Sci Fi

Kubrick’s 1968 film “2001: A space odyssey” is arguably the most culturally and socially influential sci-fi film to date whilst William Gibson’s 1984 novel “Neuromancer” revolutionised the world of sci-fi. Both texts attacked the constraints on people’s imagination and speculation compelling them to new heights. The social contexts in which each was produced laid the foundations for the subsequent development of their astonishing and audacious foresights; the values explored in each text present prospects of core ideals from a futuristic society; the prophetic nature of both texts challenged society’s technical predictions of the future, elevating expectations; and its eccentricity instigated drastic changes in the genre conventions of sci-fi.
Kubrick”s film was produced shortly after America launched Apollo 8, the first piloted American mission to the moon. It’s most profound cultural impact is unquestionably its influence on the visualisation of space exploration and the innovative and diverse perceptions people had of it due to America’s recent achievement; it allowed people to conceive and believe that humanity will inevitably transcend the limitations of the present. The Space historian Howard McCurdy noted, “2001 established the popular image of what a space station should look like”. When Americans were asked to illustrate a space station, they almost inevitably portrayed this as a giant spinning wheel in orbit, undoubtedly based upon their exposure to 2001. Perhaps more subtly, 2001 insinuated, into the audience, the idea that the United States would continue to aggressively pursue space exploration after Apollo and would soon develop giant orbiting space stations and bases on the Moon as depicted in the film. Furthermore, the presence of the supercomputer HAL and the spinning artificial gravity station heightened the anticipations for what technology would be in the future. Kubrick”s film was able to generate an extensive impact due to society’s lack of...