How many times have you seen the above two phrases used in SF films and TV series? How incredible that it gives unlimited speed and a massive arsenal as if the technology has been holding back until now to zap the opposition out of existence.

Hello everyone

How many times have you seen the above two phrases used in SF films and TV series? How incredible that it gives unlimited speed and a massive arsenal as if the technology has been holding back until now to zap the opposition out of existence. All right, there might be some safety perimeters involved here but being squashed flat to get somewhere quickly is hardly going to ensure a safe arrival. The same applies when the order is given to blast an enemy out of existence. You don’t hear the empty trigger or vacant button presses when there is nothing else to give let alone the murmurs of, ‘Oh shit! We have nothing left to give.’ Well, outside of ‘Aliens’ film perhaps.



If anything it is a mindless gallantry that could equally be given by the opposition who thinks you’re its enemy. Its only superior firing power that wins and the goodies win because it says so in script. You don’t see them giving their all in the first skirmish. Maybe they ran out of ammo? But giving it everything you’ve got is more the response of a child than an adult knowing the capabilities of what is being asked to do in battle or rushing to emergency. Just making the villains nasty enough that you want to exterminate them all can, on reflection, make us no better than them. Ending a battle is one thing but to do so in a similar manner should make us question whether we are any better than our opponents.

The real question then is this really Science Fiction or merely westerns taken into space or wherever the chosen territory is? Does it instil that superior force will always win and give a false sense of security or is it that humans should always be on the winning side? It would be worth reminding everyone that in a confrontation with alien weaponry that we aren’t even likely to come out second best in such situations if it happened in real life. Mind you, it might keep gullible aliens away fearful what these deadly humans will do to them irrespective of the self-sacrifice in such situations. If they were to be peaceful, we might also lose out in making some allies. I can see the warning beacons beyond the Oort Cloud already.

I think what film and TV makers tend to forget about Science Fiction is that it’s a thinking game. It opens up other possibilities and choices as to what can be done not merely anything is possible and then zapping everything in opposition. They also tend to forget we have brains let alone intelligence to come up with alternative solutions. Granted the enemy might not be much smarter than us or even have annihilation on their minds but it makes little sense to go down to their level if they have. A demonstration of smartness is involved and that is something that is being lost in our media which is worrying.

Do we really want Science Fiction just to be all adventure and no thoughtfulness? Do we really want it to be brought down to the level of a computer game? Not that I have anything against computer games, I play the odd one myself, but the difference between digital and real life is the number of options we have open to choose from. Science Fiction is all about a variety of solutions to problems. To not have that loses what is essential to Science Fiction. If the solution used comes out of the left field with a good logic so much the better.

With fictional space opera such things are expected but it’s so easy to let that creep into other forms of Science Fiction. There is definitely a need to show that we are better than mindless shooting with unlimited resources. Space opera, like the recent ‘Star Trek’ film, needs to raise its own level than destruction with a smirk.

The real problem is a lot of film directors and show-runners think that Science Fiction is the media where everything is possible and to avoid technobabble. ‘Giving it everything you’ve got’ seems a reasonable alternative thing to say than, ‘Raise the gain on the nuclear cannon and let’s take them and ourselves to hell’, which is just a different wording. It forgoes tact and diplomacy as tools or any other solution come to that. It stops other means being used because humans get so used to seeing something destroyed when it stands in their way that they don’t see other alternatives. All it shows is just how xenophobic Man really is.

Thing is, though, it isn’t the amount of speed or fire-power that is the issue but the available solutions that could be used. In many respects, Science Fiction is like any genre, there is a need to show a loaded gun or the means of solution before it’s actually used. The problem is to use the solution in a unique way that might surprise the viewer showing some thought has been given and the director or scriptwriters didn’t take you to be a fool to accept whatever is dished out cos it has fancy special effects that you’d be bowled over with. That is what makes Science Fiction exciting, not firepower or speed. To bring it down to a child’s game across the genre is going to make it harder to sell a, shall we call it, serious Science Fiction story that has something to say metaphorically about our reality.

If it’s just seen as adventure with fancy weaponry and spaceships then we are turning into something that our critics have always regarded SF as, ie frivolous poor pulp fiction. We need to show by our own accounting for taste that SF in all its forms is still capable of more and demand as much from what we watch or read.

Of course, not all SF or its writers is going to be capable of this but there must always be room to show we can still stretch our imaginations. That it’s not just about decorative settings and mindless blasting. There is always a need to re-affirm that if you want to have a serious think or discussion about a subject then SF is the best genre to go to not because it has serious mass destruction of enemies.

Thank you, take care, good night and be careful how much speed you give it.

Geoff Willmetts

editor: SFCrowsnest.org

A Zen thought:I have a different solution.

Don’t forget, I’m always on the lookout for reviewers, articles and stories and after some recent changes, let’s see if the full details about that appears below.

Another real Zen thought but this time for potential writers: If you can express an opinion independently of others and aren’t likely to bend to the masses then you might show potential as a writer.