“Respect for Wildlife” SCI-FI: storytelling that portrays Wildlife as a direct Mirror for Human Morality, exploring themes like Empathy, Co-Existence and Anti-Exploitation. It may focus on genetically engineered or highly valuable Creatures — to expose the Cruelty of Capitalist Greed and champion Animal Rights. Access to “Wildlife Consciousness” can also serve as an Environmental Wake-up Call.
Silent Running — (1972)
Silent Running is an American SCI-FI film, directed by Douglas Trumbull, (visual effects pioneer for 2001: A Space Odyssey, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Star Trek: The Motion Picture) starring Bruce Dern, Cliff Potts, Ron Rifkin and Jesse Vint.
Storyline
In the future, all forests on Earth have become extinct from careless environmental exploitation. As many specimens as possible have been preserved in a series of enormous greenhouse-like geodesic domes serving as closed ecological systems attached to large cargo spaceships, forming part of a fleet of eight “American Airlines Space Freighters”, stationed outside the orbit of Saturn.
Freeman Lowell, (Dern) one of four crewmen, is the resident botanist and ecologist on one of these ships, the Valley Forge. He carefully maintains a variety of plants for their eventual return to Earth and the reforestation of the planet. He spends most of his time in the domes, cultivating the crops and attending to the animal life.
The crew of each ship receives orders to jettison and destroy their domes and return the freighters to commercial service. After four of the six Valley Forge domes are jettisoned and destroyed with nuclear charges, Lowell rebels and opts to save his ship’s plants and animals. He kills John Wolf, one of his crewmates who arrives to plant explosives in his favorite dome, and his right leg is seriously injured in the process. He then jettisons and triggers the destruction of the other remaining dome to trap and kill the remaining two crewmen.
Enlisting the aid of the ship’s three service robots, Lowell stages a fake premature explosion as a ruse and sends the Valley Forge speeding toward Saturn in an attempt to hijack the ship and flee with the last forest dome. He then reprograms the drones to perform surgery on his leg and sets the Valley Forge on a risky course through Saturn’s rings. Later, as the ship endures the rough passage, Drone 3 is lost, but the ship and its remaining dome emerge relatively undamaged on the other side of the rings. Lowell gives the surviving drones the names Dewey (Drone 1) and Huey (Drone 2), while the lost Drone 3 is named Louie (a nod to Disney characters).
Lowell, Huey, and Dewey set out into deep space to maintain the forest. Lowell reprograms Huey and Dewey to plant trees and play poker. He also has them bury Wolf in the bio-dome. Lowell begins speaking to them constantly, as if they are children.
Huey is damaged when Lowell accidentally collides with him while driving a buggy recklessly, and Dewey sentimentally refuses to leave Huey’s side during the repairs. As time passes, Lowell is horrified when he discovers that his bio-dome is dying, but is unable to come up with a solution to the problem. When the Berkshire—another space freighter waiting to see if the Valley Forge has survived the trip around Saturn—eventually reestablishes contact, he knows that his crimes will soon be discovered. It is then that he realizes a lack of light has restricted plant growth, and he races to install lamps to correct this situation. In an effort to save the last forest before the Berkshire arrives, Lowell jettisons the bio-dome to safety. He then detonates nuclear charges, destroying the Valley Forge, the damaged Huey, and himself in the process.
The final scene is of the now well-lit forest greenhouse drifting into deep space, with Dewey tenderly caring for it, holding Lowell’s battered old watering can.
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home — (1986)
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is an American SCI-FI film, (fourth installment in the film franchise based on the TV series Star Trek.) Directed by Leonard Nimoy, starring cast from the series with Catherine Hicks.
Storyline
In 2286, an enormous cylindrical probe moves through space, sending out an indecipherable signal and disabling the power of every ship it passes. As it takes up orbit around Earth, its signal disables the global power grid and generates planetary storms, creating catastrophic, sun-blocking cloud cover. Starfleet Command sends out a planetary distress call and warns all space-faring vessels not to approach Earth.
On the planet Vulcan, the former officers of the late USS Enterprise are living in exile. Accompanied by the Vulcan Spock, still recovering from his resurrection,[a] the crew take their captured Klingon Bird of Prey and return to Earth to face trial for their actions. Receiving Starfleet’s warning, Spock determines that the probe’s signal matches the song of extinct humpback whales and that the object will continue to wreak havoc until its call is answered. The crew uses their ship to travel back in time via a slingshot maneuver around the Sun, planning to return with a whale to answer the Alien signal.
Arriving in 1986, the crew finds their ship’s power drained by the time travel maneuver. Hiding the ship in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park using its cloaking device, the crew split up to accomplish several tasks: Admiral James T. Kirk and Spock attempt to locate humpback whales, while Montgomery Scott, Leonard McCoy, and Hikaru Sulu construct a tank to hold the whales they need for a return to the 23rd century. Uhura and Pavel Chekov are tasked to find a nuclear reactor, whose energy leakage can be collected and used to regenerate the decaying dilithium crystals.
Kirk and Spock discover a pair of humpback whales in the care of Dr. Gillian Taylor (Hicks) at a Sausalito aquarium and learn they will soon be released into the wild. Kirk tells her of his mission and asks for the tracking frequency for the whales, but she refuses to cooperate. Meanwhile, Scott and McCoy trade the formula of transparent aluminum for the materials needed for the whale tank. At the same time, Sulu secures the use of a “Huey” helicopter to transport them. Uhura and Chekov locate a nuclear-powered ship, the aircraft carrier Enterprise. They collect the power they need but are discovered on board. Uhura is beamed out, but Chekov is captured, interrogated (under the assumption he is a Soviet spy), and subsequently severely injured in an escape attempt.
Gillian learns the whales have been released early and goes to Kirk for assistance. Gillian, Kirk, and McCoy rescue Chekov from a nearby hospital and return to the now-recharged Bird of Prey. After saving the whales from whalers and transporting them aboard, the crew returns with Gillian to their own time. On approaching Earth, the ship loses power due to the Alien probe and crash-lands into the waters of San Francisco Bay. Once released from near-drowning, the whales respond to the probe’s signal, causing the object to reverse its effects on Earth and return to the depths of space.
Later, the Enterprise crew stand judgment before the Federation Council, which acknowledges the crew’s part in saving the planet, and drops all pending charges except the one against Kirk, for disobeying a superior officer. Kirk is demoted to the rank of captain, but as a furtive reward for his heroics, he is returned to the command of a starship. Kirk and Gillian part ways, as she has been assigned to a science vessel by Starfleet. Spock’s father Sarek finally accepts his son’s earlier choice to enter Starfleet, further mending their broken relationship. The crew discovers they have been awarded the newly christened USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A) and leaves on a shakedown mission.
Powder — (1995)
Powder is an American SCI-FI Fantasy film, starring Mary Steenburgen, Sean Patrick Flanery, Lance Henriksen, and Jeff Goldblum.
Storyline
Jeremy “Powder” Reed (Flanery) is a young albino man who has incredible intellect and is able to sense the thoughts of the people around him. Jeremy’s brain possesses a powerful electromagnetic charge, which causes electrical objects to function abnormally when he is around them, particularly when he becomes emotional. The electromagnetic charge also prevents hair from growing on his body.
Jeremy’s mother was struck by lightning while pregnant with him; she died shortly after the strike, but Jeremy survived. His father disowned him shortly after his premature birth, and he was raised by his grandparents. Jeremy lived in the basement and worked on their farm, never leaving their property and learning everything he knew from books. He is taken from his home when his grandfather is found dead of natural causes. Jessie Caldwell, a child services psychologist, takes him to a boys’ home because he is now effectively a ward of the state.
Jessie enrolls him in high school, where Jeremy meets physics teacher Donald Ripley (Goldblum). Donald finds out that Jeremy has supernatural powers as well as the highest IQ in history. While his abilities mark him as special, they also make him an outcast.
On a hunting trip with his schoolmates, Jeremy is threatened with a gun by John Box, an aggressive student who views him as a freak. Before John can fire, a gun goes off in the distance, and everyone rushes to see that Harley Duncan, a Sheriff’s deputy, has shot a doe. Anguished by the animal’s impending death, Jeremy touches both the deer and Harley at the same time, inducing in Harley what the students assume is a seizure. Harley later admits that Jeremy had actually caused him to feel the pain and fear of the dying deer. Because of the experience, Harley removes all of his guns from his house, although Sheriff Doug Barnum (Henrikson) allows him to remain as a sheriff’s deputy without a sidearm.
Doug enlists Jeremy to help speak to his dying wife through telepathy. Through Jeremy, the sheriff learns that his wife clings onto life because she did not want to die while not wearing her wedding ring and without him reconciling with his estranged son, Steven. She tells him that Steven found the ring and that it has been sitting in a silver box on her nightstand the entire time. Doug then places the ring on his wife’s finger and reconciles with Steven, letting his wife die peacefully.
Jeremy meets Lindsey Kelloway, a romantic interest, but their relationship is broken by Lindsey’s father. Before the interruption, he tells Lindsey that he can see the truth about people: that they are scared and feel disconnected from the rest of the world but in truth are all connected to everything that exists.
Jeremy goes back to the juvenile facility and packs away his belongings, planning to run away to his farm. He pauses in the gym to stare at a male student washing, noticing the latter’s luxurious head of hair as well as body hair which he himself lacks, and is caught at it by John Box, who accuses him of homosexuality. John steals Jeremy’s hat and taunts him, but Jeremy reveals that John’s words mimic what his stepfather said before beating him when he was 12, infuriating him. John and the other boys humiliate Jeremy, stripping him naked and taunting him. His powers begin to manifest by pulling at their metal buttons and any piercings. Eventually, a large spherical electromagnetic pulse erupts throwing Jeremy into a mud puddle and everyone else to the ground. John is found still, with his heart stopped. Jeremy uses an electric shock to revive him.
Jeremy returns to the farm where he grew up, now in procession of probate with the bank, and finds that all of his possessions have been removed. He is joined by Jessie, Donald, and Doug, who urge him to come with them to find a place where he will not be feared and misunderstood. Instead, he runs into a field where a lightning bolt strikes him, and he disappears in a blinding flash of light. The electrical jolt hits Jessie, Donald, Doug, and Harley.
Okja — (2007)
Okja is a Korean-American SCI-FI action-adventure film starring an ensemble cast headed by child actor Ahn Seo-hyun in her film debut, along with Byun Hee-bong, Yoon Je-moon, Choi Woo-shik, Tilda Swinton (in a dual role), Paul Dano, Steven Yeun, Lily Collins, Shirley Henderson, Daniel Henshall, Devon Bostick, Giancarlo Esposito, and Jake Gyllenhaal.
Storyline
In 2007, Lucy Mirando, pretending to be a environmentalist, becomes CEO of the Mirando Corporation, succeeding her twin sister Nancy. Announcing they have been breeding a special kind of “super pig”, 26 specimens are sent to farmers around the world. 10 years later, one of them will be awarded the title of best super pig.
In 2017, a teenage girl named Mija lives in the South Korean mountains with her grandfather and their super pig Okja. Mija and Okja have a very close relationship as they spend much of their time together. At one point, Okja saves Mija from falling off a cliff. They are visited by Mirando spokesperson and zoologist Dr. Johnny Wilcox, who declares Okja the best super pig, and announces that they will take her to New York City. Her grandfather gives Mija a solid gold pig figurine, explaining he saved up to replace Okja when she was taken away. Devastated, Mija goes to Seoul to find Okja, where she sees her being loaded onto a truck. Mija chases down the truck, but it is intercepted by the Animal Liberation Front.
In the resulting chaos, Mija and Okja run away and are eventually saved by the ALF led by Jay. The truck driver Kim Woo-shik resigns from his job. Jay asks another ALF member K to translate and tell Mija that they plan to put a recording device in Okja’s ear and let her be recaptured by the Mirando Corporation to document how they mistreat animals. Mija asks them to return her to the mountains, but K purposely mistranslates and tells them Mija agrees. They leave and Okja is recaptured.
To minimize PR damage to the company, Lucy pays for Mija to come to New York to stage a heart-warming reunion with her pig. Okja is taken to a laboratory where she is forcibly bred with another super pig and flesh is taken from her for a taste test. After the ALF sees the footage, K reveals that he lied to the rest of the group about Mija’s support of the plan. Jay beats up K and expels him from the ALF while promising to return his equipment when they are done with it.
In New York, Mija has to comply with the Mirando Corp. Jay slips into her room and tells her they plan to rescue Okja while on stage. During the Mirando parade, a battered and temporarily blinded Okja attacks Mija. Jay tries to hurt Okja to protect the girl, but Mija doesn’t let him and calms Okja down. The ALF shows Okja’s mistreatment to the public, who quickly turn against Mirando. Lucy surrenders Mirando back to Nancy who contacts the private security firm Black Chalk to take out the ALF members. Okja is recaptured and the ALF members are arrested except for Mija and Jay who are rescued by a remorseful K. Nancy starts full production at the slaughterhouse.
K, Mija, and Jay travel to a processing plant in search of Okja and find her being forced up a ramp into a slaughterhouse. On the verge of being slaughtered, Mija shows a Mirando employee a photo of herself with baby Okja, prompting him to stop. Nancy arrives and Mija offers the gold pig in exchange for Okja’s life. Although initially reluctant, Nancy agrees as she deemed it a good business deal, having Jay and K arrested by Black Chalk. As Mija and Okja are escorted away, a pair of super pigs push their newborn through the electric fence to Okja to hide and rescue from the farm.
Back in the countryside, Mija resumes her life with her grandfather, Okja, and the new piglet. She then joins her grandfather for dinner as Okja looks on.
Avatar — (2009)
Avatar is an epic SCI-FI film written and directed by James Cameron, with an ensemble cast including Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, and Sigourney Weaver. It is the first installment in the Avatar film series.
Storyline
In 2154, Earth suffers from resource exhaustion and ecological collapse. The Resources Development Administration (RDA) mines the valuable mineral unobtanium on Pandora, a lush habitable moon in the Alpha Centauri star system. Pandora is inhabited by the Na’vi, a 10-foot-tall (3.0 m), blue-skinned, sapient humanoid species that live in harmony with nature.
To explore Pandora, human scientists control Na’vi-human hybrid bodies called “avatars”. Each avatar is genetically matched with a human operator. Jake Sully, a paraplegic veteran of the United States Marines, is recruited as an operator after the death of his identical twin, who was training as an operator. The head of the Avatar Program, Dr. Grace Augustine, allows Jake to take the place of his twin, but considers him inadequate.
While Jake, Grace and Dr. Norm Spellman are in their avatars in the forest, Jake is attacked by wild animals. He flees deep into the wilderness, where he is rescued by a female Na’vi named Neytiri. Suspicious of Jake, she takes him to her clan, the Omaticaya. Mo’at, the clan’s spiritual leader and the mother of Neytiri, orders her daughter to initiate Jake into their society.
Colonel Miles Quaritch, head of the RDA’s security force, promises Jake that the company will restore the use of his legs if he provides information about the Na’vi and their gathering place, the giant Hometree, which sits atop a rich deposit of unobtanium. Jake and Neytiri fall in love as Jake is initiated into the clan, and they choose each other as mates. When Jake attempts to disable a bulldozer threatening a sacred Na’vi site, RDA administrator Parker Selfridge orders the destruction of Hometree.
Grace explains to Selfridge that destroying Hometree would damage the biological neural network that connects all Pandoran life, which prompts Selfridge to reluctantly give Jake and Grace one hour to convince the Na’vi to evacuate. Jake confesses to the Na’vi that he was a spy for the RDA, which prompts the clan to take him and Grace captive. Quaritch’s soldiers destroy Hometree and kill many Na’vi, including Eytukan, who is the clan chief and Neytiri’s father. Mo’at frees Jake and Grace, but they are detached from their avatars and imprisoned by Quaritch’s forces. Trudy Chacón, a pilot who is disgusted by Quaritch’s brutality, rescues Jake, Grace, and Norm. During the escape, Grace is shot and fatally wounded.
Jake regains the trust of the Na’vi by connecting his mind to the Toruk, a dragon-like creature feared and revered by the clan. Supported by Neytiri and the new chief Tsu’tey, Jake unites the Omaticaya, and tells them to gather other Na’vi clans to fight the RDA as it prepares to assault the Tree of Souls. Before the battle, Jake prays to the Na’vi mother goddess Eywa through a neural connection with the Tree of Souls.
The Na’vi and their human allies lose many fighters during the battle, including Tsu’tey and Trudy. The tide turns when wild animals unexpectedly join the fight and overwhelm the RDA forces; Neytiri interprets this occurrence as Eywa answering Jake’s prayer. Quaritch, in an Amplified Mobility Platform suit, breaks open the avatar link unit containing Jake’s human body, exposing it to Pandora’s poisonous atmosphere. As Quaritch prepares to kill Jake, he is slain by Neytiri; she then saves Jake from suffocation.
In the aftermath of the war, the RDA is expelled from Pandora. Some humans are allowed to remain, including Jake and Norm. With the help of the Tree of Souls, Neytiri, and Mo’at, Jake is permanently transferred into his avatar.
“Respect for Wildlife” SCI-FI tells Wildlife stories that directly Mirror the dark side of Human Morality, exploring themes like Empathy, Co-Existence and Anti-Exploitation — to expose the Cruelty of Capitalist Greed … and fight for Animal Rights.
We share the Earth with so many amazing and beautiful Creatures — who have every right to live here in peace and harmony. It’s time for us to stop and realize that we are only tenants of this World. WE DO NOT OWN IT.
If we hope to survive, it’s time for us to adapt … to their way of Life.
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