Science Fiction Film Research Articles

Filmic Representation of ‘A Community with a Shared Future for Mankind’ in The Wandering Earth Series

Over the past 4 years, The Wandering Earth series has garnered significant acclaim and recognition within the market and film festival circuits. This study examines The Wandering Earth series, including The Wandering Earth and The Wandering Earth II, through the lens of ‘a community with a shared future for mankind’. Utilising qualitative content analysis, it explores the representation of global cooperation in these Chinese science fiction films, transcending conventional Western-centric narratives. The study reveals a unified international community by analysing film narratives, characters and visual symbolism, focusing significantly on China and non-Western countries’ roles in saving humanity. This approach aligns with global governance and post-colonial theories, highlighting the series’ challenge to Western hegemony and its contribution to the discourse on China’s growing cultural industry influence. This research enriches understanding of Chinese cinema’s role in shaping cultural values and international cooperation, emphasising the potential of the science fiction genre to reimagine global dynamics from a non-Western perspective. Its implications extend to enhancing the global understanding of China’s cultural narratives and contribute to the international dialogue on the evolution and influence of Chinese science fiction films.

Mediating Monstrosity: The Threat of the (In)Visible in the MonsterVerse

Drawing on Susan Sontag’s understanding of the anxieties about contemporary existence lurking beneath the surface of science fiction films, this article argues that the focus on media monitoring, mapping and materializing the giant monster in the MonsterVerse functions as a negotiation of the limits of visibility of catastrophe. Hiding, waiting, lurking underneath the surface in the “Hollow Earth”, the giant monsters are—paradoxically—invisible and hypervisible, absent and present at the same time. Throughout and across the films and series in the narrative universe, media in the MonsterVerse are charged with “proving” the threat of the (in)visible, while at the same time challenging mediated registers of truth and trustability. Making the monster is simultaneously presented as the promise and problem of technological mediation. With the emphasis on flashbacks to different time periods—including the 1940s in Kong: Skull Island (2017), the 1950s in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (2023) and the 1990s in Godzilla (2014)—this not only appears to be about the mediatization of the monsters but rather their analogization. Captured in hand-drawn maps, grainy images and static sound recordings, proving the existence of the monstrous threat becomes a question of materiality as well.

‘Martenaut Waves’ in the Music of the French Avant-Garde Cinematographer of the First Half of the 20th Century (on the example of the creativity of A. Honegger)

The purpose of the study is to reveal the figurative, semantic and symbolic specificity of the interpretation of the timbre of "Martenaut waves" in the music of the French avant-garde cinematography of the first half of the 20th century, including in the work of A. Honegger. Research methodology. Cultural-historical, interdisciplinary historical-cultural, as well as analytical-musicological methods were essential for this work. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the fact that it introduces for the first time into the circulation of art historians the materials related to the film music of A. Honegger and its timbral specificity, marked by an appeal to the semantic and expressive features of the "Martenaut waves". Conclusions. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, as a result of rapid scientific and technical progress, cinematography came to the forefront of world art. The unity of cinematography as a synthetic art and music is strengthened by the emergence of sound cinema in 1926-1927, in which music is recorded on the same film as the image. The use of electric musical instruments, including "Martenaut waves", becomes organic in this process. Thanks to their unusual timbre, they acquired the meaningful status of the embodiment of "the materialisation of the intangible." The world of hallucinations and dreams, mystical spiritual revelations and unusual natural phenomena – such was the range of images that were conveyed with the help of this instrument in French film music of the 1930s and 1940s. A. Honegger worked most fruitfully in this field during the mentioned period, whose creative output includes more than forty soundtracks, including those using "Martenaut waves". One of the first films in which the expressive timbre of this instrument is used was the science fiction film "The End of the World" (1931) directed by A. Gans, as well as the animated film "Idea" (1934) directed by B. Bartosh and artist F. Mazerel. In the musical accompaniment of these films, the timbre of the "Martenaut waves" occupies almost the most important place, revealing the connection of the instrument with the sphere of the Sacred and the Cosmic and the spiritual and stylistic searches of European modern culture.

The effectiveness of using science fiction films to foster creativity in a biological context

ABSTRACT The use of science fiction resources to enhance creativity is an innovative approach that is gaining international attention. This study combines science fiction films (SFFs) based biological learning with the Creative Problem Solving (CPS) model to offer the Biology in Science Fiction Films course in high school. During the course, we assessed students’ creative thinking propensities using the Creativity Assessment Packet and evaluated creativity in students-created micro-science fictions (micro-SFs) by the consensus assessment technique. The results showed that after the theme-based instruction: (1) the students’ creative thinking propensities produced a significant increase in the overall (p = 0.005), with highly significant increases in the imaginative dimension (p = 0.004) and the challenging dimension (p = 0.030); (2) Students’ scores on micro-SFs created in the post-test improved over the pre-test, but their pre- and post-test gaps have not yet reached the level of significant difference. The study indicates that the course has the potential to offer a new avenue for the development of students’ creativity. Collaborating across disciplines may be able to enhance students’ creativity in a more comprehensive manner.

Metaverse Insights: Research Advancements, Innovation Trends and Industry Implications

The metaverse is a universe of communication across boundaries. The provision of new experiences with the highest level of immersion through virtualisation, a greater degree of flexibility to produce and distribute information, and a space for new social communication all occur here. With the aid of technology and gadgets, people can engage digitally and visually in the virtual environment provided by metaverse. It is considered to be an ‘extension of the internet’ in fact. The metaverse has no restrictions based on location. It is based on an ‘immersive digital environment’ that is unbroken, without constraints and without borders. Although it seems like something out of a science fiction film or book, it is actually the way that communication will be done in the future. This article is an attempt to analyse the selective literature from the Scopus database to form an opinion about what can be the trends of research in metaverse and what are the areas of applicability of this phenomenon in business scenarios. It highlights the research areas mushrooming in the field of metaverse.

Beyond the Silver Screen: Exploring Future Public Life Through Sociological Film Analysis

This study seeks to interrogate prospective configurations of public life through science fiction films, particularly by addressing the effects of technological advances and changes on society. In the study’s methodology, 27 films were assessed using the sociological film analysis method. In these films, an analysis was conducted on thematic elements, encompassing aspects such as the physical environment, socio-cultural structures, public life, technological infrastructure, and dynamics of human relationships. As a result, a codex of thematic codes was meticulously crafted. The main findings indicate that the films contain scenarios that discuss the boundaries of public space and reflect future social structures. The emphasis appears to be on how and to what extent technology is used. This research presents novel ideas and a platform for discussion for urban planning, architecture, social sciences, and film studies. The originality of this study lies in its analysis of cinematographic content from a sociological standpoint, providing an in-depth perspective on the future of public life and adding a new dimension to the existing body of knowledge on the subject.

Eschatology of the Singularity: “Deus ex machina” in the Construction of Film Images of the Future

The mixed assessment by critics and theorists of the deus ex machina artistic device common in popular cinema requires a more thorough study of its dramatic and narrative functions in science fiction films. It is in the construction of film images of the future that this technique is combined with a fantastic assumption, expressing the narrator’s attitude towards artistic narration and becoming an argument in dialogue with the viewer. The study reveals, based on the analysis of empirical material, the multifunctionality of deus ex machina using the example of the development of the theme of technological singularity in cinema. The analysis of films significant for the development of the science fiction (Sci-Fi) genre and the most popular television series among science fiction fans today demonstrates the evolution of the deus ex machina technique. In addition to the trivial function of arbitrary resolution of peripeteia, it acquires various dramatic functions (accelerating or slowing down the rhythm of action, connecting parts of the plot in a large form), obtains the properties of scaling and fragmentation, synchrony and asynchrony with a fantastic assumption, adding complex narrative functions to the toolkit of expressive means, through which the narrator reveals or, on the contrary, conceals his attitude to artistic reality, involving the viewer into the game of probable meanings. The authors of the article come to the conclusion that the theme of technological singularity has been penetrating cinema since its appearance in the work of L. Lumiere and determines, depending on the narrator’s attitude to the topic, the vector of techno-skepticism or techno-optimism in the eschatological dilemma that characterizes the cosmogony of traditional religions. The article is of interest to researchers and film lovers and contributes to the study of artistic and scientific communication.

The Analysis of Surreal Space’s Expression in Science Fiction Films: A Case Study of Interstellar

This research analyzes surreal space expression in science fiction films, using Interstellar as a case study. The study aims to identify the expression forms and visual effects of surreal space in science fiction films and to summarize the underlying scientific principles, aesthetic principles, and audience psychological interaction. The findings of this research will contribute to the improvement and industrial development of science fiction film scene design. By proposing instructions that combine scientific theories and physical space design, the study aims to address the issues of immature theories of surreal spatial constructions in science fiction films. The guidance provided will help enhance the quality of science fiction film productions.

Aesthetic Study of Spatial Design in Denis Villeneuve’s Films

Canadian director Denis Villeneuve has carved a distinctive niche in the realm of science fiction cinema with his unique spatial design aesthetics. This paper examines his directorial works including Dune, Blade Runner 2049, and Arrival, exploring how he intricately reveals complex relationships among human emotions, societal structures, and future technologies through natural landscapes, architectural styles, and narrative temporality. Natural landscapes serve not merely as backgrounds but as profound mediators of emotional dialogue with characters. Architectural styles not only align with world-building but also embody technological practicality and functionality. Narrative temporality, employing non-linear structures, deepens inner struggles of characters and exploration of destiny. Villeneuve’s films dazzle not only visually but also provoke profound contemplation on human existence and cosmic significance.

The Poetics of Journey to the West (2021): Disclosing a Way to Dwell in the World

Abstract Science fiction films and poetry are often assumed to be unrelated or even mutually opposed. Among Chinese science fiction films in recent years, Journey to the West is a uniquely poetic example. It offers a secular challenge to science fiction while simultaneously performing a dual construction of science fiction textually and thematically through poetic expressions – thereby expanding the genre boundaries and localized creation possibilities of science fiction films. This paper uses life-world philosophy to examine the film’s existential theme and analyzes the film’s science fiction poetic expressions through the theoretical perspectives of film poem, poetic thinking, poetry-film, and Chinese poetics, arguing that they illustrate and compensate for the limited meaning of the science fiction genre and scientific rationality itself, while exemplifying the ability of science fiction films to serve as a way of disclosing being-in-the-world.

Between Shenguai and Science: The Visual Imagination of Technical Objects in Republican China

Abstract This article first examines the technical objects in three Chinese graphic novels (lianhuanhua) during the Republican era: Scientific Investiture of the Gods (Kexue fengshenbang), Scientific Demon King (Kexue mowang), and Black Bat (Hei bianfu). I regard the visual construction of technical objects in these works as a prehistory of Chinese-styled science fiction films between the 1930s and 1940s. I argue that early Chinese science fiction films share the same resources of traditional shenguai xiaoshuo with these graphic novels in Republican China. Scrutinizing the information about several early Chinese science fiction films, I locate the visual imagination of technical objects in the context of Chinese art history combined with local and imported conventions. I attempt to answer the following questions about the visual construction of technical objects in Republican-era artworks: how does the visual tradition of shenguai xiaoshuo connect to graphic novels and films in Republican China? To what degree could the hybrid modernity of shenguai combined with Hollywood films become a unique legacy for visualizing the technical objects in Chinese science fiction arts?

Ambivalent Utopias: Corporate Biopower and the Gendered Limits of Agency in Reset

Abstract This article examines Reset (逆时营救, 2017), a Chinese science fiction film that diverges from the genre’s typical patriotic themes. Reset offers a compelling case study for exploring technoscience’s impact – as a tool of corporate biopower and neocolonialism – on human corporeality, subjectivity, and female agency. The film’s protagonist, Xia Tian, transforms from a career-focused scientist to time-traveling cyborgs, ultimately reverting to a traditional maternal role. Analyzing this trajectory through Foucault’s biopower, Haraway’s cyborg feminism, and contemporary theories on reproductive futurism and sacrificial motherhood, the study unveils Reset’s function as an allegorical lens. It magnifies the effects of global corporate biopower on human subjectivity, particularly female agency amid apocalyptic upheavals. Xia Tian’s journey illustrates the complexities professional women face in balancing career and family, reflecting broader societal issues and mirroring Chinese cultural imperatives that simultaneously valorize motherhood and women’s workforce participation. Reset performs a double movement: introducing alternative forms of womanhood via cyborg iterations while framing these as incompatible with the envisaged societal future. This paradox highlights the film’s ambiguous stance, critiquing neocolonial capitalism’s manipulation of human bodies while exhibiting a conservative approach to gender roles.

From Home to Homeland: Re-Imagining Chinese Diaspora in Recent Science Fiction Films

Abstract This article investigates the representation of the Chinese diaspora in the films Everything Everywhere All at Once and The Wandering Earth 2, employing a comparative approach to explore how these narratives engage with and reshape notions of diasporic identity within a transnational context. Through a detailed analysis of both films, it highlights the complex interplay among cultural memory, identity, and migration, using the sf genre as a framework to examine these dynamics. It further argues that the films challenge traditional understandings of Chineseness and homeland, presenting a more fluid and dynamic portrayal of cultural identity that responds to contemporary global movements and cultural intersections. By juxtaposing these films, the article contributes to the discourse on globalization and cultural hybridity, emphasizing the need for a nuanced understanding of ethnic and national identities in a progressively interconnected world.

Navigating the World of The Stranger (1979) After the Cultural Revolution: Unveiling Hong Kong Leftist Science Fiction Film by Bao Fang

Abstract After the Cultural Revolution, a period marked by a global retreat from radical politics and increased compromises, filmmakers in the Hong Kong leftist film industry faced financial challenges stemming from the studio’s struggles during the Cultural Revolution. Despite these difficulties, they ingeniously incorporated generic elements to captivate audiences, using popular genres as conduits for social commentary. The Stranger by Feng Huang Motion Picture company stands out, as director Bao Fang adeptly appropriated science fiction elements to adapt a real story of espionage in Hong Kong. The film signifies Bao’s transition from opera film and historical pictures to negotiating realist and science-fictional elements to convey social innuendo. Drawing inspiration from recent works by Mingwei Song and Seo-young Chu, my argument extends to explore how sci-fi serves as a mode of expression for geopolitical commentary. The film not only expresses concern over Soviet espionage and also reflects the fear over the collapse of grand narratives such as Enlightenment and Revolution.

Exploring Chinese Characteristics in Science Fiction Films: A Case Study of 'Wandering Earth'

Chinese science fiction films were first created in the 1930s, but few outstanding works appeared until the beginning of the 21st century. With the appearance of Wandering Earth in the 2019 Spring Festival, Chinese science fiction films entered a new stage of development.This paper, using the 'Wandering Earth' series as a blueprint for research, first summarizes the development of Chinese science fiction films. Secondly, it focuses on analyzing why 'Wandering Earth' can be considered a genuinely Chinese hard science fiction film.Finally, through the analysis of the Wandering Earth series, we will summarise the future creative direction of Chinese sci-fi films and the experience that can be learnt from it, so as to accumulate creative experience for building domestic sci-fi film IP in the future.

Exploring the Development of Soft Science Fiction Films in the Chinese Film Market: Taking Dune 2 as an Example

Following the cessation of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chinese film industry has experienced a resurgence, leading to fresh prospects for the Chinese science fiction film market. On March 8, 2024, the Chinese mainland will host the release of Dune 2, which has garnered significant popularity in the Chinese science fiction cinema market. The goal of this study was to investigate whether the popularity of the Dune series of movies in the Chinese film market persists. The objective of this study was to investigate the potential influence of the Dune series of movies on the Chinese science fiction film industry. This article provided an in-depth examination of the film "Dune 2" as a specific example. This analysis utilized the distinctive attributes of the "Dune 2" film series, as well as the commercial performance and value demonstrated in the Chinese film market. It combined fundamental business theory and cinematic art knowledge to conduct a thorough examination and observation. The study yields three key outcomes: the successful adaptation of movies based on popular intellectual properties, achieved by appropriately innovating the original IP; the advancement in filming technology, which propels the growth of science fiction movies by establishing a dedicated technology park for the film industry; the influence of film music on the coherence of movie narratives, through the creation of music that aligns with the unique style of each film. This study aimed to investigate the attributes of the Chinese science fiction film market and offers recommendations for the advancement of Chinese science fiction films.

A Metaphorical Study of the Chinese Science Fiction Film "Journey to the West"

A Metaphorical Study of the Chinese Science Fiction Film "Journey to the West"

Space Representation in Science Fiction Cinema: A Semiotic Analysis of Prometheus Film

This research examines the relationship between science fiction cinema and space representation, with the aim of evaluating the effects of the use of space on visual narrative through interdisciplinary relations. In this context, the study discusses the experimental environment established by cinema art for space design through science fiction cinema, and is shaped around two research questions: 'the effects of space representation on visual narrative in science fiction cinema' and 'the integration of space representation in science fiction cinema into visual narrative'. The study employed a qualitative research design and addressed the research questions using Peirce's semiotic analysis model. This framework was used to analyse the spatial elements that directly or indirectly affect the visual narrative in Ridley Scott's Prometheus (2012) through the triple relationship of semiotics (representamen, object, and interpretant). The analysis indicates that the representation of space is integrated into science fiction cinema through a series of design factors, including form, colour, light, material and structure. These factors exert a significant influence on the visual narratives of science fiction cinema.

Dystopia and Dispossession in the Hollywood Science-Fiction Film, 1979-2017: The Aesthetics of Enclosure by Harry Warwick (review)

Dystopia and Dispossession in the Hollywood Science-Fiction Film, 1979-2017: The Aesthetics of Enclosure by Harry Warwick (review)

Exploring the Evolution and Impact of Artificial Intelligence in Science Fiction Cinema: An Overview with Financial and Economic Context

"The research Paper examines the complicated interplay of AI and science fiction films, which charts its evolution in terms of depiction while examining how it impacts society’s perceptions. Traversing historical epochs, from early portrayals in classics like “Metropolis” to contemporary narratives in films like “Her” and “Ex Machina,” the study employs a qualitative analysis of key cinematic works. In methodological terms, this research is based on a sequential framework that examines the evolving themes, ethical issues, and transformation of artificial intelligence characters. To understand recurring themes and their implications, a qualitative content analysis has also been applied. The paper reveals the symbiotic relationship between movie stories and society’s perceptions, shedding light on how science fiction cinema has a role to play in shaping national opinion about artificial intelligence, influencing ethical concerns, technological progress, and social attitudes. This paper seeks to provide insight into the cultural, technological and commercial aspects of this widespread theme through an examination of the intersection between artificial intelligence and science fiction in films."