Believe in Science Fiction and FantasyYou have the right to believe. There are no limits. There are no boundaries. There are no rules.This is the world of science fiction and fantasy. A world where the only limitations we face are the ones we place upon ourselves. I was always an imaginative child. I made up a world of my own superheroes. I would draw them and color them and create entire comic books. I would sometimes imagine I was my superheroes, and when I got bored with that, I'd imagine I was one of my villains. I was always fascinated by the young hero up against tremendous odds. For instance, Luke Skywalker fighting Darth Vader and the Empire. Or Elliott and E.T. against the scientists and cops. Or Frodo and Sam against Sauron and his minions. I loved to see good triumph over evil. It made the world feel right. It made me feel right. For those of you who like letting your mind run wild, this is the place for you. |
For those of you that love imagining the wonderful things humans can accomplish, this is the place for you.
For those of you that want to explore every "what if?", this is the place for you.
This website is dedicated to the most recent science fiction and fantasy movies.
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So, what's science fiction?
I'm sure you have an idea, but allow me to elaborate a little. Here is my definition of science fiction. Science Fiction is a genre of fiction that includes strong fictional elements based on scientific fact, speculation, and hypothesis.Science fiction differs from fantasy fiction in one major aspect. Where fantasy fiction has plot elements based on fantastic, magical, or supernatural themes, science fiction has plot elements based on science. In other words, the plot elements of science fiction must be based on scientific principles even if those scientific principles are unknown or impossible.
This genre has brought us some very popular, profitable, and outstanding movies. Science fiction has also brought a fair number of flops as well. It shouldn’t be surprising that science fiction movies very often employ magnificent special effects. Though certainly not a rule scifi movies have a history of using the most innovative special effects.
The following is a list of some of the most groundbreaking and profound science fiction movies ever.
- 20000 Leagues Under The Sea (1916) – Pioneered underwater film-making.
- King Kong (1933) – Amazing breakthroughs in stop-motion animation.
- The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951) – No extravagant special effects, but demonstrated how science fiction could also illuminate certain social issues and concerns.
- 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) – Realistic depictions of space travel juxtaposed against surreal depictions of man’s evolution. This movie marked the turning point for science fiction films in that it proved they could be both artistic and serious.
- Star Wars (1977) – This movie not only changed the science fiction genre, it changed the entire movie industry. Besides the outstanding special effects, the six film saga, the generations of fans, Star Wars showed how movies can be branded into every part of our life.
- Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) – Introduced computer generated images (CGI) into films and the world has never looked back.
- The Matrix (1999) – This science fiction movie popularized a special effect known as “bullet time.”
And what about Fantasy?
There’s no way to pinpoint when fantasy began. Most civilizations believed in magic and sorcery. Therefore, they created magical stories and fantasy tales to explain what they did not understand, or simply to entertain. We see fantasy in Norse, Greek, Native American, Egyptian, and African creation stories. In fact, elements of fantasy can be found in most civilizations creation stories.My best definition of fantasy would be any story where the primary plot elements are supernatural, but those elements are not explained by science.
But if we look at the movie Willow which does employ a liberal amount of magic and supernatural themes, we have no problem labeling it fantasy. That is because the supernatural in that story is natural in its element, but is not natural in ours and cannot be explained scientifically.
Let’s take the Star Wars trilogy. At first glance, there could not be much doubt that Star Wars is certainly science fiction. However, the mystical powers of the Jedi known as The Force cannot be explained by science. Even though it is accepted in its world, most people in that world do not understand The Force, and it’s reasonable to think many probably don’t even know it exists.
So, does that make Star Wars a fantasy epic? I would say no. I say no because The Force, is explained to be effected by midichlorians which are tiny organisms in all living beings.
Here are some popular Fantasy tales.
- Alice in Wonderland - This fantasy tale was written by Lewis Carroll in 1865. Even though it is filled with humor and doublespeak and nonsense, it was originally written as a children’s tale. However it has grown into a story beloved by children and adults, even though much of that popularity has come from Disney’s adaptation.
- The Wizard of Oz - The only American contribution on this short list, this fantasy tale was written in 1900 by L. Frank Baum. This story was also originally written as a children’s tale, but was very quickly embraced by adults and children. The movie version of this story, released in 1939 also helped to drive its popularity.
- The Hobbit - This is the epic fantasy tale. The Hobbit and its sequels and prequels are what most of today’s high fantasy tales are based upon. The Hobbit was first published in 1937 by J.R.R. Tolkien. The literary works were popular enough on their own merit. The excellent subsequent television and film adaptations only extended the story’s popularity, and have earned critical and popular acclaim.
- The Chronicles of Narnia - The first novel, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, written by C.S. Lewis, was published in 1950. This tremendous fantasy epic has sold several million copies and has also spawned numerous adaptations in both television and film. The most recent movie adaptations have also earned critical acclaim and have been financially and popularly successful.
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