The summer of 2013 I was privileged to attend a Writer's Workshop in Wayne County. The Guest of Honor was the famed award-winning science fiction writer, Jack McDevitt. One of the panel discussions was about the future of science fiction, and he talked about how we were currently dominated by bleak, dystopian views of the future, and the new trend may be a more optimistic, problem-solving storytelling. I agreed that to speak in a different voice might help your work stand out in the marketplace. Now that I've finally finished two novels, the next thing I would like to do are short stories that reflect a more hopeful outlook, and maybe fulfill my lifelong ambition of getting published in a science fiction pulp magazine.
Since that time, we have had a few movies that have shown signs of bucking the dystopian avalanche. Tomorrowland was a movie from earlier in the year, that offered a more optimistic outlook, and it was one Benjamin and I had great fun at. It inspired my budding young scientist son, and showed how science could work to our benefit, that bleakness was not something to be given into.
And now we have the movie The Martian, which shows one man, alone, facing a series of insurmountable challenges, and using science to conquer each obstacle as it comes up. It kind of moves like a MacGyver in Space. It has an A-list cast, all performing at the top of their craft, state of the art cinematography and effects, and a compelling story. Oscars are hard to predict, but I wouldn't be surprised if it isn't at least nominated.
Is the science in it accurate? I don't know. It at least seems plausible to a lay person like myself. Some of the maneuvers at the end seem a bit of a stretch, but I'm a good moviegoer. I went with it.
I would've preferred to see more interaction with Mars. Mars presented more of a survival challenge than an exploratory opportunity. A little running water, as they have recently found on Mars, would have been nice. A little life, maybe, even if just microbes. I guess finding Friday was too much to hope for.
Friday, you ask?
Yes, Friday!
The movie reminded me of an earlier classic from the sixties, Robinson Crusoe on Mars. There again was one man alone, trying to survive on Mars, facing challenges. Of course, he also found an atmosphere, a space monkey, and Friday, the native friend (just like in the Dafoe book).
But look! The seal on the poster certifies that....THIS FILM IS SCIENTIFICALLY AUTHENTIC!!!
I don't know if that says more about Hollywood hyperbole, or our state of scientific knowledge about Mars at that time.
Anyways, regardless, I do have to admit, that I missed seeing Friday in The Martian.
The same weekend I saw The Martian, I also saw a DVRed recording of Snowpiercer. an example of a dystopian movie that was done in 2014.
In this movie, science is not your friend. Science, and mankind's abuse of it, led to accelerating global warming. Science led to a solution, seeding the atmosphere with an agent that was supposed to cool the Earth, that worked all too well, plunging the entire planet into a brutal ice age. The only survivors were on board a constantly moving train.
The train was organized so that the poorest citizens were kept in the back, and the farther upfront you were, the greater you were in social class and power. The movie centers around a revolt of the back passengers to try to take over and reorganize the train in a more egalitarian fashion.
This sounds implausible, but the movie actually does a good job of explaining it and making it seem plausible. The action is swift and violent, and it's overall outlook bleak. Science is being used to control the train, and the humans in the train, particularly the ones in charge, are trying to organize the populace to serve the science and to keep the train moving. In order for those in the back to assert themselves, they must destroy the science instead of MacGyver it.
The movie ends where The Martian begins, with the survivors of the train now trying to figure out how to operate in an hostile climate and environment.
This movie, like The Martian, has an A-list cast, great effects, and a compelling story. Both received positive critical reviews in the mid-90s percent range.
So which one did I like better?
God help me, I liked Snowpiercer better. Yes, I agree with Jack McDevitt that the next wave of science fiction will be more optimistic, and I hope to capture that and write some stories in that vein. Yes, I can see the positive effects these films have on my young scientist son, Benjamin. But I grew up on 1984, Animal Farm and Brave New World. I thrilled to The Omega Man, Soylent Green, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Escape From New York and Dr. Strangelove.
I know there are too many of these films and books right now, particularly in the Young Adult category. I am trying to be more choosy about them. But, ultimately, I can't help myself.
There's nothing wrong with "I just fixed the generator with hairspray and a hang nail" , but often I prefer the cold chill of "Be careful. This is your warning. You could be next."
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