Long before the release of Pixar’s animated feature WALL E, film critic Kristin Thompson wrote an article regarding the fall of science fiction and the rise of fantasy called ‘Swords Vs. Lightsabres’.
When companies are actually planning to offer space tourism to paying customers within some of our lifetimes, are fictional rocket ships as intriguing?
Days after Thompson posted her article, blogger Adam Polselli extended on Thompson’s article by stating other cultural factors which have contributed to this decline.
Science reality is at a point in which it seems fairly capable of keeping up with the imaginations of science fiction writers. Therefore, science, at least for the moment, is no longer capable of carrying a film to success.
As a result, directors and writers must emphasize the post apocalyptic and dystopic themes of their films. They cannot emphasize advances in science or technology and expect to sustain the imagination of an audience.
Given Pixar’s new animated feature WALL E depicts both a post apocalyptic New York overcome with a rubbish problem and the posterboy of scientific advancement. The robot.
But can WALL E’s irresistible charm transcend the recent decline in the science fiction film genre or does he represent further decline or a possible shift?
According to Adam Polselli, science fiction will one day rule again. But he does not see this happening until:
(1) we discover something in the scientific world, or experience a breakthrough, that renews our imaginations and interest in technology’s potential, and (2) the world we live in settles back down to a state where we actually have time to think about what good the future will bring.
Unfortunately I cannot answer the questions I’ve raised in regards to WALL E because the film has not been released in New Zealand yet. For those people who have seen the film overseas please comment on this post and let me know what you think.
And please visit Kristin Thompson’s blog and Adam Polselli’s blog because they have some brilliant opinions.
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One Comment
I have seen WALL-E three times now. Clearly, I love the film, and consider it to be a wondrous and successful sci-fi. However, it does not succeed simply on the merit of its science fiction elements alone.
First, there is also the romantic story between WALL-E and EVE, which Stanton has written and directed wonderfully. The film would not have succeeded without their story. Second, there is Pixar’s gorgeous design and animation. WALL-E is not only one of the most beautiful animated films to hit the silver screen, but also one of the most beautiful science fictions. Science fiction and animation haven’t often crossed paths, and this time that intersection was stunning: pure, visual nirvana.
Therefore, I don’t regard WALL-E as a rekindling of the sci-fi genre in film, but rather as a classic love story whose setting happens to be the distant future. I don’t know that WALL-E broke new ground for the sci-fi genre, but it definitely did the genre well with its breathtaking robotic renderings, imaginative environments, and thought-provoking dystopia.