We here at Film Deviant disagree on exactly what counts as Sci-Fi. Historically, Sci-Fi asks the big questions and speculates the consequences. Whether it’s the exploration of space and contact with alien life forms, like in The Abyss or Star Trek...or of man’s crusade for knowledge and the advancement of technology such as in Altered States or The Fly, science fiction seems to defy it’s own trappings more than any other genre.
But you never see a Sci-Fi movie where everything was good and happy, and you never see a movie about a coming-of-age story about a teenage cyborg or a relationship drama between a husband and wife who lost a kid in a space car accident; it’s always evil robots and mutant viruses. There’s no romantic comedies between a Venusian and a Martian.
So what exactly qualifies as Sci-Fi? Can zombie films in and of themselves count as Sci-Fi or is it only appropriate to label them as such when a man made deadly virus is introduced. For that matter if a film suggests that vampirism is a disease or a virus and not a curse does that mean that film is now considered Sci-Fi? Does it even matter? Are we wasting our time arguing about what can be considered Sci-Fi and what can’t? Am I asking to many questions in this paragraph?
Maybe, but this is what happens when film nerds get to debating on whether or not Frankenstein can be can considered horror or sci-fi and if the catch all horror/sci-fi is even a valid genre.
Either way it’s clear the subject is vague. The Sci-Fi channel changed it’s name to SyFy; proving that not even a channel that dedicated itself to showing science-fiction could clearly define what indicated. As the channel went down the dark and twisty wormhole of the science fiction genre they had to change their name to reflect what they evolved into. So they replaced the “i” with a “y” which is fitting cause I’ve been asking “why” ever since they “evolved” their format.
Anyway, this week Film Deviant attempts to quantify and decipher the mysterious genre. Enjoy Sci-Fi week and...
...BEWARE THE EVIL AXIS OF SCIENCE FICTION!!!!!
By the way you can do that with anything and it sounds cool:
HEED THE WARNINGS OF THE PROPHET AUTOMATON!!!
STAND FAST AGAINST THE TIME MONSTER MENACE!!!
BEHOLD THE BIRTH OF A NEW HIVE MIND CONSCIOUSNESS!!!
ENJOY THE SAVINGS AND MAKE SURE YOU TRY THE APPLE FRITTERS THIS WEEK ONLY AT SPACE MART!!!!!
um...Sci-Fi week.
til next time,
Thomas Drew
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