It might be expected that as a genre, and therefore of interest to a relatively narrow band of people, structured analysis of science fiction would be slim. In fact science fiction has been thoroughly explored from almost every
conceivable direction.
Science fiction writings encompass a wide range of approaches, but generally do so in isolation – few publications reflect the sheer breadth of the genre. Science fiction has been frequently approached with a focus on one or other of its different media: books, periodicals, movies, and so on. The vast majority of this material is intended to communicate or analyse something about science fiction and science fiction ideas. This body of material has been of significant use to this study, although the ideas are not directly related to the relationship between science fiction and industrial design.
Science fiction has been explored through the avenues of cultural theory, film theory, queer theory, and feminism. These approaches use ‘readings’ – an observer-driven discussion of themes seen in the original work - as a tool to explore other ideas relating to culture. Generally, these writings have been less useful to this study.
Many publications on science fiction cinema spend some time discussing science fiction generally to establish the context for analysis. These
discussions have proved to be useful, partly as they are focussed on science fiction cinema, and partly as the discussions are generally clearly structured.
Science fiction thrives on the Internet, with thousands of special interest websites devoted to movies and television shows in particular. Much of this material is based in fan culture and is less relevant to this study. There are, however, a small number of commercial sites that reflect the breadth of contemporary science fiction better than any other resource.
The body of work about science fiction breaks down into several broad areas: • Introductions to the genre;
• Overviews (not always the same thing as an introduction); • Chronological or thematic histories;
• Science fiction media: literature, illustration, cinema, television; • Histories, or discussions of specific works or people;
• Biographies; • Fan culture;
• ‘How to’ guides (on generating your own science fiction).
The literature review looked for answers to the central study questions: 1. What is science fiction?
2. What is the role of science fiction?
In doing so, it focussed on assembling specific information that could connect science fiction and industrial design.
Biographies and fan culture generated little of direct interest to this study, and there is only passing mention of these themes.
4.2.2 Key Texts
• The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (Clute & Nicholls, 2nd edition,1999)
The second edition of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction by John Clute and Peter Nicholls is literally and figuratively the heavyweight in the field and could be considered the standard reference work on science fiction. Running to 1398 pages in paperback, The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction is an extensive catalogue of people, places, things, events, history, themes, ideas, books, films, stories, programmes, and concepts related to the genre, and the
Encyclopedia is comprehensive to the point of being almost exhaustive.
However, in the context of this study it is interesting to note that Clute and Nicholls generally consider science fiction cinema as a less important medium than literature, on the basis that cinema is a poor medium for expressing ideas. Generally, however, for a grounding in many of the ideas centred on science fiction, this publication is the first port of call and has contributed to every part of this chapter as well as Chapters 5 and 6.
• The Science Fiction Book - An Illustrated History (Rottensteiner, 1975)
Despite its age, Franz Rottensteiner’s The Science Fiction Book has been a valuable text for this study based on the breadth of material that it covers. While Clute and Nicholls describe the book as “sketchy” (Clute & Nicholls, 1999. p. 1031), it exhibits some depth in addition to the range of material that it covers. This is one of the few books to identify contributions to science fiction from parts of the globe other than America and Britain. The book is generally chronological in structure, but engages with many themes through its discussion of the development of science fiction and the ideas behind the genre. The themes and the breadth of the discussion have contributed to the understanding of the genre, as well as the themes in its development discussed in this study.
• Sci-Fi Weekly, www.scifi/sfw.com
The Sci-Fi Weekly website is a part of NBC Universal Television’s Sci-Fi Channel cable television channel based in the United States. It could be expected that the website would focus largely on science fiction on television, but it covers a wide range of media including screen (both television and cinema), books, anime1, games, sound (usually soundtracks to movies), science fiction classics from all media, and what the website describes as ‘cool stuff’ (mostly toys). The reviews are literate, scholarly, and generally more perceptive than might be expected. There are regular contributions from a number of columnists including John Clute (co-editor of the The Encyclopedia
of Science Fiction) and scientist Will McCarthy. The value of this website is in
the depth of understanding evident in much of the material, and in the snapshot that it presents of contemporary science fiction in terms of ideas, media and culture.
Science Fiction Media
• Science Fiction Film (Telotte, 2001)
Telotte’s broad approach to science fiction cinema is particularly useful in encompassing a variety of viewpoints.
The book is broken into three parts. The first discusses the nature of science fiction and science fiction film, and identifies a number of possible critical contexts within which the genre can be discussed. Telotte provides a useful model for this study, as he confirms that the same medium can be approached from a variety of directions, leaving open the possibility of ‘reading’ science fiction film from an industrial design viewpoint. Contexts that Tellote identifies include humanism, feminism, and postmodernism.
The second part of the book looks specifically at the trajectory of American science fiction film, based on a chronological / thematic analysis of the relationship between film and other science fiction media. The third part of the book looks in detail at specific films in terms of ideas identified through the discussion on science fiction film in general. This is effectively a case study approach, and has additionally been influential in providing an example for the analysis of science fiction film in terms of its production design (see Section 6.5).
• Screening Space: The American Science Fiction Film. (Sobchack, 1987)
Screening Space is seen as a standard work of film studies in the area of
science fiction, and is of value to this study for two reasons. First, this is another work that discusses what science fiction is before exploring the genre. Sobchack’s range of definitions identifies the experiential model explored in Section 4.4.2.
Secondly, Screening Space contains a chapter that is the closest thing to a discussion of science fiction cinema and design found in the literature review. ‘Chapter 2 – Images of Wonder: The Look of Science Fiction’ discusses many issues which cross over into industrial design, but it is not the intent of the author to engage with design ideas, and so any connections relevant to this study must be extrapolated from the text. Sobchack is interested in the role that the narrative creates for the object rather than how that role is created by the design of the object itself. For example, spaceships are identified as ‘hostile’, ‘neutral’, or ‘optimistic’ depending on their role in the narrative, rather than recognising the nature of the spaceship as a designed object. Sobchack also exhibits a relatively narrow focus in her writing when she generically describes ‘neutral’ spaceships (those whose function in the film is merely to get people from A to B) as having “about as little visual impact and iconic power as a
Greyhound bus.” (Sobchack, 1987. p. 71). While her intent in this phrase is
clear, Sobchack picks an unfortunate example, as at least one Greyhound bus was designed by Henry Dreyfuss and has some iconic power within a design context.
Sobchack states at one point:
…the SF film attempts to meet our expectations by using the magic of design and special effects cinematography to show us things that do not exist, things which are highly speculative, which astonish us by the very fact of their realization on the screen since they have no counterparts in the world outside the theatre. (Sobchack, 1987. p. 91)
Having got this close to design ideas, it is not within the scope of Sobchack’s work to investigate the nature of the ‘things’ themselves except in the very broadest sense. Ultimately, Screening Space provides only a glimpse of the role of design in science fiction cinema, but there are still ideas that appear in this study.
• The Aesthetics of Ambivalence: Rethinking Science Fiction Film in the Age
of Electronic (Re)Production (Landon, 1992)
Landon’s writings are one of the few examples where a strong thread of ideas can be seen that could be woven into a relationship between science fiction and industrial design. While Landon acknowledges that Sobchack influences his writing, his approach to science fiction film is quite different. Landon is clearly enthusiastic about science fiction and film, whereas Sobchack is more interested in reading science fiction film as a genre and tying it to American culture. The Aesthetics of Ambivalence is another book that needs to discuss science fiction before it can focus on cinema, and contains valuable material in this introductory section.
There are several themes in Landon’s book. One is the relationship between science fiction literature and film: he identifies a high level of antipathy to science fiction film on the part of science fiction literature, and explores why film and literature as science fiction media are so different. His other interest is in the relationship between science fiction film and cinematic special effects. Overall, Landon writes from an academic viewpoint that manages to recognise the wide variety of conceptual and pragmatic issues that impact on science fiction cinema. In this respect, The Aesthetics of Ambivalence is a key reference for this study, not only in subject but as a model that shows how different ideas and concepts can be structured, analysed and reconciled. • Alien Zone 1 (Kuhn (Ed.), 1990)
• Alien Zone 2: The Spaces of Science Fiction Cinema (Kuhn (Ed.), 1999)
These books are focussed on science fiction cinema, but are works of cultural theory, and (as noted in Section 4.2.1) read science fiction films from a specific critical context, constructing arguments within this context using material from films as examples. The Alien Zone books are collections of essays. The most interesting single chapter is by Scott Bukatman in Alien Zone 2: ‘The artificial
infinite: on special effects and the Sublime. This particular aspect is explored
• Unearthly Visions: Approaches to Science Fiction and Fantasy Art.
(Westfahl, Slusser & Plummer (Eds.) 2002)
Unearthly Visions is a collection of essays about science fiction and fantasy art
and illustration. While it is curious to see a publication that focuses on illustration without containing a single image, the Introduction by co-editor Slusser and the three subsequent chapters contain ideas useful to both the history of science fiction and the imagery it employs. Westfahl’s alternative approach to the history of science fiction, based on the role of science fiction illustration and the relationship between illustration and narratives, is particularly useful. The influence of this approach is evident in this study. Plummer identifies what she sees as a cause and effect relationship between science fiction cinema and illustration and the Moderne architectural style. A third chapter on the aircraft termed the ‘flying wing’ (a favourite of both science fiction and industrial design) by Howard Hendrix contains insights on
streamlining and science fiction narratives. Many of these ideas appear in this chapter.