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Science Fiction Worlds Question 1 (1) The animated sitcom Futurama was aired for the first time in 1999, which allows us to conclude that its sarcastic portrayal of the future was inspired by current socio-political dynamics. In Futurama, the future is represented as such, where the insanity of multiculturalism, as political doctrine, is being brought to its logical conclusion. Robots, aliens, humans, zombies and severed human heads exist in atomistic society, which is nothing but a grotesque parody of multicultural paradise. Religions still affect the lives of people and robots; however, they are being exposed as only the means of making money. This, of course, corresponds to the realities of nowadays. Despite the fact that future is associated with many technological advances, Futurama's characters still exist in the realm of prejudices, which often prevents them from opening their minds to the new ideas.
The reign of bureaucracy is total and undisputed. In one episode, The World Government issues an edict, which requires citizens to be happy and to constantly smile. Matt Groening wanted to show what is going to happen if people continue to trade their civil freedoms for the illusionary security. Because of constant process of racial mixing, which we associate with multiculturalism, human race in Futurama is shown as such that predominantly consist of degenerates and mutants. One-eyed Lela is a future equivalent of contemporary White Liberal, Professor Hubert J.
Farnsworth is a typical senile miasmatic, which our assisted living facilities are full of, Bender is one of those rednecks, who likes to drink and smoke and could not care less about political correctness, which is exactly the reason why he is considered to be the most lovable character of all. Thus, only a very ignorant person is not going to be able to draw parallels between Futurama's future and our present. Its popularity can be explained by the fact that show exploits peoples fears and anxieties, related to process of Globalization, as such that is metaphysically unnatural. (2) The movie Metropolis was produced in Germany in 1927, at the time when spiritual degeneracy, associated with Weimar republic, was at its peak. The human society in the future is shown in the movie as such that is based on the principle of social hierarchy.
People are divided into two groups: thinkers and workers. Such social model is presented as being quite natural. Thinkers enjoy luxurious lifestyles and they also posses political power, while workers only required to work. The reason why movies producer Fritz Lang adopted such vision of the future is that he was a representative of chosen people, who have been traditionally affiliated with Communism.
Despite the fact that Communists proclaim universal equality, as their goal, they actually strive for something entirely different. The classical Communism, which was built in USSR, prior to WWII, featured a very small minority of Communist bureaucrats, who enjoyed unprecedented wealth and power, and millions of slaves, who were required to work 12 hours a day without being paid, 7 days a week. By some odd coincidence, 95 % of Communist leaders in Russia by 1922 were Jews. Therefore, it was only natural for Fritz Lang to logically develop a Communist thesis and to show what Communist society was going to become in the future. It is very peculiar that Metropolis is not associated with critical attitude towards portrayed future, on the part of producer. The word Communism has never been mentioned in the movie, which allows us to conclude that Metropolis was meant to provide an insight on how Communism was going to transform itself into the ultimate tool of social exploitation, to those who instigated the popularization of this ideology in the first place.
Movie promotes the idea that it is peoples social affiliation that defines their existential mode. Those who are unable to earn money with their brains will be required to make living with their hands. Of course, it does not take a genius to tell what ethnic group has historically been associated with high intellectual powers and with never-ending desire to impose its worldview upon others (3) The movie Invasion of Body Snatchers was made in 1956, at the time when Cold War was entering its new phase. Movie portrays hostile aliens, who intend to conquer the world, as such that are virtually undistinguishable from regular people.
The only way to tell the difference between alien and human was the fact that aliens, disguised as people, were being totally deprived of any emotions. This again, corresponds to the essence of Communism as ideology that promotes society's dehumanization, because it denies peoples natural instincts. Miles Bennell, after having realized that Santa Mira was overrun by aliens, runs along the street, screaming: Theyre here already! You " re next! , but everybody just laugh at him, because they think that Bennell had simply lost his marbles.
This corresponds to Senator McCarthy initiating a campaign to expose the agents of foreign influence in this country, while many Americans were thinking that his exaggerates dangers associated with Commies being able to infiltrate American government. However, after Soviet defector Igor Gusenko had revealed the full scope of Communist spying activities in America, the majority of ordinary citizens were able to realize that they are being threatened by Commies in immediate manner. Gusenkos defection enabled FBI to expose twenty thousands of Communist spies in America, who were thought to be upstanding citizens that paid taxes and obeyed the law. They were nothing but aliens, posing as normal people. Therefore, it is wrong to refer to Invasion of Body Snatchers within a context of mass-hysteria, as we are being encouraged to do by the spiritual and often biological descendants of people who were willing to betray their nation for thirty pieces of silver, during the era of Cold War. Question 2 (4) One of the most memorable things about movie Matrix is how it portrays the real environment.
After being initiated with the mean of swallowing red pill, Neo gets to see the real world, which is totally deprived of human presence, in traditional context of this word. Machines use people as source of energy, after having fully eliminated the prospects of resistance, on the part of humans, by providing them with alternative reality. The real world appears to be dark and uninhibited. We can say that it represents producers subliminal ideas of objective reality without evolutionary process, as its essential part. Dark clouds, the absence of flora and fauna, rivers of lava these images have roots in deep unconsciousness. We associate primeval reality with irrational will, which has a strong sexual undertone.
This is why machines in Matrix are represented as physical embodiments of Freudian ideas. They are dark, fast and very functional. They actually remind spermatozoids on their way to a female egg, when they move. It would be more appropriate to refer to Matrix as movie that actually portrays the starting point of the future rather then futuristic world. The old reality has ended, whereas new reality did not begin yet. This is why movies characters spend most of the time hiding beneath the Earths surface.
They do not advertise their existence but strive to conceal it. It is their denial of an artificial reality that enables them to embark on building a new one. Thus, the environment in Matrix does simply serve as background it corresponds to the essence of human beings, as semi-gods. Just as Holy Spirit used to fly over the planet, before the act of creation, Neo and his friends fly over the uninhibited Earth in their flying ship, which has a striking resemblance with spermatozoid. Therefore, we can say that incorporation of environment into the very essence of movies plot was necessary for Matrix message to be accepted by viewers on subconscious level. (5) The movie Blade Runner presents us with different vision of the future, which nevertheless, does not make it less dystopian. In it, producers provide us with the glimpse of the world where ideals of Globalization have been realized to their full extent.
Even though the action takes place in Los Angeles in 2019, citys streets look as if film was being shot in Asia the garbage being dumped freely onto the street, Chinese language being predominant in urbanized areas, multicultural gangs that celebrate diversity with throwing Molotov cocktails at the windows of white. Although movies settings might have appeared to people as being little unrealistic, at the time it was produced, watching Blade Runner today is rarely associated with genre of sci-fi, because of current socio-political realities. The promotion of multiculturalism has already created a situation when native-born Americans often feel strangers in their own country. The ongoing mongrel ization of American society resulted in situation when every large city in U. S. now has areas where White people do not risk setting their foot, especially after it gets dark.
It is often impossible to order a Big Mac at McDonalds, because workers there do not understand plain English. The city of Vancouver, for example, is being referred to as Honcouver, because Asians compose 70 % of citys population, while simply refusing to integrate into society, because they are the majority now. Blade Runner portrays America as country, where scientific progress loses its momentum, because citizens are being turned into the crowd of ultimate hedonists that are only concerned about sensual pleasures. In its turn, this causes scientific and cultural process to become stagnant. This is the reason why replicas are being hunted down they are simply incompatible with ideals of consumerism as such that are based on spiritual conservatism. The promoters of Globalization do not think that there is anything wrong with American society loosing its inner integrity, as it shown in the movie; however, they strive to suppress any attempts of empirical sciences to get out of their control.
This explains the fact why human cloning was banned in U. S. , as immoral, and why the killing of replicas in Blade Runner, promoted as moral and necessary. Thus, we can refer to Blade runner as movie that anticipated America becoming a part of Third World, before it started to happen in reality... (6) The movie Brazil has often being referred to as parody on America, at the turn of twenty first century. It portrays society where the mass hysteria over the issues of terrorism and safety became so widespread, that government enjoys citizens full support, while depriving them of their essential civil rights. Movies settings are meant to increase depressing effects, associated with viewing people being stripped of their constitutional freedoms. The sky is always cloudy and it rains a lot.
The citys outskirts are ridden with gang-related violence, which is not being viewed by officials as such that poses danger to democracy. There are police officers armed with machine guns on every street. They have the power to stop and search just about anyone who they consider suspicious. It only adds to movies claustrophobic sentiment.
Government officials ride in armored cars and the bag, which was accidentally left as the bus station, is being considered as the major threat to national security, as it is often the case in contemporary America. People are being continuously brainwashed that they will be much better off if they surrender their guns to the government, because weapons are the tools of murder. Everyone is required to carry ID and failure to comply with institutionalized insanity, on the part of citizens, is being viewed as the proof of their affiliation with terrorists. It appears that it is only the matter of very short time, before Brazil is going to be banned nationwide, because of the parallels that can be drawn between the movie and realities of modern living in America. Brazil exploits the genre of anti-utopia to achieve a dramatic effect, which is why every little detail in it, has a deep meaning. Bibliography: Dystopia. 2007.
Wikipedia. 10 Oct. 2007. web
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Research essay sample on Blade Runner Mass Hysteria
