Lessons from Sci-Fi

[lukefreeman]

I am a LONG-TIME Stargate Fan. I went to see the new Star Trek movie recently on it’s opening day. My girlfriend is a former-semi-closet-now-unashamed Star Trek fan and I had hardly seen much Star Trek before (not a single episode until the Christmas just gone by).

The movie was great, as I’m sure you have heard (or know from experience), but it got me onto watching a bunch of old Star Trek and it’s reminding me of a lot of the Sci-Fi that I’ve watched over the years. They all have some interesting stuff in common and, in my opinion, you can learn more from Sci-Fi than from any other genre.

On this premise, I’m kicking off a series of blog posts that I will be writing, editing and compiling: "Lessons from Sci-Fi.”

The topics will include things like the science, political, social and religious commentary, technology, artificial intelligence, environment, living on other planets, war, peace, occupation/colonisation/insurgence, patience (hehe), storytelling, dreaming, hero complex, not taking yourself too seriously…and much more!

It'd be great to hear your ideas, episode #'s etc...

Cheers!

[lilstevo]

sounds like a good idea, i'll join in.

[The Stig]

This is a very good idea. I wish you good luck on your quest.

[PG15]

Well, one thing I learned from Sci-Fi is that Wrestling is SciFi.

Seriously though, good luck on this! The guy who plays the parody of Teal'c said it pretty well at the end of "200":

Science fiction is an existential metaphor. It allows us to tell stories about the human condition. Isaac Asimov once said: "Individual science fiction stories may seem as trivial as ever to the blinder critics and philosophers of today, but the core of science fiction, its essence, has become crucial to our salvation, if we are to be saved at all."

[Bareassedmunky]

There are two types of lessons that can be learned from scifi. Firstly there are the lessons concerning where we are going - how would humanity deal with a situation like this, that or the other (e.g. what would happen if the stargate went public? how would a galaxywide UN function with different races interacting? etc.). These storylines need to deal with realistic predictions about science and the nature of the universe, otherwise the question is redundant - see my signature.

The second type of lesson which can be learned through scifi is how would people react in extreme situations (e.g. Stargte Universe) This is more individual, and deals with where we are today rather than looking at what we may have to face in the future. These stories can be a little more fanciful, and may even drift into the realms of fantasy rather than scifi.


I prefer the first type of lesson, as I think it is more interesting to look forward, but there is merit to a more contemporary view.

[JonasFan]

I think that this will be a good post-only if you pay attention to the grandfathers of sci-fi. They wrote sci-fi, and made it what it is- long before television and movies. If you want to read what one of them hoped for the genre they started read L. Ron Hubbard's Introduction in his 'Battlefield Earth'. I have been a sci-fi fan since i could read, about 20 years now, and there have been excellent movies and TV shows, but if you want to pay homage to the genre, you can't ignore it's beginnings.

[lukefreeman]

There are two types of lessons that can be learned from scifi. Firstly there are the lessons concerning where we are going...The second type of lesson which can be learned through scifi is how would people react in extreme situations

Bareassedmunky: I like the point about looking at both society as a whole and the individual.

-- I'm also aware of "bad science," and that's actually my biggest gripe with Star Trek (moreso than Stargate, but still nonetheless).

JonasFan: I haven't read the early Sci-Fi and will do my best, any suggestions are welcome!

Thanks guys, I'll keep you updated as it comes along!

It's always good to stick it to those who don't understand Sci-Fi (used to be me) and show them how important it is to human development (pushing the boundaries, conceiving the inconceivable so when one of them happens we have some concept of how to react).

[JonasFan]

L Ron Hubbard's Battlefield Earth or Robert Heinlein's The Past Through Tomorrow are probably the best place to start. they are 1066 and 830 pages respectively. but they are well worth the effort.

[Espeon1962]

I think that this will be a good post-only if you pay attention to the grandfathers of sci-fi. They wrote sci-fi, and made it what it is- long before television and movies. If you want to read what one of them hoped for the genre they started read L. Ron Hubbard's Introduction in his 'Battlefield Earth'. I have been a sci-fi fan since i could read, about 20 years now, and there have been excellent movies and TV shows, but if you want to pay homage to the genre, you can't ignore it's beginnings.

If you want to pay homage to its beginnings, you have to go back a lot further then L Ron Hubbards Battlefield Earth work (which was written in the 1980's). EE Doc Smith. A.E Van Vogt, Isaac Asimov, Robert Henlein, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C Clark, Lester Del Rey, Frederick Pohl and Cyril Kornbluth, Clifford Simak, James Blish, Poul Anderson, Alfred Bester, Ray Bradbury, Eric Frank Russell, Leigh Brackett, Frederic Brown and more are good examples of authors to start with since they all wrote between 1915 and 1950, with huge bodies of work in the 1930s-40s that set the tone for science fiction, and in many cases, science.

These authors pretty much opened and explored every facet that you find in later scifi worked over and over again, in variation. Shows such as the original Star Trek had episodes drawn from works of the aforementioned authors.

[knowles2]

Great idea for a blog.

I think the biggest lesson of all is never underestimate us humans, no matter what the odds are, we always seem to come out on top.

[JonasFan]

If you want to pay homage to its beginnings, you have to go back a lot further then L Ron Hubbards Battlefield Earth work (which was written in the 1980's). EE Doc Smith. A.E Van Vogt, Isaac Asimov, Robert Henlein, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C Clark, Lester Del Rey, Frederick Pohl and Cyril Kornbluth, Clifford Simak, James Blish, Poul Anderson, Alfred Bester, Ray Bradbury, Eric Frank Russell, Leigh Brackett, Frederic Brown and more are good examples of authors to start with since they all wrote between 1915 and 1950, with huge bodies of work in the 1930s-40s that set the tone for science fiction, and in many cases, science.

These authors pretty much opened and explored every facet that you find in later scifi worked over and over again, in variation. Shows such as the original Star Trek had episodes drawn from works of the aforementioned authors.

If you read L. Ron Hubbard's Introduction in Battlefieldearth, you'll see that he was writing in the 40' and 50's. In fact he was the main writer for Astounding Science Fiction in 1938- the first sci-fi magazine ever. he tells about the other author- most of whom you mentioned. i just believe that that one novel is his best sci-fi novel. the only thing it doesn't contain is drawn out love scenes. he says it was his one novel where he wrote specifaclly a sci-fi driven story. there isn't room to post here the people he calls the grandfather of sci-fi

[Hetshepsu]

Sci fi is a good way to learn about ourselves. Most sci fi touches upon todays topics without the awkwardness or familiarity of being actually about those actual topics. For instance, if the terroism themes displayed in BSG was actually just a show about the war in iraq, set in iraq etc.. would we enjoy it as much? There's something about escapism with sci fi whilst still being able to comment on the world as it is today.

[lukefreeman]

Great idea for a blog.

I think the biggest lesson of all is never underestimate us humans, no matter what the odds are, we always seem to come out on top.

Yes, we do come out on top... but the sacrifice is always MUCH bigger than it should have been (e.g. the next pandemic may bring us together, but most of the third world will be wiped out).

[lukefreeman]

Guys keep it coming! I'm still researching and comments like this one will most likely find their way onto the posts (with proper attribution).

Sci fi is a good way to learn about ourselves. Most sci fi touches upon todays topics without the awkwardness or familiarity of being actually about those actual topics. For instance, if the terroism themes displayed in BSG was actually just a show about the war in iraq, set in iraq etc.. would we enjoy it as much? There's something about escapism with sci fi whilst still being able to comment on the world as it is today.

[JonasFan]

Science Fiction isn't always about human endurance under unusual circumstances. Science Fiction can be about humans pushing themselves to achieve greatness during ordinary times too. Remember airplanes, rockets, and even cars were once considered science fiction, even cell phones and computers. Science Fiction can give us a clue as to where we are headed. Look at any science/technology/medical journal and you'll see that humans are making science fiction more and more of a reality. Look at a 50 year old magazine and see which one cell phones and computers are in- tech mags or science fiction. They may have had the early computers then, but none that fit in a house, let alone three.