Topic proposal outline and work cited

Some of the most remarkable films of all time come from the science-fiction genre. Few other genres tend to capture our imagination and make us think like films from this particular genre. Films like the Star Wars saga and Television programs like Star Trek have embedded themselves into popular American culture with a speed and voracity not seen since the British invasion of pop music in the mid 1960s. Words of wisdom and popular phrases from these films have become a part of our lexicon; who hasn’t heard someone say, “Use the Force”, “Live long and prosper”, or my personal favorite, “I’ll be back”? But science fiction (sci-fi) films have seemingly hit a brick wall in today’s times. We keep getting the same recurring franchises year after year after year. Star Wars is being rebooted for the third time (in as many decades), Star Trek has undergone the transformation of TV series to Films, to TV series to Films, Terminator is about to be rebooted, Alien has been rebooted, even the newly established Transformers franchise has been rebooted. The genre is struggling because it is currently stuck between “hard” science fiction and blockbuster spectacle, and there is one major factor that distinguishes the two: the presence of intellectualism or lack thereof. Science fiction has ignored its own warnings about the dangers of technology and rationalism over human emotion.

Before going any further, what exactly is intellectualism? As defined by Collins English Dictionary, the primary definition of intellectualism is simply “the development and exercise of intellect.” That’s it. In recent years however, the word intellectualism has become a misnomer or an exaggeration of its original meaning, and the film industry has promoted this new meaning above the original so much so that Collins English Dictionary also has a definition of the new idea of intellectualism, “The placing of excessive value on the intellect, especially with the disregard for the emotions” (Intellectualism). This definition of intellectualism has been the primary focus of the science fiction film genre since its inception. This new definition makes also changes the definition of an anti-intellectual whereas originally it was a negative connotation of someone that is antagonistic to learning and education but is now an almost heroic term of someone that shuns technology for the truth in nature. A great example of the film industry’s depiction of intellectualism is the original Star Wars trilogy.

The original Star Wars trilogy began in 1977 with the release of Star Wars (now named Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope). It told the tale of the downtrodden rebels vs. the technologically and numerically superior Empire. The film is all about duality as the colorfully dressed rebels fight the stark white and black clad empire, the light side of the force vs. the dark side, and good vs. evil. Undeniably, the galactic empire is a recreation of Nazi Germany, with the uniforms being modeled after Nazi uniforms and the names given to certain units like storm troopers, recalling the German war strategy of blitzkrieg-lightning war(Nazi Germany). The allusion to Nazi Germany is no accident as it is the ultimate example of a society that places an excessive value on the intellect, especially with the disregard for the emotions.” This was a society that, as described by author Henry Freidlander, portrayed the “brutal euthanasia killing operation as providing a ‘mercy death,’ which ‘had humane considerations in its favor’ and ‘was based on the ethical principle of sympathy’” (Friedlander). Back to the film’s message regarding intellectualism. Professor David S. Meyer analyzed Star Wars’ themes on technology in his essay “Star Wars, Star Wars, and American Political Culture”, “Several themes emerge very clearly”. “… initiative, creativity and risk-taking can always overcome superior technology. Third, technology is not to be trusted, for it corrupts human capacity and judgment” (Meyer, 106). The empire revels in its technological prowess. Its soldiers are dressed in high tech armor; its weapons are devastatingly powerful, and its greatest warrior, Darth Vader, is a half-human/half-cyborg amalgamation. The empire is a society built on cutting edge technology, it shuns emotions and it is depicted as being entirely evil. The rebels, on the other hand, are the antithesis of the empire. They regularly express their emotions, they believe in the force (which is the power governing all living creatures), and their final victory in Episode VI depicts a battle between the empire and all of their technological might vs. the primitive nature-dependent (weapons made of wood, vines, rocks) Ewoks.

As I alluded to earlier, Star Wars was not alone in its depiction of the dangers of intellectualism and the idea of “science gone too far”. Almost every major science fiction film franchises are based around this concept or have used this concept as a central focus. The Terminator franchise is one such example. The overarching plot of this franchise centers on preventing the creation of Skynet, a corporation that creates killer robots that bring the human race to the brink of extinction. Once again the heroes face the technologically advanced, overly rational, cold, unfeeling threat and triumph using the human ingenuity and spirit. The Star Trek series (both the films and television programs) has focused on the idea of human progress and advancing to a better society. But, the most monetarily successful creations of the franchise have been the films Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, often credited of saving the franchise, and the newest film Star Trek: Into Darkness. The villain of these films is Khan Noonien Singh, a genetically engineered super human that has vastly superior intellect and strength to the average human. This same concept goes for the Predator, Matrix, Godzilla and even the newer Transformers franchise.

The Alien series flipped the formulaic concept of intellectually/technologically-advanced villain + average Joe = hit movie on its head. This series (most notably the second film in the franchise Aliens), shows the danger of the hero’s overreliance on intellect and technology. The heroes are technologically and intellectually superior to the Xenomorph(s), and they are ripped to shreds by this primal creature. This is a trend that has caught on with more recent franchises like Starship Troopers, and the current run of Planet of the Apes films. These franchises all rely on the theme of science and technology gone too far and serve as warning to the effects of what happens when a society does go too far, but the genre should have heeded its own warnings.

Science fiction as a genre has typically mirrored current events or current society and culture. Jaime Weinman sums this up succinctly,

…the future, as science fiction used to describe it, is right now: the new drama Person of Interest uses post-9/11 surveillance equipment to drive its stories, while the period procedural Murdoch Mysteries is based on the joke that today's police methods would seem like science fiction in the late 19th century (Weinman)

They act as satire or indirectly bring to light social/societal/political issues in an indirect way to the masses but their message is being lost due to the over use of CGI and special effects. The industry itself has come to mirror its own antagonists; they are technologically and intellectually advanced, and emotionally cold. Once again take the Star Wars for example.

The prequel saga of the Star Wars films arrived in 1999, sixteen years after the ending of the original trilogy. It tells the story of how the Galactic Empire came into power, the fall of the Jedi, and the creation of Darth Vader. This saga doesn’t carry over the allusions to Nazi Germany or any of the themes on the evil intellectual of the previous trilogy. IGN writer Joey Esposito breaks down the main theme of episode I as revolving around politics but it is true for the rest of the trilogy, “Seemingly trivial things like the taxation of trade routes are indeed the seeds of war…” and how the films are filled with “… real, fault-ridden political system that is ultimately the cause of its own destruction” (Esposito). Now, this is an important theme worthy of exploration but the film hides it behind spectacular and overused special effects. The main reasons for why special effects affect the storytelling and is that the special effects and the live action shot must be filmed separately and that CGI has not advanced far enough to replicate real people and environments. Slate Magazine writer Edward Epstein explained the process of filming live action vs. CGI, “ To accommodate this digital outsourcing, a movie is split into what amounts to two different productions: the live-action movie that's shot in a studio or on location and the CGI movie that's created on computers. “ He also describes how this affects actors, “…the star often works on a so-called limbo set, aptly named because the actor is in a sort of limbo stage, standing, for example, in an empty room, wearing a green spandex jumpsuit, and mouthing lines of dialogue which will later be filled in at a looping session while holding imaginary objects and reacting to imaginary dangers” (Epstein). Here are some photo examples of sets of the prequel trilogy:

Now compare them to the photos of the sets of the original trilogy:

The older films used practical special effects like Claymation and perspective shots, these sets looked and felt real because the sets were real. The actors could interact with each other and the set whereas in the newer films it’s all computer reliant. Certain scenes (like the space battles) in the newer trilogy were entirely computer reliant without the use of even a green screen. This is the reason why the world and actors seem so cold and emotionless and the films suffered for it. The newer films of the Terminator, Star Trek, and even Alien has all followed in Star Wars’ footsteps but instead of the Aliens films just featuring people being ripped to shred by aliens, the films themselves are being ripped to shreds by critics.

All is not lost for the science fiction genre in film. There have been a few spectacular films (films, but not franchises) that have stuck to the old ways of relying on spectacular storytelling with social commentary and are complimented by the special effects. Films like Moon, Avatar, and more recently Edge of Tomorrow have all had great critical and monetary success, but too many newer films like Skyline, John Carter, and Battlefield Earth have flopped on this new technology reliant filmmaking style. As for existing franchises, there is still hope. Another Star Wars trilogy is on its way and the new director seems intent on correcting the mistakes of the past trilogy. Already it is living up to the subtitle of its predecessor: A New Hope.