Be it books, movies or television. What science fiction and "sci-fi" has influenced the way you think? :-k
For me Star Trek really nailed in the ideas of diversity and humanism and a positive outlook on the future.
The writings of Isaac Asimov and Frank Herbert were influential in my thinking as well.
i especially affected by generally 18. century posivitizm. and dialectic materialism.
when comes to your question. i say the final scene of rise of the planet of the apes.
Things to Come
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Things_to_Come (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Things_to_Come)
Made in 1936, was one of the first big talking movies. Starred some serious British acting talent. The story is about the ultimate conflict of man against himself, his lust for power, and the fight of learned men over intolerant and backward thinking. It also presaged (and some said predicted) WW2, and in the long term has a great many things to say about our society. I would recommend this to every one.
Stranger in a Strange Land (novel)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stranger_in_a_Strange_Land (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stranger_in_a_Strange_Land)
Was controversial in its day because it dealt with free love, and was a significant book during the counter culture of the 60's. Introduced the concept of a "fair witness" a person who could witness without bias in any situation. Orson Scott Card extrapolated the idea and turned it into "Speaker For the Dead" I'm sure he'd deny it, but they are too similar an idea.
Foundation (series) by Isaac Asimov
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_series (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_series)
The concept is about a society of scientists that builds an enormous computer-an entire planet- that can predict the future by calculating from mass action, or broad trends in social behavior over a galactic population. Actually a forerunner of Chaos Theory.
Dune (series) by Frank Herbert
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune_(novel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune_(novel))
Also from Herbert: Destination: Void
The void novel- which became a series, is about creating an artificial intelligence. Very heavy and insightful.
dune- read the book, avoid the movie.
None for me because it is science fiction. But Star Trek had great social commentary, and A 2001 Space Odyssey and Aliens did get it right that there is no sound in space that can be heard without special equipment. I love science fiction movies though. I really liked Aliens (That scene when the baby comes out of the man's chest is terrific), The original War of the Worlds (only movie I watched six time in a row), Forbidden Planet (Based on Shakespeare's Tempest. And the second chapter of the story is Aliens.) When worlds collide (Still is scary), Jurassic Park, and my favorite that should have a sequel coming out soon, Avatar (A nine foot sexy woman can't be beat when they look like Zoe Sordana). :shock: :lol: Solitary
Trek and B5 for pluralism. Stargate for secular humanism. Dune for environmentalism. Foundation for the importance of knowledge and the fragility of civilization. Warhammer 40k as a cautious tale about the progressively horrible effects of war on individuals and societies and the abandonment of science in preference for religious zeal and totalitarianism.
Gee, I think pretty much all science fiction influences my thinking, except for a few really second rate attempts at science fiction. That's kind of what makes science fiction so wonderful. It influences our thinking. It's a great venue for social commentary, and social commentary is so much a part of science fiction.
My cousin is a red neck conservative, and he hates science fiction. I've wondered why. I think it might be because there's so much social commentary. But I don't know if that would be typical of most conservative red necks or not.
Quote from: "SGOS"My cousin is a red neck conservative, and he hates science fiction. I've wondered why. I think it might be because there's so much social commentary. But I don't know if that would be typical of most conservative red necks or not.
Science fiction is oriented towards future, particularly future scientific developments. Science fiction books are about our possible futures. And like fantasy and horror, they're set in other realities, not connected to our day-to-day lives.
This is not the sort of thing that appeals to everyone. Not everyone can play make believe. Not everyone is interested in science or the future. And the values typically embedded in these tales often clash tremendously with current Republican attitudes, especially the general distrust (if not outright denialism) towards science and the perpetual longing for the good ol' days. These are the sorts of people who can barely stomach resident aliens, let alone actual aliens. There's a reason why Republicans don't like Star Trek. They're not in it.
Quote from: "Hydra009"This is not the sort of thing that appeals to everyone. Not everyone can play make believe.
Yeah, I know. Whenever I'm going to watch a movie with this one couple, I don't even suggest science fiction. They are not interested because in their words, "Oh that's just make believe." But they go to church every Sunday and pray to whatever. Go figure. :-D
Quote from: "stromboli"Things to Come
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Things_to_Come (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Things_to_Come)
Made in 1936, was one of the first big talking movies. Starred some serious British acting talent. The story is about the ultimate conflict of man against himself, his lust for power, and the fight of learned men over intolerant and backward thinking. It also presaged (and some said predicted) WW2, and in the long term has a great many things to say about our society. I would recommend this to every one.
Stranger in a Strange Land (novel)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stranger_in_a_Strange_Land (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stranger_in_a_Strange_Land)
Was controversial in its day because it dealt with free love, and was a significant book during the counter culture of the 60's. Introduced the concept of a "fair witness" a person who could witness without bias in any situation. Orson Scott Card extrapolated the idea and turned it into "Speaker For the Dead" I'm sure he'd deny it, but they are too similar an idea.
Foundation (series) by Isaac Asimov
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_series (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_series)
The concept is about a society of scientists that builds an enormous computer-an entire planet- that can predict the future by calculating from mass action, or broad trends in social behavior over a galactic population. Actually a forerunner of Chaos Theory.
Dune (series) by Frank Herbert
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune_(novel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune_(novel))
Also from Herbert: Destination: Void
The void novel- which became a series, is about creating an artificial intelligence. Very heavy and insightful.
dune- read the book, avoid the movie.
I GROK you, Stromboli! Seen and read all of that! Excellent taste! :wink: I almost listed Heinlein as an influence (Stranger in a Strange Land and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress), along with Fredrick Pohl.
"Yank my Doodle Dandy" was the first porn with that sci fi shit called solar batteries, it changed my whole life in a mere 1hr 15 minutes.
Quote from: "aitm""Yank my Doodle Dandy" was the first porn with that sci fi shit called solar batteries, it changed my whole life in a mere 1hr 15 minutes.
1hr 15 min eh? You were either really good at it, or really bad at it! :lol:
Quote from: "Solomon Zorn"Quote from: "aitm""Yank my Doodle Dandy" was the first porn with that sci fi shit called solar batteries, it changed my whole life in a mere 1hr 15 minutes.
1hr 15 min eh? You were either really good at it, or really bad at it! :lol:
sorry but that was the length of the movie.
I can't even begin to think how science fiction has influenced my thinking. All the television shows and movies people have listed but when I think about books, especially classics like 1984, Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Childhood's End, The Left Hand of Darkness-- they really had an effect on me.
When I was in my late teens and early 20's I was much more libertarian in my thinking thanks to Robert Heinlein's writings.
Anything to do with time travel really interests me.
I will even watch a really crap film just because it has a time travel element in it.
Sending liquid metal assassins back through time to kill the saviour of the human race.. awesome.
Quote from: "Hopist"Anything to do with time travel really interests me.
I will even watch a really crap film just because it has a time travel element in it.
Sending liquid metal assassins back through time to kill the saviour of the human race.. awesome.
I never really got that. Or the naked rule. Or why it has to be one at a time. Or why attempts on his life are spread out over years. Or why they can't just assassinate his grandmother.
Come to think of it, why do the machines need bipedal foot soldiers to fight the humans in a conventional war? Just launch some bioweapons. Boom, war over.
http://www.cracked.com/article_18848_4- ... -jobs.html (http://www.cracked.com/article_18848_4-reasons-terminators-suck-at-their-jobs.html)
http://www.cracked.com/article_17390_5- ... sense.html (http://www.cracked.com/article_17390_5-reasons-terminator-franchise-makes-no-goddamn-sense.html)
2 things, for different reasons.
Blade Runner (and of course "Do Androids dream of electric sheep?") was such a good film. I've met loads of people who saw the posters and thought "Wow, an action film with Harrison Ford in! Set in a sort of dystopian future! Cool" only to be disappointed by the slow dialogue, slow build up and general lack of action.
These people, IMO, are silly because they missed the point of the film after getting the genre completely wrong. For me, everything from the script to the music by Vangelis was perfect and just 'worked'. I loved the sets, and acting, the lighting and of course the tone of the film. That it was made in the early 80s (with the funny 'back in time future' stuff, such as a massive Atari symbol floating around as a 3D billboard at the beginning) is something that I can completely overlook because it engrossed me in the film, unlike some other films. Also, I like films that keep you guessing, and, not to spoil the film if you haven't seen it, the mystery surrounding the nature of Ford's character is something that I like and has spawned speculation and dialogue ever since the film has been released.
The other piece of sci-fi, as crap as it is, is Minority report, and not because of the crap action or Tom Cruise. Minus the all pre-cognition crap, I think the way that the future was constructed in that film, from the shapes and designs of the cities to the technological creations (multi-use retinal scanning, fully automated cars that scale buildings, mixed with non-automated vehicles that operate outside of the cities) is something I think that the world may look like in the future. A kind of crappy magazine article was in the BBC today that made me think of it:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23524249 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23524249)
Meh. Everything's subjective I guess, and lots I've enjoyed a lot more sci-fi as I'm a self-confessed sci-fi addict. I think that most sci-fi's i've watched have attempted in some way to create their own dimension of the future, although a lot have just gone down the dystopian dark route with little success, especially when compared to the likes of blade runner, or even gaming sci-fi such as the original Deus Ex.
Quote from: "Fidel_Castronaut"Blade Runner (and of course "Do Androids dream of electric sheep?") was such a good film.
A few years ago, during a discussion about sci-fi, I told a guy I worked with (he had never seen it), that I thought all science fiction begins and ends with Blade Runner. A bit of exaggeration, but my point was that he needed to see the movie. He rented it that night and enjoyed it. It's a remarkable film.
My sister from Chicago told me that for a couple of years after it came out, you could attend discussion groups around her area that were devoted to Blade Runner. Few films have that kind of impact.
Quote from: "Hydra009"Quote from: "Hopist"Anything to do with time travel really interests me.
I will even watch a really crap film just because it has a time travel element in it.
Sending liquid metal assassins back through time to kill the saviour of the human race.. awesome.
I never really got that. Or the naked rule. Or why it has to be one at a time. Or why attempts on his life are spread out over years. Or why they can't just assassinate his grandmother.
Come to think of it, why do the machines need bipedal foot soldiers to fight the humans in a conventional war? Just launch some bioweapons. Boom, war over.
http://www.cracked.com/article_18848_4- ... -jobs.html (http://www.cracked.com/article_18848_4-reasons-terminators-suck-at-their-jobs.html)
http://www.cracked.com/article_17390_5- ... sense.html (http://www.cracked.com/article_17390_5-reasons-terminator-franchise-makes-no-goddamn-sense.html)
I find that sometimes a pre-movie beer can reduce the left hemisphere carping and enhance immersion, for some films it is a necessity. :drinkers:
Quote1. The robots cannot show emotion;
2. The time machine can't transport non-living matter.
First, the emotion thing. This one seems pretty easy to nail down, right (they're fucking robots)? And it's stated right in the second movie when Arnold says, "I know now why you cry, but it's something I can never do" (though some students of the franchise speculate that was just Schwarzenegger thinking out loud on the set and the microphone happened to be on).
Read more: http://www.cracked.com/article_17390_5- ... z2cdU29CUk (http://www.cracked.com/article_17390_5-reasons-terminator-franchise-makes-no-goddamn-sense.html#ixzz2cdU29CUk)
:rollin:
Thanks for the links Hydra :-D
A lot of Philip Dick's stuff really makes you think, especially during a re-read. UBIK, A Maze of Death, The World Jones Made, they all get you thinking about what's real and what's not.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, the book, is about what makes us human. Our lives in a dystopian future filled with all manner of negative stereotypes, against the lives of androids that desperately want to live past their allotted span, knowing even so there was no hope of doing so.
Dick was an influential writer well past his death. A Scanner Darkly was made from his book, and deals in part with his own drug addiction to alkaloids that eventually killed him. V.A.L.I.S. is about the possibility of a universal creator (Vast Acting Living Intelligent System) Great stuff.
John Brunner was probably the most overlooked author of the so-called Golden Age. Shockwave Rider (1975) predicts a future of a computer based reality where the hero hacks into different identities to stay ahead of a secret controlling society. Invented the term "worm" for a self replicating program. Also wrote Stand on Zanzibar written in 1968, about an overpopulated world in 2010 with a very different narrative style than any previous book, very dense and descriptive, about a sprawling and barley under control future. His short novel To Conquer Chaos was the first story that really turned me on to science fiction, a great novel.
Quote from: "stromboli"Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, the book, is about what makes us human. Our lives in a dystopian future filled with all manner of negative stereotypes, against the lives of androids that desperately want to live past their allotted span, knowing even so there was no hope of doing so.
Dick was an influential writer well past his death. A Scanner Darkly was made from his book, and deals in part with his own drug addiction to alkaloids that eventually killed him. V.A.L.I.S. is about the possibility of a universal creator (Vast Acting Living Intelligent System) Great stuff.
John Brunner was probably the most overlooked author of the so-called Golden Age. Shockwave Rider (1975) predicts a future of a computer based reality where the hero hacks into different identities to stay ahead of a secret controlling society. Invented the term "worm" for a self replicating program. Also wrote Stand on Zanzibar written in 1968, about an overpopulated world in 2010 with a very different narrative style than any previous book, very dense and descriptive, about a sprawling and barley under control future. His short novel To Conquer Chaos was the first story that really turned me on to science fiction, a great novel.
You just added some stuff to my reading list.
Agree re: Dick's impact on science fiction and literature per se. I think I'm going to re-read the book and others in the coming weeks.
I often joke that Total Recall is the greatest movie ever made. Only part of me is joking :)
When I heard about the remake, I was disheartened, not only because I consider the original a classic (as most 80s/90s action movies should be!), but also because of the recent Hollywood trend of rehashing old ideas.
The story on which Total Recall is based -- We Can Remember It for You Wholesale, published in Fantasy and Sci-Fi April 1966 -- is vastly different than the movies. Everything up until he goes to Recall is similar, but after that -- the secret agent thing, Howser, Benny the cab driver -- is not in the story. Still worth checking out if you're a fan of his works.
Not many people outside those who read sci-fi have heard of him, but his stories have inspired many mindfuck movies: Bladerunner, Total Recall, Minority Report, Paycheck, The Adjustment Bureau, Next, Impostor, A Scanner Darkly, Radio Free Albemuth, Screamers. As stromboli said, he remains influential even 30+ years after his death.
All of it. I can't begin to list it here, but the "Hyperion" series by Dan Simmons is one of the best.
[youtube:24yj9rr3]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbGVIdA3dx0[/youtube:24yj9rr3]
Quote from: JmptyAll of it. I can't begin to list it here, but the "Hyperion" series by Dan Simmons is one of the best.
Simmons's more recent stuff is good, too. The Terror is a fictionalized account of the final months of the lost Franklin expedition. Drood is about Charles Dickens near the end of his life, told by his contemporary Wilkie Collins. Neither are sci-fi, but both are really good reads.
When I was a kid, the most memorable were "Childhoods End," and "The City of Gold And Lead" by Arthur C Clarke, and John Christopher, respectively.
Even after pondering it a bit I still have to go with the original Star Wars trillogy. Yoda warned me about the contagiousness of hatred. Don't give in to the dark side is more than just a cultural reference. It also set the bar and raised the expectations of what I want out of a movie experience.
Quote from: "Jutter"Even after pondering it a bit I still have to go with the original Star Wars trillogy. Yoda warned me about the contagiousness of hatred. Don't give in to the dark side is more than just a cultural reference. It also set the bar and raised the expectations of what I want out of a movie experience.
I actually sort of like both the Empire and the Sith philosophy. Empowered by passion. I sort of saw the Jedi as a stodgy, aloof, and overly restrictive. It wouldn't be too hard to create an alternative narrative where the sides are flipped and the Empire is struggling to keep the peace against a band of traitors and terrorists.
I think most of what I read influenced me, because I read science fiction, not fantasy. At very least, it all piqued my interest in science, and most of it taught me critical thinking, even before I had heard of the phrase.
Asimov and Heinlein probably influenced me most. Heinlein because of his thinking outside a universe that had boxes. Asimov because his fiction led me to read his factual books, which taught me a lot.