1. Science Fiction
Genre and Concerns

2. Familiar Science Fiction
Star Wars
Star Trek
2001: A Space Odyssey
Independence Day
I, Robot
Men in Black
Terminator
The Matrix
Jurassic Park

3. What do these stories all have in common?
Setting: the future
Advanced technology:
genetic engineering, intelligent robots,
experimental medicine
Concerned with outer space:
aliens, space travel, other planets and solar systems
Paranormal Phenomena and the Occult:
ESP, telekinesis, psychics

4. Sci Fi vs. Fantasy Versus
Science fiction is based in fact: some of the technology is invented, some of the places are made up, but all of it is conceivable.
Fantasy is not based in reality: it is purely imaginative.
Consider: Will Smith vs. Harry Potter
Versus

5. It’s all about the “What if”
Authors chose to write in the science fiction genre because it allows them to reflect upon different scenarios in the future, based on what’s happening today.
Science fiction allows us to investigate our society’s fears, dilemmas and concerns if we take a certain course of action, or if we keep doing things the way that we are.

6. Why SciFi?
Makes us consider the emotional, psychological, and physical effects of futuristic ideas, conflict and change.
Encourages us to keep an open mind to consider unlimited possibilities.
Provokes questions regarding other forms of life, thereby bringing our own into perspective.
Stimulates curiosity and the capacity for invention.
Presents the reader with moral and ethical dilemmas that correspond to the real world.

7. History of Childhood’s End
Author: Arthur C. Clarke
-renowned Science Fiction author
Published in 1953
History
-On the brink of the Space Race
-The end of the British Empire and Colonialism
-Pre-Civil Rights Movement
Technology
-The first color TV went on sale in the US for $1,175
-New York introduced the first 3-color stop lights

8. Sci Fi Elements in Childhood’s End
Setting: the future
- the beginning of the 21st century
-50 years later, the middle of the 21st C
Concern with Outer Space:
-Aliens
-Humans have been to the moon; haven’t yet traveled
the whole solar system
Advanced Technology:
-advanced communications, speedy travel
Paranormal Phenomena
-ESP and psychic experiences, the Ouija board,
The Overmind

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