Webliography: cinematic science fiction

If science fiction is a genre that imagines our future, what happens to gender and race? (You can apply this question to literary or cinematic sf)

Hegel and the Impossibility of the Future in Science Fiction Cinema

Todd McGowan’s article explores science fiction cinema’s apparent capacity for imagining the future. The article discusses this possibility using the philosophies of Hegel and his interpretation of Kant (2009:31). While noting the possibilities that science fiction cinema offers in its many versions of the future, it ultimately concludes that science fiction is irrevocably located within its own time and place of creation (2009:17-9). Science fiction film, McGowan argues, creates an image of the future in order to remind us of our ability and (perhaps) the need to change it (2009:17). McGowan also analyses science fiction’s potential to reveal the workings of present ideologies, marking this as the power of the genre (2009:20). The article also discusses the paranoid aspect of the genre in recognising an “Other of the Other” in other words one who manipulates the original ‘other’ (2009:30). It is this greater ‘other’ that McGowan argues, utilising Hegel’s philosophies, which saves the viewer from acting on what is presented in film (2009:29-31). It provides a “barrier” between the audience and the subject (2009:30).

This article pertains to the ability of science fiction to imagine the future while it is also useful in separating science fiction as a genre. By defining its difference from other genres it enables a boundary or standard to be created and referred back to within the essay.

The Post-White Imaginary in Alex Proyas's I, Robot

Brayton’s article focuses on the representation of race in the film I, Robot, and the significance its black protagonist. Race within the film is demonstrated in the dichotomy between this protagonist and the ‘white’ male robots (2008:74). Brayton argues that this portrayal demonstrates a hope for “racial reconciliation”, whilst also separating and in a sense acquitting the viewer from racism in the present (2008:72). He likens the army of white robots to fears of white colonialism, emphasizing this point by noting the black protagonist’s distrust of this ‘white’ army (2008:75). The article also briefly discusses the portrayal of gender within the film, noting the central female character’s coldness in relation to her capacity as a scientist (2008:82). Suggesting that this portrayal demonstrates her need to be saved not only from the rampant robots but also “from science itself” (2008:82).

In referencing this article I would make the argument that science fiction is a genre that allows racial tensions to play out, in an environment that is distinct enough from the present one that we are able to more easily recognise how differences, such as race, work. I would also link this to the first article and its argument on how science fiction reveals the strict nature of ideology.

Not Exactly "of Woman Born": Procreation and Creation in Recent Science Fiction Films

George’s article discusses the portrayal of gender and race in the 1990s science fiction films Gattaca, Species and Mimic. The discussion of Gattaca notes the film’s focus of reproductive technology, not in assisting the mother but in improving “the product” (2001:178). Whilst also warning against this technology in creating a nightmarish vision of a new form of racism (2001:179). The analysis of both Species and Mimic is quite interesting as, according to the article, they entertain different representations of women and their apparently maternal instincts. The article demonstrates how Mimic’s female scientist’s apparently feminine compassion render her as sympathetic to the viewer, with her decisions portrayed as natural especially in comparison to the cold male scientist of Species (2001:181). Conversely in Species the maternal nature of the female-alien hybrid is presented as monstrous, becoming the “archaic mother figure” that the article, citing Barbara Creed, recognises as threatening to men and the realm of technology (2001:180). The dangers of technology are demonstrated in these representations, while George notes how the strength of humanity is emphasized in the destruction of those technological creations of Species and Mimic (2001:181).

I would use this article in demonstrating the science fiction genre as acting as a cautionary tale for technological advances in the future. Packaging these Frankenstein-like fears, of creation overcoming creator, by utilising society’s preconceived notions of race and gender.

"There is No Unauthorized Breeding in Jurassic Park": Gender and the Uses of Genetics

This article explores the portrayal of genetic reproduction in both the film and novel of Jurassic Park and the film Gattaca. Kelber-Kaye and Briggs argue that the negative portrayal of “unnatural” reproduction and the focus on traditional types of motherhood and femininity in these films point towards a return of women to the home and to these gender specific roles (2000:110). The Alien film franchise is also used to argue that the “monstrous” female or the “monstrous feminist” present in within the franchise and in other science fiction cinema are a manifestation of men’s fears of women and their interaction with technology (2000:94-6). The authors attempt to demonstrate that this particular film genre is often a “guide to the more conservative cultural narratives of the present” (2000:93). The discussion of Gattaca, in part, notes the lack of women within the film, while their characters are seen as emphasizing the need for this return to the “natural” heterosexual family that requires reproduction without the benefit of technology (2000:110). Within this discussion it is recognized that the removal of women from technological access and “reproductive choice” is portrayed as right and natural within these films (2000:111).

This article is interesting in noting the tendency of some science fiction films to present or push towards idealized images of the (nuclear) family. It is also useful in demonstrating the fears of society surrounding technological reproduction, something apparently of the future, creating horrific universes to reassure the audiences in the present.

Coded Discourse: Romanticising the (Electronic) Shadow in The Matrix

Haslam’s article investigates The Matrix as a cyberpunk film, focusing on its notions of embodiment and the post human. The article seeks to discover whether the film actually reproduces “dominant ontological biases, specifically surrounding gender and race” instead of embracing the bodiless nature of the genre (2005:93). Presenting one critical reading of the film as a “narrative of African American resistance” Haslam also notes how this kind of narrative also benefits that of the “white hero” (2005:96-9). Focusing on the depiction of gender, the article argues that the strong female characters contradict gender roles, while also demonstrating the hero’s occasional “lack of power” (2005:101-3). In the later films of the trilogy, the article notes how the strong female romantic lead ultimately embodies the typical ““self-less” woman” (2005:106). In conclusion the article argues that much of humanity still remains enslaved within the Matrix, with the dominant class still in power (2005:106-7).

This article is useful in terms of its highly critical reading, while also demonstrating how science fiction films are open to many interpretations.

Brayton, S 2008, “The Post-White Imaginary in Alex Proyas's I, Robot.” Science Fiction Studies, vol. 35, no. 1, pp. 72-87. Available from: Ebscohost. [7 September 2010].

Briggs, L & Kelber-Kaye, J.I. 2000, “"There is No Unauthorized Breeding in Jurassic Park": Gender and the Uses of Genetics”, National Women's Studies Association Journal, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 92-113. Available from: Project Muse [8 September 2010].

George, S. A. 2001, “Not Exactly "of Woman Born": Procreation and Creation in Recent Science Fiction Films.” Journal of Popular Film and Television, vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 176-183. Available from: Ebscohost. [6 September 2010]

Haslam, J 2005, “Coded Discourse: Romancing the (Electronic) Shadow in The Matrix”, College Literature, vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 92-115. Available from: JSTOR [9 September 2010].

McGowan, T 2009 “Hegel and the Impossibility of the Future in Science Fiction Cinema”, Film-Philosophy, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 16-37. Available from: <http://www.film-philosophy.com/index.php/f-p/article/view/36/21>. [7 September 2010].