“A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…” Humans have been fascinated by space for generations. They are intrigued by its lovely mystery that contains a multitude of possibilities. Significant improvements in space discovery opened many opportunities for filmmakers to go to infinity and beyond. Outer space has been portrayed on the silver screen countless times, from Star Wars, the epic space opera series, to Le Voyage Dans La Lune (A Trip to the Moon), the iconic French silent film, to Gravity, the Academy Award-nominated contemporary thriller. After the moon landing in 1969, the motion picture industry began to produce more stories about space travel; thus, a wide variety of space films that appeal to different audiences was created. Moviegoers were eager to see both outlandish science fiction films and strictly historical biopics alike. A new era of film had begun and it revolutionized Hollywood as we know it.
Georges Méliès’ Le Voyage Dans La Lune is universally recognized as the first science fiction film. It was produced in 1902, 14 minutes in length, and hand-colored. Méliès pioneered the concept of space travel--specifically, travel to the moon--in film more than fifty years before Neil Armstrong took one giant leap for mankind. “The silent film's plot, a light-hearted satire criticizing the conservative scientific community of its time, was inspired by Jules Verne's From the Earth to the Moon (1865) and H. G. Wells' First Men in the Moon (1901)” (“Voyage Dans La Lune”). Le Voyage Dans La Lune showed the uptight scientists of the early 20th century a new way to look at the fathomless space and unknown sky. Many people were afraid of space exploration, but Méliès demonstrated it in a funny and informative--for the tim...
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...gs scientifically wrong with Gravity, but Cuáron did not fail to stun the audience with jaw-dropping views of space and amazing cinematography.
Space is infinitely fascinating. It caught the eyes of filmmakers around the time that the film industry was being revolutionized and growing in more ways than one. Although space films may not be completely scientifically accurate to the very last tiny detail, the scientific accuracy is not always what matters. It is always a nice treat to see a film for fun without worrying whether the science is totally correct. In addition, space films encompass a variety of topic matters within its broad genre. They are an enormous part of the motion picture industry and coalesce many different ideas about space into one film. Space may or may not always be portrayed completely accurately in film, but they can still be excellent films.
Forbidden Planet (1956), directed by Fred Wilcox, is the first science fiction film to take place on an exoplanet. The film is about a military class vessel and crew dispatched to investigate the status of a scientific exploration team on a planet in the Altair system. The captain and crew of the investigating team is surprised to find only one original crew member remaining on the planet; furthermore, the investigators find out that all the other crewmembers of the science team were viciously attacked and killed by a mysterious, unseen entity. Many elements present in the film inspired later films and shows that were of a space exploration, science fiction type. The inspiration is strongly visible in Roddenberry’s Star Trek series. One of the most interesting facets
In this paper, I want to argue that Fritz Lang's effective use of Cinemascope and Mise-en-scène in Moonfleet, ultimately allowed him to better express his signature stylistic elements, despite the many restrictions he had to work with throughout the production process. These restrictions included but were not limited to: a new stylistic filming process; Cinemascope, and the frayed relationship Fritz Lang was speculated to share with MGM, the production company he worked with for Moonfleet.
Booker, M. K. Alternate Americas: Science Fiction Film and American Culture. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2006. Print.
Modernism was a movement that in one way or another affected every sphere of art from such traditional spheres of art as painting that have been around for thousands of years to the newly discovered cinematography. The notion of films and filmmaking was a new concept in the beginning of twenties century; therefore, George Méliès and Wladyslaw Starewicz’s works were innovative just because they existed. Respectively, innovation, progress, new techniques, and the rejection of traditions were the essence of modernism. Undoubtedly, both directors incorporated new techniques in their films: George Méliès realistically enough portrays how moon aliens disappear after scientist attacks them and Wladyslaw Starewicz resourcefully uses dead
Space, a mysterious place, the moon, a curious place that mankind wonders about day by day. In the 1960’s and early 1970’s the United States sent a team of three to the moon for the very first time. The crew consisted was: Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins. Out of the three, Neil Armstrong was the first to step foot on the moon (Journal of American History 609). The name of the mission to the moon was called “Apollo 11” this mission took place on July 1969 (Beall, Jeffrey 122). Space is an unexplored place, there are still people trying to discover more than they already know. Curtin people were doubting the mission, some people b the U.S. flag looked like it was flapping in the wind, but the moon does not have an atmosphere (Mashing Moon Myths 505).
The many debates about art cinema versus classical cinema have been going around for a while. The mainstream Hollywood classical film and the art cinema are frequently presented as opposites. In one, the style of the film is bland, while the other seeks to center its focus on the visual becoming central as narrative unity. Throughout the movie directed by Stanley Kubrick called 2001: A Space Odyssey, we see that this film can be classified as an art film. On the other hand, it can also be seen as classical film. Even though these two are the complete opposite and they contradict themselves, they are both apparent in the film.
defined what makes a film fit the science fiction niche. This paper seeks to explore
Dale Earnhardt once said, “finishing races is important, but racing is more important.” The 35th president of the United states, John F. Kennedy, also portrayed this in his Moon Speech. This speech was delivered on September 12, 1962, with the object of entering the space race for improvements, discoveries, along with becoming the first in the world. Through his words, John F. Kennedy, uses ethical appeal, logical appeal, and lastly the audience’s sympathies to persuade that the race space is only a challenge intended to be won.
The nineteenth-century was an explosion of industry and technology. Evidence of how these advances made an impact on people's lives and how they viewed the world was prevalent in the art of the time. The influence of the Freudian revolution, having given artists insight into the human psyche, would give birth to movements in art such as Expressionism and Surrealism. As the nineteenth-century came to a close, an entirely novel mixture of art and technology found its inception, cinema. Beginning with French filmmaker Georges Melies' fourteen-minute silent film, A Trip to the Moon, released to the public in 1902 and based on a Jules Verne novel, the art of motion pictures would become the epitome of modern medium. As new technology continued to emerge, artists in this field would make of it a revolutionary industry deeply rooted in modern culture.
Science fiction is a genre, which depicts what life would be like in a world with major scientific and technological developments. When it comes to science fiction, the exploration of future technology is a major element. Many stories and films focus on space, robots, aliens, a mad scientist, and/or artificial intelligence. “The universal themes found in science fiction—themes of freedom and responsibility, power, love, individuality and community, good versus evil, technology run amok, and more—present ample opportunity to explore complex issues and compelling controversies at length and in depth in ways that not only engage the intellect, but involve the emotions and expand the imagination.” The story “Flowers for Algernon,” by Daniel Keyes, is an example of science fiction that examines the impact of artificial intelligence. “The End of the Whole Mess,” by Steven King, is an example of science fiction that focuses on the fall of a mad scientist. The film “Gravity” is an example of a science fiction movie that explores the use of major technological advancement within space. In this paper I will assess the major themes portrayed in “Flowers for Algernon,“ “The End of the Whole Mess,” and the film, “Gravity.” Additionally, I will examine how these models of science fiction teach a major lesson about the imperfections of future scientific and technological advancements on society.
On 20 July, 1969 Americans landed the first man on the moon; officially ending the space race between the former Soviet Union and the United States. This however was not completed over night. The conflict between the two super powers spanned over two decades and was not only about interplanetary travel but the pride that was to follow. Science fiction played a major role in inspiring the western population of what was to come of space travel and our future. Films and novels about space exploration tended to attempt to remain more realistic in their content and the way that space travel was depicted. One of the most highly impressionable films of this era was Rocket Ship X-M.
The film “Gravity”, released in 2013 and directed by Alfonso Cuarón, is a groundbreaking cinematic piece that exemplifies countless scientific and astronomic analyzations. The film was highly praised for it’s excellent portrayal of astronomic phenomena and the delicateness and dangers of exploration in space.
...h the dreams of landing on the moon, it has progressed to become one of the most appreciated types of genres in books, movies, and other media. Many of these popular ideas include life on other planets in different galaxies and the saving of the universe. The importance of this includes the fact that it can inspire scientists to improve the technology that our society today is surrounded by. This will continue in the future whether or not the science fiction is full of technology or not.
Whenever we watch movies about space, the movie tends to influence our perspective of what is out there in space and how things work. Because of people’s lack of knowledge, it is easy for them to accept what the movies or pictures present to them. Therefore, there are many misconceptions in astronomy of how things really work out in the universe. In Neil Comens’ book, Heavenly Errors, he pinpoints over 1600 misconceptions! For example, many people have several different theories of how the moon changes shape every night or why the stars twinkle in the night time sky.
Space tourism involves travelling in to the space by people for leisure, adventure or investment by established space tourism businesses. It is an expensive undertaking that satisfies the curiosity of people regarding how the space looks like. Virgin Galactic is one of the emerging companies that have taken advantage of the new investment opportunity. Space environment on the other hand is likely to be affected by space tourism due to the black carbon emitted by the rockets involved in space tourism. This paper analyses space tourism and space environment in modern day. It highlights the relationship between modern technology and space tourism. It also talks about how the space is related to astronomy and the efforts by scientists to promote space tourism.