The Flux Capacitor 4.18.08: Week 30 - Cockroaches, Codes and Cameron
Posted by Owain J. Brimfield on 04.18.2008
The past, present and future of science fiction - this week we look at biotechnology. Plus, all the latest from the world of SF.
Welcome to "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. Due to a numbering mishap this week, we forego our more usual tenth-column spectacular for a normal installment of the column, but I'll make up for it next week. Later on I'll also discuss some of the latest SF news and see how it impacts on the genre. For now though, let's get the DeLorean on the road - this week's theme is:
BIOTECHNOLOGY
Chances are the first things you think of when biotechnology crops up in science fiction is the overwhelming style of David Cronenberg, with his mutation-horrors The Fly and Videodrome in particular being some of the first to leap to mind. However, I want to skirt around the boundaries of 'biopunk' this week. Of course, the primary sub-genre to benefit from the more overblown notions of genetic experiments and biomorphs gone astray is sci-fi-horror, but since I tend to stay away from that particular aspect of SF in general (I may do a column in the future, but fellow 411-er Joseph Lee already does a good enough job at covering that genre in depth), we're not going to concern ourselves with 80s monster flicks that preyed on ideals of biomorphic horror, like Humanoids From the Deep, or killer viruses that ravage the planet as in the old Japanese export Virus (which, although not especially good, is certainly pleasingly unrelenting in the trials and tribulations it throws at the human race). It's common sense that biotechnology hardly featured too heavily in movies before around the 1970s, given its status as an emerging branch of science, but since then it's been gradually creeping to the fore in an array of largely cult films and TV shows.
Still, I suppose we had better pay lip service to the idea of biological terror, given its prevalence in (usually direct-to-video) movies around the turn of the last century, and one of the better films of the bunch is Guillermo Del Toro's Mimic, not to be confused with the following year's Sphere - I know, probably not a common error, but you know sometimes you get those mental blocks that confuse two vaguely similar things in your head? I always used to have trouble differentiating between Burt Lancaster and Tom Berenger, for instance, bizarre as it sounds. Anyway, the movie sees our protagonist and his wife (incidentally, calling your hero by the surname of 'Mann' might work well in Duel, but aside from that particular classic it's a device that's best left alone) as zoologists attempting to genetically engineer a means of terminating Manhattan's cockroach infection. Only wouldn't you know it, their idea of a cure is to create the 'Judas Breed', a giant termite-like creature modified to kill the disease-spreading cockroaches - and it only goes and mutates (or, apparently, "evolves" in the space of a few years) before taking up inhabitance in the city's subway system, learning to, yes, mimic human appearance in order to feast on us tasty bipeds. It's an entirely typical setup of the way biotechnology is usually employed by movies - some form of threatening creature or virus is unintentionally engineered by man and soon turns on its creator. While we can't knock Mimic and movies similar to it for utilizing an age-old plot device, they're perhaps the lowest common denominator when it comes to depicting a viable use of biotechnological devices and theories on the big screen.
Biotechnology, much like its distant cousin nanotechnology, seems to be one of those disciplines that in the modern age feels like it should be presented in a restrained fashion in sci-fi cinema - given credence as an emerging science, rather than engaging in fantastical pursuits and flights of fancy. Of course, it's the job (or perhaps more accurately, the vocation) of science fiction to touch on both of these major bases, but let's face it, everyone's probably had their fill of the aspect of biotechnics that proves a visceral threat to our movie protagonists. An area that is undeveloped, however, is presenting the concept as a feasible and intellectual science. If you think about it, it's a direction that's ripe for creative exploitation, and yet few films seem to take that route.
Trust the British, then, to take the cerebral route, as Michael Winterbottom's Code 46 takes a thoughtful (if not always entirely successful) look at the notion of artificial reproduction and genetic medicine on a global scale. Winterbottom's not the first filmmaker you'd imagine would be one to dabble in science fiction, but working from a screenplay by frequent collaborator Frank Cottrell Boyce (he of the heartwarming Millions and the less-than that Welcome to Sarajevo) he brings to the screen an intelligent discussion of the perils of bioengineering as a means of subjugation. The inhabitants of Code 46's earth move in highly restricted circles governed by draconian health screenings, genetic viruses exist to enable government officials to read people's feelings, and reproduction is legal only when certain strict conditions are met. It's like what you'd imagine China will become one day [oooh, topical!]. Although some of the movie's elements are perhaps a little too fanciful for its overriding themes (the prominence of various different viruses of all flavors grates after a while), it's a definite curiosity and presents an intriguing - and dourly English - future world-view, examining the impact biotechnological science would have on this everchanging world in which we live in. The movie doesn't paint a pretty picture, but earns its stripes because of, and not in spite of, that fact. Surely this is more representative of how such themes could affect us in the real world than such monstro-guff as Mimic's low-budget sequels.
Normally in this column when talk turns to the future I seem to be all in favor of taking a more real-world approach to a number of sci-fi topics, but hell, let's shake things up a bit. Biotechnological realism be damned - who's up for a big-screen remake of Jim Cameron's Dark Angel? All the ingredients are in place - Serenity proved that movie semi-sequels to cult TV shows could be adopted by the existing fanbase and new moviegoers alike; Bionic Woman (alright, maybe a less-than-stellar example) and The Sarah Connor Chronicles have shown that sci-fi audiences are more than willing and ready to accept an empowered female protagonist, and that studios are willing to invest in big-budget SF; Jessica Alba has established herself, somehow, as a movie star; and Cameron has both the technical knowledge, genre aptidude and financial clout to helm a Dark Angel movie.
For those who never caught the show during its limited two-year, two-season run, it stars Alba (and I should probably lay it on the line that I'm apparently the only man on the planet who doesn't find that woman the least bit attractive) as a bioengineered soldier seeking to unravel the shady government organization from which she escaped. Sure, it's not an entirely original concept (ten points to whoever's already thought of Universal Soldier), but it's always nice to see a fresh take on bioengineering that doesn't take the horror or the dystopian routes and instead makes its home in providing viewers with a good old-fashioned bit of SF action/adventure. The show stripped the science down to its basics of simple genetic engineering [is that an oxymoron?] and kept the bio/cyberpunk aspects on a level par with its other constituent SF elements, giving the whole concept a balance that would surely translate well into a two-hour motion picture. And hell, with so many other remakes and reimaginings invading our cinemas, it'd be nice to see a source material tackled that has potential for an engaging as well as financially successful movie.
Reactions and interactions
Posted by: JLAJRC
"Another good topic this week, but I'm kinda surprised you used It Came from Outer Space and Contact as your examples when probably the two most famous peaceful first contact films are "The Day the Earth Stood Still" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind."
Of course, most peaceful alien films were usually reserved for family/kids films like ET, Flight of the Navigator, Mac and Me, Cocoon, and Batteries Not Included. This could be a whole article in itself."
It could and it will. Look out for that in the near future. As for using some lesser-known films last week, well, I have to mix it up once in a while, and besides I've already talked about The Day the Earth Stood Still a few times in the past. Gotta keep things fresh!
The Infosphere
MGM has confirmed a 29th July release date for the second of its upcoming Stargate SG-1 straight-to-DVD movies, Stargate: Continuum, which will also be released on Blu-ray disc. In the action-adventure movie based on the long-running SCI FI Channel series, members of SG-1 find themselves returning to a world where their history has been dramatically altered. (courtesy of Sci Fi Wire)
Hopefully both the Stargate and Futurama DVD movies continue to sell well so the networks realize this can be a valid medium for continuing shows that aren't quite pulling in the ratings any more. In fact, I can finally afford to buy Bender's Big Score when I get paid tomorrow, sweet.
Shia LaBeouf has signed on to star in Dark Fields, a new techno thriller from director Neil Berger (The Illusionist). The film will be based on the book by Alan Glynn. The plot revolves around a slacker (LaBeouf) who comes into possession of a top-secret pharmaceutical drug that makes you smarter. He experiences sudden financial and social success but soon discovers that the drug has lethal and lasting side effects, including 'trip-switching' - a phenomenon in which time moves with a stop-motion quality.
Never read the book, but if it can increase the ubiquity of LaBeouf then I doubt there's going to be anything to stop it. Seriously, doesn't the guy have some form of social life?
A scooper at Screen Rant was in attendance at a recent Star Trek convention which featured screenwriter Roberto Orci. Orci said the following about JJ Abrams' upcoming Star Trek film:
- The film would be rated PG-13
- The script with written with Leonard Nimoy in mind
- The budget will be below the $200 million mark
- The USS Enterprise will be constructed in space, with parts assembled on Earth
I have to assume they haven't really built a soundstage in space for that last one, otherwise the budget would be waaaay over $200m. I'm not sure any of this "news" is anything other than expected tidbits, though.
DreamWorks has acquired rights to the Japanese manga Ghost in the Shell and plans to adapt the futuristic police thriller as a 3-D live-action feature film. (courtesy of Sci Fi Wire)
I think the key is going to be in the "3D" here, as Ghost already has some perfectly good anime to do the story justice. Once the floodgates open on 3D moviemaking I think we'll be seeing a lot more projects like this taken on by the major studios.
Stan Lee is set to pen a new superhero group called Legion of 5 and plans to feature the group in a series of CG-animated films, games, and more. Character and plot details are being kept tightly under wraps thus far. Lee has raised $24 million with Brighton Partners, Rainmaker Entertainment and his own production company POW! to get the project started.
Just as long as he stops cameoing in every film under the sun, I'm quite happy for him to get on board with a new franchise.
Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies will release M. Night Shyamalan's live-action big-screen adaptation of the popular animated TV series Avatar: The Last Airbender on July 2, 2010. The studio has dropped 'Avatar' from the title of the action-adventure movie so as to avoid confusion with James Cameron's 3-D epic Avatar, which 20th Century Fox opens Dec. 18, 2009. (courtesy of Sci Fi Wire)
I still can't quite believe that Shyamalan has strayed so far away from his comfort zone with this effort, but part of me doubts it will be up to the standards of its former namesake.
20th Century Fox has announced that the upcoming new X-Files movie will be called The X-Files: I Want To Believe.
Hohohoh no. Really? That's horrible.
The poster has been released for Ed Norton's The Incredible Hulk:
Well, if they were going for a theme of "generic comic book cover" they certainly succeeded. Both this and the trailer for the movie haven't been up to my expectations, but I'll still be there to see it.
Incidentally, we're into the new seasons of both Doctor Who and Battlestar Galactica - the former looks better than I'd thought with Catherine Tate on board, and looks set to repeat last year's pattern of lots of decent episodes before all the awesomeness comes in at the end of the season. My housemate Obert reports that BSG is "oh yeah, pretty good", which is about as high a recommendation as he ever gives out.
And finally…
As always, reader feedback and suggestions are welcome, I respond to everything so just drop me a line or leave a comment. You can also check out my column "The Wonder Years" over at 411 Games. Next week in "The Flux Capacitor" - we've another edition of "ten of the best" for your viewing pleasure. Until then - keep watching the skies.
