The Flux Capacitor 9.21.07: Week 1 - The Legend, The Franchise, The Future
Posted by Owain J. Brimfield on 09.21.2007
The debut column, presenting the past, present and future of science fiction - this week we look at landmarks in the genre. Plus, all the latest from the world of SF.
Welcome to the debut of "The Flux Capacitor", the column that examines the past, present and future of the science fiction genre. I'm your host, Owain J. Brimfield, and each week I'll be taking a look at films, TV shows and a whole lot more that exemplify a particular theme within SF. We'll see how the sci-fi of yesteryear influenced what we see on our screens today, and take a look ahead to see what may be in store in the months and years to come. Later on I'll also discuss some of the latest SF news and see how it impacts on the genre; hopefully, too, in future editions there'll be a chance to take a look at some reader feedback. For now though, let's get this DeLorean out on the open road and crank it up to eighty eight - this week's theme is:
LANDMARKS
The Past
Metropolis - so good that Motorhead wrote a song about it. If it gets Lemmy's seal of approval it's alright by me. And, apparently, the rest of the world. Fritz Lang's 1927 magnum opus, co-written with his wife during the apex of the German Weimar Republic's power, was a seminal moment for the science fiction genre, and even 80 years later it's easy to see why. Depicting an industrialist, quasi-dystopic mega-city a hundred years ahead of its time, Metropolis set about defining convention after convention for sci-fi movies to come, from the use of Art Deco and modernistic architecture to the dominance of technology, to the depiction of robots only a few years after the term even came into existence, courtesy of the Czechoslovakian playwright Karel Capek (incidentally, his Rossum's Universal Robots is a pretty good read if you're interested). It's worthy of mention, too, that Metropolis was essentially the first science fiction blockbuster. Created at a modern equivalent cost of around $200 million, the enormous and intricate sets lent the film an epic feel that was entirely unrivalled by motion pictures of the time, and it still feels surprisingly ‘real' today. The future world envisaged by Lang is remarkably convincing, yet conversely somehow archaic, with biplanes soaring past skyscrapers modeled on the Tower of Babel, and workers laboring day and night to stoke the furnaces that power the great city.
As much as the Metropolis itself could be considered a character, though, the real meat of the film is in the characterization of the humans and the complex love story that develops. The city, run by wealthy tyrant Joh Fredersen, is a hotbed of ideological struggle, with the workers having a figurehead in the comely shape of Maria, who is desperately trying to hold back the revolutionary forces expounded by the workers' chief, Grot (yes, his appearance does match his moniker), in the hope that a mediator will one day arrive. Meanwhile, Joh's son Freder strays into the underworld of the city, and is shocked to discover the conditions of the workers. During his time underground he becomes besotted with Maria, and aligns himself with her cause. Meanwhile - yes, you knew there had to be a ‘meanwhile' - Joh discovers that resident mad scientist Rotwang has built a robot, and orders him to give it Maria's visage so that they can spread disorder among the workers (in a further twist, Rotwang had been in love with Joh's deceased wife, and was planning to give the robot her appearance instead). The image of Brigitte Helm's Maria being technologically superimposed over Rotwang's robotic mannequin (shown above) is the first truly iconic moment in science fiction on the big screen, and is still remarkably spine-tingling even now. Themes of class struggle and Marxism, undoubtedly resonant in the 1920s European climate, provide a stormy backdrop to these power plays, and the sense of unrest is constantly tangible. The tension builds and builds with the city eventually flooding, and there's a dramatic rooftop showdown (yet more conventions in place). I've yet to mention that Metropolis is actually silent, and quite frankly it doesn't matter. What dialogue there is is sparse, but the film stands tall on the merits of its imagery and its story. The original soundtrack, by Gottfried Huppertz, is the best accompaniment, but there's also a synth arrangement by Peter Osborne that lends a slightly different tone to the movie. Either way though, it's a truly memorable experience. For a fan of the SF genre, Metropolis is the filmic equivalent of H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds - the first real landmark of the genre in its chosen medium.
The Present
Right, I thought I'd better get this out of the way in the first column, as I have a feeling this subject is going to be broached more than once. For all of those critics who claim that Star Wars isn't science fiction - bollocks, pure and simple. "It's a western!" "It's a space opera!" "It's space fantasy!" All valid considerations, but what most people who make these arguments fail to realize is that the terms are not mutually exclusive. Personally, I loathe the human tendency to label everything possible in order to make it fit into a neat and tidy little group; but that's a rant for another time. ‘Science fiction' as a piece of terminology has a hugely broad spectrum and as such is inherently difficult to define and/or homogenize, but at its heart it's about employing an imaginative narrative framework that is empirically distinctive from its creator's environment, as well as an emphasis on cognition and the search for rational understanding (yeah, so I'm cribbing from Darko Suvin here, but if it's good enough for John Clute it's good enough for me). And Star Wars most definitely fits into that model.
*deep breath* Okay, that's out of the way now. If you disagree, feel free to get in touch as I've had that argument many times with varying degrees of success.
Now, many Star Wars fans seek to distinguish between the original trilogy and the prequel trilogy, and in fact if we're talking simply in terms of how much one enjoys the films, I'm right there with them. However, there is absolutely no doubt that the hype and subsequent release of The Phantom Menace and its sequels in the past ten years has done absolute wonders for the Wars as a franchise. Menace was probably (yes, I do qualify this with ‘probably') the most anticipated motion picture of all time, and if Metropolis was the first sci-fi blockbuster, Menace was definitely the biggest, if not the best. The sheer scale of the franchise became close to overwhelming, and for a time there were more than a few adults who found themselves transported back to their youth on a wave of nostalgia. I remember seeing Revenge of the Sith at a midnight screening on its day of release - the first time I'd done that for any movie - and the atmosphere was incomparable, even if the film itself was less than stellar.
(It's worth mentioning that, among the series' many nods to sci-fi old and new (not least the pulp serials of the early 20th century), the movies do openly reference Metropolis, seeing both Darth Vader and Luke being fitted with a prosthetic right hand in much the same way as the scientist Rotwang. Whether or not either of the movies intended to play up the famous Hinduist distinction between Dakshina and Vama is probably a matter for another debate).
I don't intend to delve further into the Star Wars mythos here - that's a matter for a much more in-depth discussion, as evidenced by books like this. However, there is simply no questioning the series' status as a genre landmark in the present day. Even now, several years after the conclusion of the movie franchise, the saga continues both on screen and off, with continual remastering of the original movies (coming soon: Star Wars in glorious 4D!), the upcoming TV series spin-off, the Expanded Universe novels and comic books, and of course the constant avalanche of merchandising. It's a billion dollar industry, and you know Georgey Lucas is thanking his lucky stars (zing!) for the idea. In truth, Star Wars is, and continues to be, more than just a sci-fi milestone - it's a sci-fi way of life. And it's hard to argue against the films' importance when you realize that it can have this kind of effect on some people.
The Future
So how do we go about predicting future landmarks in science fiction? It's a difficult task, but then where would the genre be without man's capacity to look to the future? (That's a rhetorical question, by the way.) After a careful analysis of planetary alignments, local crop patterns and the underside of my muddy boots, it seems as though all signs point towards television providing the next true SF landmark, a feat the medium has arguably not achieved since the original series of Star Trek. While shows such as Doctor Who and The Twilight Zone are undeniable classics, they have never really climbed to the highest echelon required to be considered true milestones of the genre. Of course, it's unlikely that we could foresee a new and original show taking off into the stratosphere (hey, I'm no Arthur C. Clarke, who infamously predicted the invention of the geostationary satellite), but there are a number of current contenders that, given a little more time, could well prove to be a winner for televisual SF. Let's take a look:
Battlestar Galactica, the critical darling. Ron Moore's reimagining of the 1978 series has, slowly but surely, gained a reputation as the premier sci-fi on the small screen. Expanding from a three-hour miniseries that brought the Sci-Fi Channel it's third highest ever rating, the series has gone from strength to strength, consistently being named one of the best shows on television by numerous publications. Despite this acclaim, Battlestar has never really pushed itself truly into the national consciousness (of course, this isn't a prerequisite for landmark status in a genre that is in general notoriously adverse to the mainstream). However, it has certainly cemented its status as the best TV sci-fi the 21st century has had to offer
Heroes, the obvious choice. You can't turn a corner these days without hearing every man and his dog raving about this show (yes, Chamberlain, I'm looking at you), which is a pretty good indication that Heroes has, at the very least, crossed the border from ‘cult' to ‘mainstream' science fiction. Of course, word of mouth alone wouldn't be sufficient - in fact, that's why I haven't included Lost in this section - but thankfully the series itself looks to be on a very solid footing, with an excellent debut season under its belt. All the ingredients are there - compelling characters, an epic scale, themes of genetics, heroism and destiny, the fate of humanity in the balance - and with another quality showing, Heroes could well prove to be a classic of our times.
Futurama, the underdog. Cruelly cancelled before its time, Futurama was one of the most entertaining and intelligent sci-fi shows in years, producing four seasons (at least as aired in the UK) of hugely enjoyable TV. Of course, we all know the Fox network's record with cancelling shows, but although it seemed that we had seen the last of Matt Groening and David Cohen's creation, the word is that four DVD movies are on their way. I've heard a number of people denigrate the show for being animated, but that's just ridiculous - if anything, animation lends greater scope for the creativity and imagination needed to form the basis of truly great science fiction. Here's hoping that the show can vault even higher in the genre's estimation on its return.
Given the options before us, my own personal vote would go to Battlestar. Futurama, despite having run for four seasons already, is still a relative minnow in the SF world; I think the show lacks ambition, with Groening and Cohen seemingly content to satisfy the audience they have already and not striving for greatness. Heroes, meanwhile, is dangerously close to suffering from an exposure overload - not something that would affect a movie (quite the opposite in fact), but something that has been known to cripple TV shows creatively. Battlestar is treading a happy line at the moment, worshipped by its fans, praised by the critics and providing one of the finest SF shows on the box in recent memory. If it can succeed in truly going out on its own terms as the fourth season promises, we may need to clear a space in the Hall of Fame.
The Infosphere
Ryan Gosling is rumored to be the favorite to play Batman in the upcoming Justice League of America movie.
I'm not entirely sold on the idea of a JLA film, and Christian Bale will have made Batman his own by the time it's released. Still, Gosling is a decent actor and there are definitely worse choices.
Zoe Saldana is in final talks to play Uhura in JJ Abrams' upcoming Star Trek prequel.
Thank goodness it looks like J.J. Abrams is aiming for a cast of small-name actors. That's not a derogatory term, but even the most well-known of the cast, Zachary Quinto, has only his role in Heroes as any prominent exposure. Saldana has a good look for the part, and this should also increase her SF experience for her role in Jim Cameron's upcoming Avatar.
Dimension Films is close to landing the distribution rights for the film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's The Road. (courtesy of Sci-Fi Wire)
McCarthy's novel is entirely worthy of its Pulitzer Prize, telling the story of a father and son searching for civilization in a post-apocalyptic America of the future. Word is that Aragorn himself Viggo Mortensen is interested in the lead, but then I've also heard the rumor that Brad Pitt has been approached. One of those would certainly be better than the other. I really hope that this one is done justice.
NBC's time-travel series Journeyman premieres this week.
At first glance this looks like a Quantum Leap rip-off, but seeing as some of the producers have been involved with Scrubs, The West Wing and others, we'll give it the benefit of the doubt. Thankfully, the premise is just as intriguing as it was when Sam Beckett was leaping through time, so hopefully this will turn out to be an enjoyable watch.
And finally…
As always, reader feedback and suggestions are welcome, I respond to everything so just drop me a line. You can also check out my column "The Wonder Years" over at 411 Games. Next week in "The Flux Capacitor" - a look at ‘high concept' science fiction. Until then - keep watching the skies.
