1. Science Fiction/Fantasy Genre

2. Beginnings
Can be traced to ancient Greek epic poems about various gods, monsters, and fantastic voyages to far-off worlds
Can also be traced to fables used to explain natural phenomena and to integrate religious beliefs into everyday experience

3. Term Science Fiction Came into use in mid 19th century
Sub genre of fantasy
Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” (1818) is arguable the first step towards modernized science fiction stories

4. History of Science-Fiction Films
1st sci-fi movie – George Melies’s A Trip to the Moon (1902)
break through special effects at the time
1927 – Fritz Lang’s Metropolis
1930s – 1950s – low-budged “B-movies”,
Often associated with horror
Usually about scientific experiments gone wrong
Usually had a mad scientist of some sort

5. 1950s – Golden Age of Science Fiction
After WWII and the Cold War – American Science Fiction became
More political
Responded to the Red Scare
Addressed the evils of communism
Addressed the evils of war and nuclear weapons
1968 – Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey taken more seriously, broke through another level of poetry and wonder

6. 1970s – big-budget science fiction films filled with special effects
Successful sci-fi movies include Star Wars, E.T., Matrix series, Alien, Avatar

7. Elements of Sci-Fi Films
Not bound to a particular area or time period like westerns or war movies
Usually contain spaceships, alien worlds, robots, and/or futuristic gadgets
Subject often involves either a strange new world with strange creatures and strange new technology, or an interpretation of our world in the future with strange technology or creatures

8. Sci-Fi Movies Typically Have One or More of the Following Elements
World in which the story takes place
Rules of the world where the story takes place
Strange technology and/or creatures
Joseph Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey
Character that is an underdog who learns about a power that he/she never knew he/she had before
A mentor who guides the hero