Facing Our Fears in Science Fiction Essay -- Science Fiction Films Bo

Facing Our Fears in Science Fiction The dead are walking. They lumber and limp, feet scraping against the asphalt. Suddenly, they lunge and tear down into soft, warm, vulnerable flesh with startling speed. Not far behind, oozing inside-out hellhounds growl around razor fangs, stalking with murderous intent. All because of an innocent little airborne chemical weapon†¦This can’t be happening, this would never happen, right? It may sound far fetched, and it is. These horrifying creatures grace the screen of current blockbuster hit, Resident Evil 2: Apocalypse. So you’re safe. For now. But why are these images on screen so terrifying to us? Why do we cringe and gasp and sigh with giddy relief when it’s all over? Because we’ve just been given a brush with death. One of our greatest common fears came to life, and we stared it straight in the face and lived to tell about it. And that’s why we’ll keep coming back. After all, that is how science fiction films ha ve maintained their popularity and appeal for over fifty years now – they take whatever common fears our current society possesses and reflect them back at us. Fifty years ago, computers were as yet unheard of, and the world was still a very large place. Society was not so much concerned with trouble within itself, but with assault from outside forces. According to film critic John Brosnan in Future Tense, the end of World War II sparked the beginning of the â€Å"Golden Age† of science fiction (73). The war was over, but the Communist threat was still out there, and with the unleashing of the atomic bomb fear of a full scale nuclear war bordered on paranoia. Families built bomb shelters in their backyards and schools held air raid drills for their c... ...he dead walking. We love to ask ourselves, â€Å"This can’t be happening! This would never happen! Right?† Wrong. Works Cited Brosnan, John . Future Tense. New York: St. Martin's P, Inc., 1978. Dirks, Tim. Science Fiction Films. May 1996. 02 Oct. 2004 . Glass, Fred. "Sign of the Times." Film Quarterly 38 (1984): 16-27. Menville, Douglas . A Historical and Critical survey of the Science Fiction Film. Diss. U of Southern California, 1959. New York: Arno P Inc., 1974. Senior, W.A.. "Blade Runner and Cyberpunk Visions of Humanity." Film Criticism 21 (1996): 1-12. Telotte, J.P.. "The Problem of the Real and THX 1138." Film Criticism 34 (2000): 45-57. Warwick, Kevin. "The Matrix - Our Future?" The Philosophy of the Matrix. 20 Nov.2002: 14 Oct. 2004