpile]

opera? i didn't see any fat people singing, unless whatever Jabba was doing can be considered singing :erm:

It's space opera. Nobody can hear you sing in space...

 

[Nerfherder]

why? which part is fantasy more than scifi? (following your what if... logic)

Because it exists in a completely imaginary realm. It does not link to our reality at all.

and also because of the Jedi's, they are magic. The technology in the Star wars universe is based on a completely imaginary physics, its all backdrop.

Using the what if scenario : What if on another planet there where these guys called Jedi's who had super powers and Ewoks and Wookies existed.

What are the ethical/moral implications for us ? Nothing.

Fantasy.... space western. Same as Firefly.


Do the test for Hunger Games....

What if one day there was a war and the people who won the war used advances weapons to enslave the losers, then they forced them to send their kids to play this game where they had to kill each other...

Ethical moral implications: Are powerful weapons and technology going to help or hinder the average person... especially if they are not available to everyone?

 

[Nerfherder]

Battlestar Galactica should be an apt example then.

What if we made such advanced robots that they became too powerful and decided to eliminate us...

Sci-Fi

 

[wolverine_dcp]

The story line . . . unoriginal!

If u say so but still I regard as a great movie

 

[RazedInBlack]

What if we made such advanced robots that they became too powerful and decided to eliminate us...

Sci-Fi

Ok! Ok!

 

[OrbitalDawn]

Because it exists in a completely imaginary realm. It does not link to our reality at all.

and also because of the Jedi's, they are magic. The technology in the Star wars universe is based on a completely imaginary physics, its all backdrop.

Using the what if scenario : What if on another planet there where these guys called Jedi's who had super powers and Ewoks and Wookies existed.

What are the ethical/moral implications for us ? Nothing.

Fantasy.... space western. Same as Firefly.


Do the test for Hunger Games....

What if one day there was a war and the people who won the war used advances weapons to enslave the losers, then they forced them to send their kids to play this game where they had to kill each other...

Ethical moral implications: Are powerful weapons and technology going to help or hinder the average person... especially if they are not available to everyone?

The two overlap easily. Faster than light travel and parallel universes are also in the imaginary realm at the moment.

 

[RazedInBlack]

If u say so but still I regard as a great movie

I totally agree. It is a great movie. Anybody who spends years working on a movie like Avatar and bringing that idea to life has got my respect. Cameron could of at least come up with a better story line man.

 

[Nerfherder]

Yes and no, as I explained. You get 'what ifs' in genres other than sci fi as well.

And what if a story features space travel, parallel universes, faster than light travel etc. but doesn't feature a 'what if', is it then not sci fi?

Something like faster than light travel can easily be used as a standard element of a story without it in any way forming an important part of the the actual story, or in any way being a 'what if' part of the story. It's just part of the setting.

What if + Science = Sci Fi

What if + something else = Something else fiction

What if Sansa and the hound got it on = Fan fiction

Moon.

And 2001: A Space Odyssey.

I think 2001 was actually a book first... its definitely a book now

Moon?

 

[RazedInBlack]

I think 2001 was actually a book first... its definitely a book now

Err . . . Arthur C. Clarke 1968. Classic sci-fi literature.

Jeez!

 

[OrbitalDawn]

What if + Science = Sci Fi

What if + something else = Something else fiction

What if Sansa and the hound got it on = Fan fiction

Post-apocalyptic fiction is an established part of science fiction. Doesn't have much to do with science. It's a fluid and dynamic genre.

I think 2001 was actually a book first... its definitely a book now

Moon?

It was partially based on a short story by Clark. He concurrently wrote the novelisation, which was released after the movie.

Moon.

 

[Nerfherder]

The two overlap easily. Faster than light travel and parallel universes are also in the imaginary realm at the moment.

It still doesn't consider our universe. The only moment where it becomes remotely sci-fi is where they say "In a galaxy far away"

It does overlap... they could have also made all the people in the story humans previously from earth and made Darth Vader a cyborg bent on inialating the human race.
Its not though... its a story about a boy with a sword who has to go kill his dad, along the way he makes some curious friends and has an adventure or 2

Thats fantasy. Its a Knights tale set in space.

 

[Electric]

So Mad Max was science fiction?

 

[Nerfherder]

Post-apocalyptic fiction is an established part of science fiction. Doesn't have much to do with science. It's a fluid and dynamic genre.

Post-apocalyptic almost always has something to do with the moral implications of science.

Atomic warfare
Alien invasion
catastrophic virus infection (also zombies)
Global warming/pollution