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Worlds Without End Blog

The Coming Future of Sci-Fi in Prose and Film Posted at 5:18 PM by Jonathan McDonald

jynnantonnyx

Flux capacitor, check. Cathode tubes, check. Smoking jacket and smokes, che– they passed WHAT laws in the future?!

There were two very interesting articles in recent weeks about the future of science fiction in novels and in movies. The first piece about novels is largely speculative. It’s from The Irish Times, an article titled “The new future of sci-fi” by sci-fi novelist Gareth L. Powell:

Unlike previous movements in genre fiction, this nameless assemblage [of writers] doesn’t appear to be reacting against anything. In fact, their work displays a genuine love for what has gone before, and an appreciation of the roots and peculiarities of genre fiction.

Recently, it’s become fashionable to agonise about the Death of Science Fiction, and hardly a week passes without some commentator declaring its demise. But rather than bemoaning the moribund state of fantastic fiction, or trying to distance themselves from the old guard, these new authors are instead building on the achievements of the past, and warping them into new and unexpected shapes – producing unique, individual works which can only breathe fresh strength and vitality into science fiction and fantasy.

Another piece that caught my attention is Alex Billington’s editorial “A New Era of Sci-Fi is Upon Us – Looking Ahead to Worlds That Await,” which includes an opinion section on the best sci-fi movies of the last five years, and a look ahead at scheduled or in-production films coming soon. An excerpt:

Over the last few years, movies like Cloud Atlas, Chronicle, Moon and District 9 have proven to audiences and other filmmakers that taking a risk with bold, unique ideas can pay off. Maybe not pay off financially, but cinematically at least. The fact that films like Looper and Attack the Block were even made, got released in theaters, built substantial buzz, and nurtured large fan-bases shows that love for intellectual, entertaining sci-fi is still rampant. Audiences are ready to embrace science fiction that is challenging and exciting and not just another remake. Yes, we’ve got more Star Wars, Star Trek, Transformers and even Godzilla on the way, but for each of those we’ve also got original ideas like Gravity, Pacific Rim, Oblivion and Elysium, too.

The future of sci-fi storytelling may not be as weird as some of the stories themselves, but things are surely looking good for the ol’ genre.

2 Comments

Scott Laz   |   10 Apr 2013 @ 13:55

Considering that some have been looking for a new “movement” to wake things up in science fiction, I like Powell’s point about the “non-movement movement,” which seems to go along with other areas in the arts where individual “mash-ups” or blending of genres is producing new ideas.

I’m not so sure about Billington’s predictions in regard to film, but I certainly hope he’s right. Falling production costs translate into greater supply, so he’s right about the potential there, but is there enough demand to allow commercial success for serious SF films? That a film like “Moon” could happen is cause for optimism, and there has always been the occasional bright spot, but it seems like filmmakers are always 20 years behind what’s going on in the literature. As a reader of SF, I’m used to seeing film ideas that seem old and tired to me (e.g., “Looper”) being hailed as groundbreaking by movie critics. Much as I love PKDick, his work is still being mined by moviemakers three decades after his death and considered cutting-edge. I think the mass audience needed for movies still makes thoughtful SF a tough sell, but if costs really fall to the point where it can be done at the “indie” level, maybe the trend can grow. (End of grumpy old fan rant.)

jynnantonnyx   |   11 Apr 2013 @ 11:20

There are similar oddities with comic book adaptations, especially the superhero stuff. Zack Snyder mentioned recently that the “Watchmen” film would have made a lot more sense after Nolan’s Batman trilogy, because the original comic series was a deconstruction of the positive portrayal of superheroes in comics at the time. And of course “Watchmen” was adapted into film a full 22 years after the original publication, which makes the 1980s setting of the story more than a bit dated.

I suspect that few people in Hollywood read genre fiction, even the writers. Decisions about which books to adapt are made at very high levels in the studio, and those guys tend to stick with what has worked in the past. “Have PKD books served as templates for money-making films before? Well, let’s do some more of those.” If the film tanks, the studio exec can always keep his job by claiming he was sticking with a winning formula. Eventually another major sci-fi novelist will have a few money-making adaptations under his belt, and his work will be mined by Hollywood for decades.

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