Super duper cool blog by me macaroni😎: Science Fiction Genre Research

The science fiction genre has a wide variety of stories and styles sprinkled throughout the years. The genre can be described as fiction with significant technological advances, mostly determining the setting and lens a story is told in.

Typically, science fiction, or sci-fi, is enjoyable for a broad age range. Sci-fi is relatively popular among preteens and children, with media such as the Star Wars film series and Gravity Falls geared towards ages 7-12. Most people are introduced to sci-fi at a young age through books or fantastical movies and sparks creativity and curiosity, but many keep an interest in the genre well into adulthood.

Many sci-fi pieces of media touch on themes such as space and time travel, exploration, human life in an advanced world, and dystopia.

The movie Gattaca (1997) explores life in technologically advanced America. Gattaca revolves around the protagonist Vincent living as an “invalid,” or someone with subpar genes. He dreams of working at Gattaca, this world’s version of NASA, and adopts the identity of a disabled man with perfect genes, Jerome, pretending to be him as he uses his DNA for the multitude of checks to make sure one is allowed to work there.

"Valid" Screen that shows up after approved check in

Though our main character leads an affluent and successful life, it is not his. In this world, one would hope that with such radically evolved technology, we could live in a better society and perfect the quality of life. However, the science fiction setting and tech takes the idea and exemplifies how America would choose to have discrimination “down to a science,” since the discovery of choosing which genes to inherit would result in more division, since society shifted their prejudices.

In many cases, the main character is put in an unfamiliar situation and is expected to adapt or solve a problem with advanced technology, some examples being Lightyear (2022) (bad movie), Everything, Everywhere, All at Once (2022) (phenomenal movie), and The Martian (2015) (also amazing movie, the book was great.)

In The Martian, the protagonist Mark Watney is left behind on Mars when a windstorm forces his crew to evacuate and flee back to Earth, with his crew assuming he died. Mark survives by calculating how many days until the next trip to Mars, utilizing his botanical and astronomical knowledge with the technology that still works after the storm to get by and communicate with Earth.

Visual Effects are very commonly used in the science fiction genre as a way to immerse the audience more efficiently in the constructed world. The Martian utilizes both visual effects and orange color grading to create Mars’ oxidized iron surface, bringing the setting to life.

An additional example is Deadpool. The movie follows Wade Wilson after he is diagnosed with cancer and volunteers for an experiment that promises to cure him; although, he ends up with a mutation giving him regenerative healing abilities and eventually becoming Deadpool. During and after his experiments, makeup and special effects are used to show his transformation from an average man to a physically scarred mutant.