This is a Word Document about the History of Science Fiction, that was completed for my A Level Creative Media Course.

1. Unit 26- Film Reading (The birth and history of SCIENCE FICTION)
The history of science fiction films parallels that of the motion picture
industry as a whole, although it took several decades before the genre was
taken seriously. Since the 1960s, major science fiction films have
succeeded in pulling in large audience shares, and films of this genre have
become a regular staple of the filmindustry. Science fiction films have led
the way in special effects, and have also been used as a vehicle for social
commentary.
Movies during the 1930s were largely impacted by the advent of sound and dialogue, and by
the effects of the Great Depression that began in 1929. Audiences began to pursue films
with more escapist themes, leading to a decline in serious speculative films. After the failure
of the big-budget 1930 American film Just Imagine, studios were reluctant to finance the
expensive futuristic sets necessary for this type of film. Although the 1936 British film Things
to Come, written by H. G. Wells, projected the world 100 years into the future and
forecasted the advent of World War II, it too was a box-office flop, and films with serious
speculation and visual spectacle of the future would largely disappear until the 1950s.
Instead, the decade saw the rise of film serials; low budget, quick producing films, heroic
adventures, action, melodramatic plots and gadgetry. Echoes of this style can still be seen in
science fiction and action films today, as well as in many of the James Bond films. Some of
the most popular of the era were the various “Flash Gordon” films, the exploits of “Buck
Rogers” and others, such as the quasi-science fiction “Dick Tracy”. They continued to use
science fiction elements like space travel, high tech gadgets, plots for world domination and
mad scientists.
Other elements of science fiction were carried into the burgeoning horror genre, driven by
the massive success of the Universal Studios’ “Frankenstein, and its sequel “Bride of
Frankenstein.
Two events at the end of World War II had major impacts on the science fiction genre. The
development of the atomic bomb increased interest in science, as well as anxiety about the
possible apocalyptic effects of a nuclear war. The period also saw the beginning of the Cold
War, and widespread Communist paranoia in the United States. These led to a major
increase in the number of sci-fi films being created throughout the 1950s, and creating
a Golden Age of Science Fiction that matched the one taking place in literature.
One of the earlier and most important films of the era was 1950's widely
publicized Destination Moon. It follows a nuclear-powered rocket ship carrying four men to
the moon, against a background of competition against the Soviets. With a script co-written
by Robert A. Heinlein and astronomical sets by renowned space artist Chelsey Bonestell, the
film was a commercial and artistic success, and it brought about more studio financing of
science fiction film. The producer of Destination Moon was notably George Pal who also
helped create When Worlds Collide, The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, and the
pseudo-documentary of manned space exploration Conquest of Space. Although Conquest
of Space was a commercial failure that set back Pal's career, the other four each won
an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, which demonstrated the increased technical
excellence and critical recognition of the genre.

2. Alien films saw a huge surge in popularity during the 1950s. Many featured political
commentary being mixed with the concept of UFOs, which had become ingrained in the
public consciousness after the Kenneth Arnold and Roswell incidents of 1947. Two of the
first were The Day the Earth Stood Still, directed by Robert Wise, and Howard Hawks' The
Thing from Another World, with their contrasting views of first contact. While the former
had a peaceful race of aliens urging humans to control their use of nuclear weapons, the
latter's title creature stalked a crew in Antarctica, with the paranoid final words, "Watch the
skies!" The idea of alien invasions as an allegory recurred with Don Siegel's 1956 film,
Invasion. Critically acclaimed as a classic, it has been viewed as both a veiled criticismof
McCarthyism, and a cautionary story of Communist infiltration.
After the rush of science fiction films in the 1950s, there were relatively few in the 1960s,
but these few transformed science fiction cinema.
One of the most significant films of the 1960s was 2001: A Space Odyssey, directed
by Stanley Kubrick and written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke. 2001 is regarded as the
seminal entry in the science-fiction genre as it influenced several later entries. Steven
Spielberg, one of the genre's most well-known figures aptly called 2001, 'the big bang of
science-fiction.'
The era of manned trips to the Moon saw a resurgence of interest in the science fiction film
in the 1970s. Star Wars and Close, both released in 1977, contained a mystical element
reminiscent of 2001: A Space Odyssey. The space discoveries of the 1970s created a growing
sense of marvel about the universe that was reflected in these films.
However, the early 1970s also saw the continued theme of paranoia, with humanity under
threat from ecological or technological adversaries of its own creation. Notable films of this
period included Silent Running (ecology), the sequels to Planet of the Apes (man vs.
evolution), West world (man vs. robot) and THX 1138 (man vs. the state), and Stanley
Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange (man vs. brainwashing).
The conspiracy thriller film was a popular staple of this period, where the paranoia of plots
by the national government or corporate entities had replaced the implied communist
enemy of the 1950s. These films included such efforts as Alien, Capricorn, Invasion of the
Body Snatchers, Logan's Run, The Day of the Dolphin, Solent Green and Future world.
The slow-paced Solaris made by Andrei Tarkovsky and released in 1972 (and remade as a
much shorter film by Steven Soderbergh in 2002) matches and in some assessments
exceeds 2001 in its visuals and philosophic scope, while other critics find it plodding and
pretentious.
The science fiction comedy had what may have been its finest hours in the 1970s,
with Woody Allen's Sleeper and Dan O'Bannon's Dark Star.
In 1979, three notable science fiction films appeared. Star Trek: The Motion Picture brought
the much loved television series to the big screen for the first time. Alien upped the ante on
how scary a screen monster could be. And Time After Time pitted H. G. Wells against Jack
the Ripper, with a screenplay by Nicholas Meyer, who would later go on to direct two of the
instalments in the Star Trek film series. The year 1979 also saw Walt Disney Productions'

3. venture into the science fiction genre with The Black Hole, which was poorly received but
praised highly for its special effects.
Oddly, in the 2000s (decade), SF films seemed to turn away from space travel, and fantasy
predominated. Except for Star Trek and Star Wars films, the only films set off Earth that
appeared in the first half of the 2000s (decade) were Serenity, Titan A.E., and the poorly
received Mission to Mars and Red Planet. On the other hand, fantasy and superhero films
abounded, as did earthbound SF such as the Matrix Reloaded and Matrix Revolutions.
Science fiction has returned to being a tool for political commentary in recent times with
films like A.I. Artificial Intelligence and Minority Report with the former questioning the
increasing materialismof today's world and the latter questioning the political situations
surrounding the world post 9/11. Unique entries into the genre were also released around
this time with the first science fiction romance Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
By the middle of the decade, the theatre audience had begun to decline and this was
reflected in the numbers attending the science fiction movie releases of this period.
Sophisticated home theatre systems came close to matching the cinema experience, and
avoided the expense and inconvenience. Film studios had begun placing product
advertisements prior to the start of films in theatres, seeking another means to enhance
their bottom line, and alienating a segment of the theatre-going audience. Making up for
the losses in cinema revenue were sales and rentals of the high-quality DVD releases, many
of which included previously cut scenes and extra material.