science fiction
The bridge between imagination and technological advancement, where the dreamer’s vision predicts change, and foreshadows a futuristic reality. Science fiction has the ability to become “science reality”.
Best Sci-Fi Franchises
The best sci-fi franchises are often based on imagining what problems and solutions future technology will bring us, unlike fantasy, which is largely based on a magical reimagining of a medieval-type world. Where fantasy is conservative, instructing us to learn from the past, science fiction is progressive, asking us to look to the future for answers. This often makes the science fiction genre a challenging and liberal engagement with issues we currently face, issues we may one day face, and solutions that the future might hold. This makes the best sci-fi franchises all the more worth our careful consideration.
By James Lizowski9 years ago in Futurism
How Frank Herbert's 'Dune' Warned Of The Rise of Artificial Intelligence
“Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over and through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone, there will be nothing.”Only I will remain. - Dune by Frank Herbert - 1965
By Will Stape9 years ago in Futurism
Ice World Truckers
Friday, February 22nd 2115, 1413 Hours. Galactic Industries Fuel Depot 3. Orbiting Saturn’s moon Titan. Jax sat at the controls of the Earth Cargo Union hauler, Mari Kait. “Are the docking clamps ready?” he called over his shoulder without taking his eyes from the panel displaying the ship’s position in relation to the Depot’s docking port. They appeared to be perfectly aligned, but he wasn’t going to leave it to chance.
By Michael Medeiros9 years ago in Futurism
Is It Safe to Have an Orgasm in Space?
The near-light-speed drive is engaged, and a sliver of humanity is finally moving away from our Sun towards a distant new home. While the space colonists initially play out their lives in a close approximation of life on Earth, a new branch of humanity is already evolving aboard the interstellar ship. Leaving the planet is new for our species, but the evolutionary processes that resulted in this astounding migration are as ancient as life itself: reproduction, variation and selection. Over the course of generations in interstellar space, the genome of the starship community will be subtly reshaped. The culture, too, will rearrange its norms to make for pleasurable life in such a new reality.
By Cameron Smith9 years ago in Futurism
Sci-Fi Casting That Almost Happened - 'Star Trek' Edition
Our favorite TV shows and movies and the iconic characters who populate them effectively carry us away on captivating adventures. We connect to them as an audience on many emotional levels. Often, they’re more than mere entertainment or a simple distraction. We grow up watching them as wide eyed kids, discover them in high school or maybe while living off at college. Show casts can feel as if they’re part of our own family. Soon we find that those casts of actors and actresses become a part of our collective pop culture experience, one we share with family and friends. With a TV show and movie franchise as established and beloved as StarTrek, the casting becomes all the more essential and memorable.
By Will Stape9 years ago in Futurism
Heart-Rending Poems for Sci-Fi Fanatics
Distant relatives to the familiar "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," these sci fi poems are raw, real, and sometimes almost too close for comfort. They blur the line between speculation and reality in their carefully composed stanzas and bring us to mini existential crises - not earth-shattering ones. Each is just the right size to bring along to a good evening of poetry for the starry-eyed dreamer. (And if no one you know is cool enough to host one, you'd better send out invitations to your own. I suggest hot beverages, an antipasto platter, and no, I'm not doing anything, of course I would be delighted to come, thank you for asking!)
By Sarah Quinn9 years ago in Futurism
Is Transhumanism The Answer To Death?
There is one thing we know for sure about our future, we are all going to die. Ray Kurzweil and the transhumanist crew may disagree. They argue technology is the key to immortality. But for those still hooked into a biological perspective the future ends with old age, probably sickness, and death.
By Jasun Horsley9 years ago in Futurism
Space
In a recent Omni article, "New Words Were Needed," I looked at some of the commonalities between modernism and science fiction. After inventorying some of the ways science fiction transposes modernist formal concerns to the level of story, I wrote, "And those are just some of the techniques of modernism; I won't even mention postmodernism."
By M. Thomas Gammarino9 years ago in Futurism
Sci-Fi's Obsession with Ancient Egypt
At first it sounds contradictory; isn’t science fiction all about what the future holds? But in looking back to a time before toothbrushes and iPads and breakfast cereal, you can get really philosophical without all the minutia that threatens to dominate life today. (Notice that I said you can, not that you have to - some of these films are just here to have fun.) If you love Ancient Egypt AND aliens and spaceships and futuristic weapons, now you can have both in one magical sandy pyramid-shaped package.
By Sarah Quinn9 years ago in Futurism
Flesh Gordon
Since aliens from outer space are constitutionally way ahead of us puny Earthlings in everything from interstellar technology to galactic government, it was merely inevitable that they should have the edge on us in the dubious field of pornography. And it was equally inevitable that America's favorite space-age hero (or a near facsimile) should go getting himself involved in battling this erotic menace from distant worlds. Such cosmic combat is the main theme in a sci-fi spoof Flesh Gordon, a Graffitti production, directed by Mike Light-Veteran and produced by Bill Osco and Howard Ziehm, who apart from producing the hardcore entertainments of Mr Light were also involved in Hollywood Blue. With the million dollars they made from these three porn movies, Messrs. Osco, Ziehm and Light decided to risk all on an X-rated space movie, the first of its kind in the world (or any other world), and the most outrageous interpretation of the science-fiction ethos since Barbarella, one of the best sci-fi cult classics of all time. Playing the principal role of Flesh Gordon is 24-year old Jason Williams, with Suzanne Fields, a 35-23-36 green-eyed blonde, as Dale Ardor, his female lead.
By Eddie Wong9 years ago in Futurism
The Young & the Jedi - Remember Folks, 'Star Wars' Is a Soap Opera
The fantastic force of Star Wars is back in our collective awareness in a really big way—like it or not. After Disney purchased the film rights from George Lucas in 2013—along with his legendary special FX company ILM—the house of mouse fast tracked new movies and various spin-offs. As genre fans now fully absorb the respected saga’s new characters and ramifications and try to embrace The Force Awakens, the newest chapter to the Lucas sci-fi universe, old questions and observations on the pop-culture saga emerge. Why is this multi-billion dollar global franchise so preoccupied with family dysfunction? Does Luke Skywalker have more in common with Luke from General Hospital? As Rogue One looms on the horizon, can we expect more of the same?
By Will Stape9 years ago in Futurism
