It was at 4.29pm on October 21st, that Doc and Marty McFly travelled from 1985 to meet us all in 2015. Back to the Future II stunned audiences upon its release in 1989 and now, over 25 years later, its predictions have fared far more accurate than what might have been expected. Self-tying shoes, hoverboards, and an orange-tinted man with bad hair running for political office are just some of the things foreshadowed in Back to the Future II that have found their way into reality. And although a Spider Man 19 is by far more likely than Jaws 19, the insight that classic science fiction films give us into the future is certainly one of growing relevance.
Science fiction ideas were brought from paper to the screen visually since the dawn of the film industry. It seems future societies have always fascinated us. While it’s impossible to watch and discuss every single one of these futuristic cinematic journeys, this April the Irish Film Institute (IFI) is giving us the chance to explore some of the very best of science fiction. In partnership with the Science Gallery, IFI brings us Futures Past, a season of classic science fiction films paired with scientific discussion, running from April 6th to 27th. Covering a variety of themes from eugenics to climate change, space travel to nanotechnology, Futures Past pairs age-old science fiction with real modern advances, providing expert scientific opinion on how cult classics imagined our futures today.
From its conception, writers have used science fiction as a means of social commentary, examining our own societies.The often-apocalyptic dystopias imagined by science fiction explore far more than the brave new worlds they envisage. Contemporary anxieties surrounding the social, political and geographical status of today’s societies find an eerie resonance in the IFI’s April offerings. The threat of dwindling resources, expanding populations, climate change, ecological collapse and advancing technologies all breed an anxiety echoed across the nine films in the Futures Past showcase. Futures Past aims to explore and analyse just how accurate these cinematic visions prove to be and to reflect on if these themes still hold relevance today.
April 6th will see Futures Past start with a bang, introducing Val Guest’s The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961). Here we follow an epic drama involving international relations with an appetite for apocalypse. When the US and Soviet Union simultaneously detonate atomic bombs, the world is put on a collision course with the sun, resulting in dire climatic consequences. Oisín Coghlan of Friends of the Earth and Dr Diarmuid Torney, a lecturer in International Relations at DCU, will discuss the implications surrounding the frayed relationships between opposing states and man’s relationship to the Earth and why the planet spinning out of orbit into the sun may not be as cool as it sounds.
If you prefer your disasters on a more personal level, 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) is sure find its way into your head. Directed by Stanley Kubrick and showing in 70mm print, 2001: A Space Odyssey is often heralded as one of the greatest science fiction movies of all time. With stunning visuals, special effects and score, Kubrick takes sci-fi to new heights in his unique and often terrifying style. Expect the iconic Kubrick stare, some mind-bending concepts, monkeys and an AI that makes Glados from Portal look like an angel. With discussion that tackles space flight to deep space and wormholes from former Mars One candidate Prof Joseph Roche from Trinity’s School of Education and Prof Peter Gallagher from Trinity’s School of Physics, Kubrick’s masterpiece opens on April 8th and will run for one week. Still undecided? If you’ve ever wondered how Siri would behave on crack, then this is the film for you. If you’re confused by this description, wait till you see the film.
Our next film comes from Kubrick’s special effects creator. Douglas Trumbull dabbles in directing in the 1972 classic Silent Running (or, as I to refer to it, ‘‘Noah’s Ark in Space’). In it, Earth has become a sterile wasteland falling victim to mass industrialisation. Extinction of ecological life is all but assured bar the space freighters that orbit Saturn and house the last of Earth’s wildlife. With a discussion of how mass extinction events are dominating the media interpretation of zoology, Ella McSweeney of RTÉ’s Ear to the Ground and Prof Yvonne Buckley, Chair of Zoology at Trinity, will discuss the problems of extinction in today’s society and the importance of conservation.
Following a similar theme is Soylent Green (1973), a “dystopian sci-fi police procedural” that follows the collapse of the food supply chain as a result of industrialization and overpopulation. In the not-so-distant future of 2022, society is collapsing and survives solely on mysterious “Green” rations from the Soylent Corporation. Echoing current concerns regarding both overpopulation and the rise of Monsanto, Soylent Green tackles the population crisis science fiction has been warning of for decades. Preluded with a discussion from chef, food blogger and scientist Clare Anne O’Keefe, Soylent Green asks: “What is the secret ingredient in the ‘Green’ rations?”. The answer? Imagine trying to find the Krabby Patty Secret Formula, except with more murder and sideburns.
If Soylent Green is all about overpopulation, then Gattaca (1997) is all about controlling the population. The dangers of genetic perfection and screening are artfully demonstrated in this classic tale of “when science goes too far”. Eugenics is the order of the day in a society where your success and failure is determined at birth. Valid or invalid, useful or disposable – your genes decide. Our protagonist, Vincent, is doomed to life as an invalid citizen until he steals the genetic information of another, but when every cell you shed puts you in danger how can you possibly maintain your new identity? In a totalitarian society intent on controlling your every molecule how do you outrun your own DNA? In light of recent developments in stem cell research and genetic screening, Shaun O’Boyle, podcast producer and Science Gallery Dublin’s Research Officer, and Prof Aoife McLysaght of Trinity’s Department of Genetics will discuss the issues surrounding genetic perfection and discuss the difficult questions we face in the future.
Staying within the realm of biotechnology, Irish Times contributor Claire O’Connell and Fergal O’Brien, Deputy Director of Amber and Professor of Biomaterials in RCSI, will discuss our next film, Richard Fleischer’s Fantastic Voyage (1966), in the context of nanotechnology. Although the idea of nanotechnology would have sounded farcical in the late 1960s, it is not unusual today. We follow an “atomic-sized crack team” who have been shrunk down and injected into a scientist’s body with one objective: destroy the blood clot in 60 minutes or he dies. I like to imagine the aftermath of the scientist explaining the plan to his wife along the lines of “Honey, I had four people inside me today, but I swear it’s not how it sounds”.
The usual IFI offerings remain in place but this month, in line with Futures Past, they all take a distinct sci-fi feel. “The Bigger Picture” with Lynn Scarff, Director of Science Gallery Dublin, explores dystopian thriller Metropolis (1926) whose ground-breaking juxtaposition of workers who toil underground to the skyscraper dwelling elite echoes modern sentiment towards ideas of wealth inequalities. IFI Family brings our favorite Disney environmentalist WALL-E (2008) back to the big screen, providing entertainment for the whole family. The monthly Hangover Lounge Sunday brunch is the penultimate event in the sci-fi extravaganza showing Things to Come (1936) written by the master HG Wells himself.
Futures Past closes on April 27th with George Lucas’ debut film THX 1138 (1971) taking centre stage. Set in the 25th century, sex and emotion are outlawed in favor of an obedient and pristine society. The story follows THX 113 who is arrested for sexual perversion and drug evasion when his roommate, toying with his medication dosage, forces him to feel love for the first time. THX 1138 deals with issues ranging from what happens when you step outside societal norms to the consequences of an unfeeling, over-medicated population. Fans of shows such as Psycho-Pass will enjoy as we see the consequences of living in a society where your emotions are not your own.
It comes as no surprise that, since the beginning of the genre, science fiction writers have given us a glimpse into future happenings of life on Earth and beyond. From Back to the Future to 2001: A Space Odyssey, there are numerous examples of science fiction writing that have both foreshadowed and inspired today’s world. Futures Past gives us an opportunity to rewatch classic tales of the future from new perspectives. Politically, socially and scientifically, science fiction breeds creativity and we must ask ourselves how much technology would we have in our lives today were it not for science fiction. Is it not those who grew up watching characters on Star Trek using tablets that went on and created iPads, or those who saw VR headsets in movies that went on to create products like Google glass? We must ask ourselves: what will today’s sci-fi movies predict for our future? Climate change? Apocalypse? Sharknados?
