The doors clang open with a whoosh of air as the depressurization sequence of your G-43 StarBird finishes. Oxygen pack in tow, you take the first steps ever taken on the planet Reibon and feel a faint squelching from the organic mesh that you landed on. A strange bird-like creature soars overhead, but it’s like nothing you’ve ever seen with two heads and feathers that soar from the back like streamers. Excitedly, you catalogue your findings…
A scene like this can only be categorized as the wild fantasies of science fiction. Fantasies aside though, the sci-fi genre has never been more relevant to society than it is now. Things like robots that think for themselves, cars that drive on their own, and so many other inventions are quickly making the shift from fiction to reality. As a reflection of this, new sci-fi movies, books, and other interactive media such as video games are being released every year, and you can see their influence on everything from mac-and-cheese to makeup.
This didn’t happen all of a sudden though, sci-fi has existed for a couple hundred years in one form or another. Classics such as “Frankenstein” started the world on an adventure towards new ways of thinking about future possibilities. Leading up to recent years, high tech space-odysseys and dystopian stories have taken the spotlight with movies such as “The Hunger Games”, “Avatar”, and most recently “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”. These movies seem to have captivated the nation in a way that truly cements sci-fi within pop-culture and paves the way for years to come.
What makes sci-fi so great? To many, there’s a sense of entertainment that exists within the stories and inspiration that exists within the technologies that have yet to be invented. There is a magic in the exploration of new planets and strange aliens that is awe-inspiring yet unsettling each time. Sci-fi in its purest form is a genre of dreamers that set their sights to a future in which anything is possible.
Sci-fi has uses beyond entertainment however, and stories that take place in dystopian eras are often used to explore societal issues. Beyond the romance and survival themes, class structures and political systems are parodied and then scrutinized in the popular book-turned-movies “The Hunger Games”. All of this is done within the context of the world, which makes it easier to market and spread to a large group of people. It’s sort of like sweetening up medicine with a heap of sugar.
The biggest help for sci-fi has been the change in attitude towards it. A few decades ago the only people that would openly admit to loving this genre would be called the stereotypical geeks who huddled in groups of like-minded individuals. Nowadays many sci-fi enthusiasts still call themselves geeks, but it’s more of an endearing term than a derogatory one. No one is too cool for sci-fi now, not even the most popular celebrities.
Whether you’ve been a fan for years or are just getting into it, there has never been a better time to be a sci-fi geek. So hop into The Enterprise, pick up your sonic-screwdriver, and soar over to Panem, and as always, may the Force be with you.
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