A diverse transformation is underway in the genre of Science Fiction — with expansive storytelling that challenges all of us to broaden our perspective. While it has always been thought-provoking, in recent years SCI-FI has come to represent a wider variety of People from unexpected Places … exploring concepts like Racism, Underdogs and Connectedness.
RACISM
Racism: the false belief that different Races possess distinct characteristics, abilities, or qualities … which make one Inferior (or Superior) to another. While the victims in a SCI-Fi story may be Mutants or Aliens or Robots, the message is the same — even when we don’t actually talk about race.
X-Men — (2000)
X-Men is an American film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The story depicts a world where an unknown proportion of people are mutants, possessing superhuman powers that make them distrusted by normal humans. It focuses on mutants Wolverine and Rogue as they are brought into a conflict between two groups with radically different approaches to bringing about the acceptance of mutant-kind. Professor Charles Xavier struggles to achieve a peaceful coexistence between mutants and humans, hoping that the gifted students of his institute will use their powers for good. Meanwhile, his old friend and super-human antagonist, Magneto, leads the the Brotherhood of Mutants, preparing for war against humanity.
UNDERDOGS
Underdog: a person with little status in society; thought to have little chance of winning a fight or contest. When we suddenly “see the world” through the eyes of someone considered insignificant (or outside our comfort zone) it appeals to our curiosity — and often generates a sense of empathy.
Slash/Back — (2022)
Slash/Back is a Canadian Inuit SCI-FI film directed by Nyla Innuksuk. Set in Pangnirtung, Nunavut, a remote community, this story follows four teenage girls who shoot and kill a strange attacking polar bear. One of them, Maika, discovers an Alien artifact that appears to drain blood from dead bodies and then occupy their Skin, attacking the girls. Unable to reach their parents at a social dance, the girls must fight back, using what they know about hunting — to drive away the energy from the Alien artifact into the sky and save their community. Later when things return to normal, Maika is asked by news reporters about what happened. Her only response: she’s a hunter.
CONNECTEDNESS
Connectedness: the realization … arrived at through Science, Philosophy and Spirituality: that everything is CONNECTED. The process of enlightenment can enable us to see beyond our immediate subjective view (that human beings, born into separate fortunes, are destined to compete against one another). If humanity hopes to survive, we must evolve … to work together, for the good of all.
SCIENCE has observed (according to its “Big Bang” theory of creation) that the entire universe and all its contents were contained within a single point of infinite density and zero volume.
PHILOSOPHY has reasoned, as far back as Parmenides (b.506 BC — a Greek philosopher who came before Socrates) that the universe is a unified whole within which all things exist.
SPIRITUALITY reveals … through Hindu texts “the unity of the mind and the world”, in the Buddhist principle of “Oneness” (on a primeval level of existence, there is no separation between ourselves and our environment) and Christianity’s “duality of the cosmos”: in Christ, God becomes man, manifested on Earth in human form, thus the two become One.
Cloud Atlas — (2012)
Cloud Atlas is an epic SCI-FI film based on the 2004 novel by David Mitchell with multiple plots occurring during six eras in time. The story jumps between eras, spanning hundreds of years, until each storyline is resolved. Writings from characters in prior storylines are found in future storylines. Characters appear to recur in each era, but change relationships to each other. Slaves or abusers often change roles, suggesting a connection between souls through the ages. Throughout the film, several people say, “Our lives are not our own. From womb to tomb, we are bound to others. Past and present. And by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future.” The main message: Every person matters, every decision has consequences.
PEOPLE IN UNEXPECTED PLACES
Diverse stories are now coming from People in unexpected Places that might not have always been part of the mainstream community. This broadens their appeal … to SCI-FI fans around the world.
Black Panther — (2018)
Black Panther is an American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. In the story, T’Challa is crowned king of the reclusive, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda following his father’s death. He is challenged for the throne by an old enemy named Killmonger, who plans to abandon the country’s isolationist policies and begin a global revolution. This puts the fate of Wakanda and the entire world at risk. Faced with treachery and danger, the young king must rally his allies and release the full power of Black Panther to defeat his foes and secure the safety of his people and their way of life.
3 Body Problem — (2024)
3 Body Problem is an American SCI-FI TV series based on the Hugo Award–winning Chinese novel by Liu Cixin. In the story, Ye Wenjie is an astrophysicist who sees her father beaten to death during a struggle session in the Chinese Cultural Revolution. She is conscripted by the military because of her scientific background and is sent to a secret military base in a remote region. Her decision at the base to respond to contact from an Alien planet has implications for a group of scientists in the present day, forcing them to face humanity’s greatest threat.
Thus we have entered, through Expansive SCI-FI, a more inclusive era of storytelling. The time has come for all of us to broaden our perspective — to explore thought-provoking ideas from a wider variety of People in unexpected Places. Why? Because all Life on Earth — and everywhere in the Universe — is CONNECTED.
From every point of view that matters … Scientifically, Philosophically, and Spiritually speaking, we are all part of the same reality.
In other words … we are ONE.
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