The Role of Science Fiction in Shaping Public Opinion - Research Paper

Introduction

In the current times, science fiction has become an essential artistic genre since it develops the understanding of the public on multiple things that shape the human culture through aspects such as; biotechnology, and artificial intelligence. For instance, people have always been fascinated with the end of the world and as a consequence, they have applied science fiction to reflect our cultural concerns. Therefore, science fiction plays a crucial role in determining public opinion without trying to mimic real life in a manner that literary fiction does. The text by Menadue and Diane (p. 2), "Human Culture and Science Fiction: A Review of the Literature, 1980-2016" tries to extend our knowledge on the foci, themes, and verdicts of research literature that has applied the contents of science fiction to demonstrate and discuss the human culture.

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The article points out that science fiction literature has been utilized in multiple studies across fields such as semantics, education, theology, and natural sciences. The primary attributes for its use in these fields are due to the perception that it is a tool applied for advocacy and cultural discernments as well as its effectiveness in enhancing teaching and learning. For that reason, this text argues that there is a significant need for the integration of science fiction both natural and social element into the research story. Science fiction provides an increasingly vigorous quantitative exploration into research in the fields of culture and literature. Menadue and Diane (p.5), claims that, science fiction is essential when learning about the human culture because it is an ancient and long-term type of literature that has always been there since the beginning of the recorded history. Consequently, from a human perspective, science fiction has transformed from a more or less conceivable science focus in the early 29th century to discuss more cultural and sociological elements over time. The authors, Menadue and Diane, provides an outline of the research comparing science fiction to culture through a range of academic fields without being restricted to science fiction studies; hence revealing the depth and breadth of the connections between human culture and science fiction.

Response to Other Ideas and Arguments

"Human Culture and Science Fiction: A Review of the Literature, 1980-2016" responds to the ideas and arguments of other texts by utilizing other sources that use science fiction to create awareness on the contemporary human culture. For instance, Suvin's work has been applied as a core text involving the study of science fiction as well as applied appropriately as the limiting date for this review (Menadue & Diane, p.8). However, Menadue and Diane continue to note that human culture is a prehistoric and long-lasting form of literature that extends back in the millennium making it an increasingly significant genre of literacy study.

Additionally, Carl Freedman termed science fiction as the most legitimate field for academic study, ranking it above all other types of literature due to its investigative perspective. Menadue and Diane respond by acknowledging the complexities of the affiliation between human realities and science fiction, which are constantly reflected from a literary-critical perspective as suggested by Carl Freedom. Therefore, this seeks to illustrate that the work being reviewed responds to other ideas and arguments by either supporting or offering an extensive discussion of the already aired out notion. As a result, Menadue and Diane's work achieves its objective of uncovering the depth and breadth of the relationships between science fiction and human culture, by applying the ideas and arguments of other researchers in his literature review.

Personal Response

I agree with the ideas presented in this literature review in the sense that science fiction infuses our world, lives, and culture. The emergence of technology has further enhanced or reshaped our understanding of all that we experience. Menadue and Diane (p.11) argue that science fiction has been a critical cultural tool used in learning and assessing the scientific moral and social effects of new technologies across many centuries. This is true since science fiction is commonly known for its major application in heightening knowledge and teaching; hence the reason why it was integrated purposefully into the curriculum. Science fiction does not illustrate the realities of particular issues so that people can avoid them, instead, they mirror our most pressing cultural fears. Therefore, I agree with the ideas articulated by the authors because science fiction is the ultimate test center for social experimentation, which does not have direct impacts. In that, it is a literature that is only limited by the human imaginations only; hence an ideal tool for predicting social change and human cultures.

Notably, the article holds that science fiction is used as a lens through which human culture is seen to make new discoveries and interpretations (p.12). This is without a doubt very relatable to social, cultural, literary studies, and scientific innovations as well as science communication improvements. In my point of view, among all the different aspects of society, the field of technology is the most affected by science fiction. This implies that a majority of fields such as home entertainment, communication, transport, and space travel among others are enhanced due to the fantastical ideas depicted in the science fiction genre. For instance, the cellular phone is credited to the "communicator" that was applied in the television series Star Trek. Captain Kirk wirelessly communicated with other starships across the galaxy by use of the communicator (Kotsko, p.350). Martin Cooper, who invented cell phones credited Star Trek as the primary source of inspiration. As a consequence, the invention of cellular phones has increased communication, morbidity, and efficiency. Phones help people to stay in contact regularly, and it is believed to be one of the must have devices in modern society. This seeks to imply that, the improvement of the communication sector is only one of the different fields that have been directly discovered by science fiction.

Opposite Point of View

It is largely known that science fiction and fantasy genre are completely distinct from literary fiction. Literary forms are in most instances more effective since it provides ideas and arguments that we can all relate with, especially in the field of human culture. However, science fiction requires a lot of concentration to understand its dynamics of operation. In that, it does not seek to illustrate real life the way literature fiction does, instead, it stands apart from the world we know, which makes it difficult for a majority of people to understand the human culture being represented. It takes us away to a different universe or environment, an entirely new secondary realm such as the Westeros, Middle Earth or to places where werewolves and vampires still exist. This implies that the science fiction literature is characterized by distinctive unfamiliarity that requires closer attention to actually comprehend the human culture being presented; failure to which the message will be lost. Speculative fiction requires the reader to be keener in looking for the information that makes sense in what appears to be a completely strange world.

Consequently, there is no single established definition of science fiction since it involves worlds that differ from our own due to the new technologies, different social systems, and new technological discoveries. As a result, it becomes hard to differentiate science fiction from fantasy due to the understanding that its definition keeps on changing drastically over time. Due to the fact that there is no single accepted definition of science fiction, it becomes difficult to identify what constitutes the first science fiction story. Nevertheless, high levels of hi-tech inventions could stall the evolution of humanity at an intellectual level. This suggests that the entertainment field, for instance, could entice persons into its visually stimulating environment and reduce the need to learn on ways to improve some of the challenges affecting the human culture.

American Films

12 to the Moon 1960 Directed by David Bradley

"12 to the Moon" is a 1960 American science fiction film. The movie comprises of a group of twelve space explorers who were the first to land on the moon (Telotte, p.33). A traditionally, racially, and gender diverse group of international scientists are sent to the moon with the objective of conquering it before other states of the Earth. In their survey of the surface, they are faced with different troubles such as threatening messages from aliens who were residing on the moon. This movie understands the science of space exploration with strong characters, who surpasses the intriguingly strange events. The 1960 film illustrates a rather casual and superficial replication of 1950's mystery science and politics.

Star Trek 2009 Director J.J Abrams.

The groundwork of "Star Trek" has progressed to extend our contemporary perception of the space opera. The film contains so much humor, action, and genuine adventure, which is well-articulated by J.J Abrams'. It is an entertaining film with the sheer excitement of the renowned space travelers. In the film, "Star Trek" Captain Kirk and the team travel back to the twentieth century to protect the universe by saving the whales (Kotsko, p. 353). The movie depicts the human traditions of conflicts since it was shot to depict the Cold War tensions in Europe and the disorder caused by the civil rights movements in America. Despite the conflicts involved in the movie, the viewers still can enjoy the serious transformation of an integral part of science fiction's canon. "Star Trek" has presented the utopian progressive future by expressing a discourse against dominant ideologies of gender, race, sex, and politics as well as discussing the liberal humanist agenda.

Works Cited

Kotsko, Adam. "The Inertia of Tradition in Star Trek: Case Studies in Neglected Corners of the 'Canon.'" Science Fiction Film & Television, vol. 9, no. 3, 2016, pp. 347-370., doi:10.3828/sfftv.2016.9.10.

Menadue, Christopher Benjamin, and Karen Diane Cheer. "Human Culture and Science Fiction: A Review of the Literature, 1980-2016." SAGE Open, vol. 7, no. 3, 2017, pp. 1-15. Doi: 10.1177/2158244017723690.

Telotte, J. P. "Movies, Modernism, and the Science Fiction Pulps." 2019, pp. 12-46., doi:10.1093/oso/9780190949655.001.0001.