Science FictionFantasy Genre Beginnings Can be traced to

Science Fiction/Fantasy Genre

Beginnings • Can be traced to ancient Greek epic poems about various gods, monsters, and fantastic voyages to far-off worlds • Can also be traced to fables used to explain natural phenomena and to integrate religious beliefs into everyday experience

Term Science Fiction • Came into use in mid 19 th century • Sub genre of fantasy • Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” (1818) is arguable the first step towards modernized science fiction stories

History of Science-Fiction Films • 1 st sci-fi movie – George Melies’s A Trip to the Moon (1902) break through special effects at the time • 1927 – Fritz Lang’s Metropolis • 1930 s – 1950 s – low-budged “B-movies”, • Often associated with horror • Usually about scientific experiments gone wrong • Usually had a mad scientist of some sort

• 1950 s – Golden Age of Science Fiction • After WWII and the Cold War – American Science Fiction became • • More political Responded to the Red Scare Addressed the evils of communism Addressed the evils of war and nuclear weapons • 1968 – Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey taken more seriously, broke through another level of poetry and wonder

• 1970 s – big-budget science fiction films filled with special effects • Successful sci-fi movies include Star Wars, E. T. , Matrix series, Alien, Avatar

Elements of Sci-Fi Films • Not bound to a particular area or time period like westerns or war movies • Usually contain spaceships, alien worlds, robots, and/or futuristic gadgets • Subject often involves either a strange new world with strange creatures and strange new technology, or an interpretation of our world in the future with strange technology or creatures

Sci-Fi Movies Typically Have One or More of the Following Elements • World in which the story takes place • Rules of the world where the story takes place • Strange technology and/or creatures • Joseph Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey • Character that is an underdog who learns about a power that he/she never knew he/she had before • A mentor who guides the hero