What Does the Future Hold for Science Fiction?

While walking through my neighborhood today, I passed by the Church of Scientology.

And it got me thinking about aliens and science fiction, particularly about classic science fiction. I started to realize when I think of science fiction, I look to the past. Images conjured up are from older movies, TV and books. For example:

Metropolis

Blade Runner

Total Recall

Predator

Star Wars

Star Trek

The Jetsons

I probably reference these because it’s the material I grew up with or learned in school. It always impressed me what these authors and filmmakers were able to imagine and the worlds they created. Of course, some of these ideas are no longer fiction–robots, space exploration, genetic engineering and the internet to name a few. So when I consider the progress we’ve made with technology and think about science fiction over the past couple of years, I realize not too much has changed in terms of ideas and themes.

The Fifth Element

Men In Black

District 9

I Robot

Wall-E

So I wonder what new concepts our stories will bring. Or has ever-changing technology limited our imaginations? Granted, predicting the future can’t be easy, but will there come another point when life follows art? Then again, there’s still plenty of things we’re still waiting for, like consumer-grade flying cars (Though this is perhaps better left as fiction. Living in Los Angeles, it’s hard enough to get by on the ground.)

Going back to Scientology, I have been past those gates. I was interviewing someone for a research project and then subsequently put through the recruiting process. It was an unforgettable experience but one best told about in another post…