Science fiction in human socie
Science fiction in human socie"It is often said that science fiction is the literature of change. When a culture is undergoing a lot of changes due to scientific advances and technological developments, and expects to undergo more" (Treitel 1). A large part of science fiction appeal lies in its ability to convince the audience of the believability of the world it portrays (Fuller 1). "Science fiction looks backward as much as forward and its usefulness lays not so much in predicting the actual future as in exploring our reaction to possible futures" (Marvel 2). Fantasy and other realities are sometimes included in science fiction. In American literature many writers expressed their ideas of future advances in technology, events or future events, society and future societies in imaginative stories, poems, periodicals, films, and television shows.
Television shows and movies today have depicted imaginative technological advances "that makes people hope for based on present-day science but haven't developed yet" (Treitel 2). For example, in the show "Knight Rider", Michael Knight works for a government operated business that owns a car named Kit, which has a mind of its own. Kit could drive by itself, think for itself, and talk by itself. At that time a self-driving car was just an idea but now engineers in Germany are designing a truck that can drive on its own. The truck followed the paint marks on the side and middle of the road (Ahern 1). Also Avis Rent-A-Car is equipping their cars with "yellow page" maps. If an individual gets lost, a computerized voice tells he or she which direction to go. Movies have been known to make a person think; could this really happen in the future or in future worlds? For instance, in The Matrix staring Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne, these two individuals lead the fight to free mankind from the all-powerful machines of artificial intelligence that controls everyone in a dream world. Today, many computer systems are using or testing artificial intelligence on a small scale.
Many novelists, like H.G. Wells and Wyndham, wrote pieces that try to predict the outcome of events or the future. H.G. Wells wrote many successful science fiction novels, from "The Island of Doctor Moreau" to "The Invisible Man" to "The War of the Worlds" and many, many more. "He took the ideas and fears that haunted the mind of his age and gave them symbolic expression as brilliantly conceived fantasy made credible by the quiet realism of its setting" (Nicholson 1). Wells foresaw certain developments in military use of aircrafts in "The War in the Air" and for a long period he acquired a reputation of a future prophet (Nicholson 2). "Some 'post-holocaust' stories such as Wyndham's 'The Chrysalides,' portray cultures that understand and control less of the world than we do; the scientific element consists of our...
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