The truth is out there in science fiction.
I recently read sensational's Pop Vultures post about the women of BSG. I've not really watched the show, but I can appreciate her points :)
When I see articles like this one, about a woman who had her dog cloned, it makes me think that people need to pay more attention to sci-fi.
They should pay attention not just because there are a number of incredibly well-told and well-acted stories out there these days.
"Normal" movies and television can have an impact on how people view things through the moral stances taken by the characters. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and In the Heat of the Night come to mind on that score.
Sci-fi looks at the same issues, but not enough people are paying attention. The most important line in a movie that doesn't get enough attention IMO, is from Jurassic Park, and I'll have to paraphrase because it's not something I've seen a bunch of times.
Basically, though, he said it's not a matter of if we could (in reference to creating dinosaurs), it's a matter of if we should.
More closely linked to the article above is The Sixth Day. It's the Ah-nold one where he's a clone and does the standard hero-y type stuff in a world where cloning is legal. While I certainly don't think Sixth Day was one of the best sci-fi movies ever (or anywhere close), I thought the cloning debate was important. Especially since clones aren't really sci-fi.
Unfortunately, because it was an Arnold action movie and sci-fi, the message was lost even though it was integral to the movie's plot.
Science fiction's ability to inspire new tools and toys is fantastic and is even beginning to be recognized by the mainstream. It's time for the mainstream to pick up science fiction's messages, too.
When I see articles like this one, about a woman who had her dog cloned, it makes me think that people need to pay more attention to sci-fi.
They should pay attention not just because there are a number of incredibly well-told and well-acted stories out there these days.
"Normal" movies and television can have an impact on how people view things through the moral stances taken by the characters. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and In the Heat of the Night come to mind on that score.
Sci-fi looks at the same issues, but not enough people are paying attention. The most important line in a movie that doesn't get enough attention IMO, is from Jurassic Park, and I'll have to paraphrase because it's not something I've seen a bunch of times.
Basically, though, he said it's not a matter of if we could (in reference to creating dinosaurs), it's a matter of if we should.
More closely linked to the article above is The Sixth Day. It's the Ah-nold one where he's a clone and does the standard hero-y type stuff in a world where cloning is legal. While I certainly don't think Sixth Day was one of the best sci-fi movies ever (or anywhere close), I thought the cloning debate was important. Especially since clones aren't really sci-fi.
Unfortunately, because it was an Arnold action movie and sci-fi, the message was lost even though it was integral to the movie's plot.
Science fiction's ability to inspire new tools and toys is fantastic and is even beginning to be recognized by the mainstream. It's time for the mainstream to pick up science fiction's messages, too.