Science Fiction - Have all the major themes been exhausted?

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PanzerMeyer
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Science Fiction - Have all the major themes been exhausted?

Post by PanzerMeyer »

I'm really thinking more about tv shows and movies instead of books but it seems to me that the major sci-fi themes have already been thoroughly explored? Here are the themes I'm thinking about and please feel free to add more if I have missed any:

1. Time travel

2. Human encounter with extra-terrestrial life

3. Artificial Intelligence

4. Immortality/human biological augmentation

5. Alternate/parallel universes/realities

6. Future dystopian human society/world
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Grifter
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Re: Science Fiction - Have all the major themes been exhausted?

Post by Grifter »

A somewhat minor correction, but these aren't "themes." These are "subjects" that may be explored through various genres in which themes are developed. A theme is the author's argument about the human condition, that is,the philosophical, spiritual, emotional, and sometimes social or political experience. In some ways, the categories you've listed above touch upon the latter, but they are really just mediums for more abstract arguments about the human experience. These subjects can certainly be essential to a theme, but they are not themes themselves.

For example, a science fiction exploring time travel may make a more developed argument about how humanity should know its relative place in the universe and not play god by meddling with the nature of reality. Or, a science fiction exploring time travel may make the argument that free will is truly an illusion, and that what happens in time is fixed and irrevocable. While addressing the same subject, time travel, these two arguments draw radically different conclusions. The first argument posits that through free will and ingenuity, humanity has unlimited potential, but it is catastrophic hubris to meddle with reality. The second argument posits that humanity has limited potential and it is hubris to believe that free will offers such boundless control. So, time travel is a subject. A theme is an argument drawn from time travel.

That said, I think you've covered all the subjects currently explored in science fiction. The genre may have reached its limits in terms of subject matter, but that doesn't mean its dead. As science makes new discoveries, science fiction will react accordingly. Actually, there is a reciprocal relationship between science and science fiction. I imagine the genre will continue to thrive for decades to come.
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PanzerMeyer
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Re: Science Fiction - Have all the major themes been exhausted?

Post by PanzerMeyer »

Thanks for that great reply Grifter. I definitely see what you mean about "theme".
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Grifter
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Re: Science Fiction - Have all the major themes been exhausted?

Post by Grifter »

Sorry, can't help it. It's a pet peeve of mine and I spend most of my days teaching kids the difference between these two things. Thinking more about your question, there are certainly subtopics that might be added to your list, but of course, they are largely the same thing. Nanotech comes to mind, for example.
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Bronurstomp
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Re: Science Fiction - Have all the major themes been exhausted?

Post by Bronurstomp »

I have to say that there has been an ample amount of sci fi available to me the last few years. Admittedly I spend less time than most people watching TV, usually less than 2 hours a day on average, but I have found plenty to watch. Just as an aside, my favorite story line so far has been The Expanse. And the Marvel universe is very entertaining.
Recently the wife and I have embarked on watching the entire Stars Wars saga in chronological order. Then we'll do the same with Star Trek. Should we live so long and prosper. I think she has already seen everything in Harry Potter.
But for the most part, most sci fi does seem to be pattern or formula driven.
Faelwolf
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Re: Science Fiction - Have all the major themes been exhausted?

Post by Faelwolf »

I grew up reading "the big three" Heinlein, Asimov, and Clark, among many others. There is a world of hard Sci-Fi books out there that are well written, and can be challenging, that are now almost completely forgotten. You can find them as PDF's online or check out your local library or a good used book store. You might be pleasantly surprised. The Expanse is based on a series of books, BTW.

Heinlein is more adventure and often more tongue in cheek, Starship Troopers (much better than the movie), The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Friday, Job, etc. His later books are intertwined, with a theory that literature creates actual alternate universes, so his characters are living in that universe. Kind of odd, but works.

Asimov is more high brow, and can be a bit dry, but hard sci-fi rather than sci-fantasy. He is also the person who formulated the 3 laws of robotics. The Robot series, and the Foundations Series are his most well-known works. His being a native Russian shows through at times with his simpler sentence structure (English is not his native language) but he was still a pretty good writer.

Clark is sort of in-between the two. Childhood's End, 2001a Space Oddity, are his most famous works.

Alan Moore wrote sci-fi before becoming involved with comic books, but you will have to hunt to find it, he wrote mostly short stories for Fantasy and Science Fiction magazine, along with his wife Raelynn. I wish someone would publish a collection.

Then there's Harlan Ellison, Ray Bradbury, Phillip K Dick, and so forth. A lot of sci-fi movies and shows are either directly or indirectly taken from books of the 60's-70's. Part of why there seems to be so many recurring themes.
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PanzerMeyer
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Re: Science Fiction - Have all the major themes been exhausted?

Post by PanzerMeyer »

I've read "The Foundation Trilogy" a couple of times and I absolutely love it. It definitely does qualify as "high brow" as you mentioned since much of the story consists of people sitting in rooms talking and there's not much in the way of action set-pieces.

For Arthur C. Clarke, I've read 2001: A Space Odyssey multiple times as well as Rendezvous with Rama. These are his two top novels in my opinion.

Oh and we can't forget about Frank Herbert. The original three Dune books (Dune, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune) are in my opinion all in the top 10% of all sci-fi novels ever written.
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Re: Science Fiction - Have all the major themes been exhausted?

Post by Falker939 »

I noticed several movies or series are based from PS4 and X-Box and PC games that came out over the last decade or so. If you WikipedA it.. there are sever dozen. Too bad there are still a few missing. I wish they would make a Home World Movie.

Star Trek series came out with several time travel episodes that had to do with tachyons in one way or another. Stargate - SG1 was looking good towards the end with nanotechnology and the replicators until it fizzled out.. A lot of movies are based off books that received the Hugo or Nebula awards. You can WikipedA that and maybe find out which move will be next. I was going to say ( except for a few movies like Star Wars ) it seems most of the science fiction movies are located near earth. Only two movies that I know of were based on a black holes in space and ‘Interstellar was one of them. It would be stellar if more movies were located near the center of the Galaxy where all the black holes are. 2001 A Space Odyssey was good , and its sequel 2010. Contact with Jodie Foster was well done and Ad Astra was a trip , but a little unbelievable towards the end. I’m missing a bunch here , but those are the ones that came to mind as being unusual to me. Oh! For anyone who likes Tanks - Bolos are enormous building size tanks with a top notch artificial intelligence on board - which protect earth like planets that have been colonized and mostly fight off alien invaders who want to destroy them. That would be a good move as well – if only..
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PanzerMeyer
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Re: Science Fiction - Have all the major themes been exhausted?

Post by PanzerMeyer »

I really liked "Contact" a lot until about the final 5 minutes of the movie. That ending for me was just so underwhelming.
I have learned from experience that a modicum of snuff can be most efficacious - Baron Munchausen
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