List of science fiction themes
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
(Difference between revisions)
| Revision as of 08:59, 23 April 2010 Jahsonic (Talk | contribs) ← Previous diff |
Current revision Jahsonic (Talk | contribs) |
||
| Line 5: | Line 5: | ||
| {{Template}} | {{Template}} | ||
| - | :See ''[[Science fiction film]]'' | + | [[Science fiction]] has a number of common concepts and themes that have been reused by numerous [[List_of_science_fiction_authors|authors]]. Some have become cliches, and only truly novel treatments of them gain attention, whilst others have become "part of the furniture", ie they can be included in a story without much explanation, because readers are all already familiar with the core concept. |
| - | '''Science fiction''' is a broad genre of [[fiction]] that often involves [[speculation]]s based on current [[science]] or [[technology]]. It is commonly abbreviated as '''SF''' or '''sci-fi'''. Science fiction is found in books, art, television, movies, games, theater, and other media. | + | The following is a list of recurring themes in [[science fiction]]. |
| + | |||
| + | ==Overarching themes== | ||
| + | *[[Cosmology]] | ||
| + | *[[Creation myth|Creation of the Universe]] | ||
| + | *The [[future]] | ||
| + | *[[History]] | ||
| + | **[[Alternate history (fiction)|Alternate history]] | ||
| + | **[[Social cycle theory|Historical cycles]]: history repeating itself (either on long or short scales) | ||
| + | **Scientific [[prediction]] of the future (e.g. [[Psychohistory (fictional)|psychohistory]]) | ||
| + | **[[Secret history]] | ||
| + | *[[Language]] | ||
| + | **[[Alien language]]s (e.g. [[Klingon language|Klingon]], [[Hutt (Star Wars)|Hutt]]ese) | ||
| + | **[[Universal language|All humans speaking one language]] (possibly [[Esperanto]]) | ||
| + | **Current human languages evolving/splitting | ||
| + | **The [[Sapir–Whorf Hypothesis]] being strongly true (e.g. ''[[Babel 17]]'', ''[[The Languages of Pao]]'') | ||
| + | **[[Universal translator]]s (e.g. [[List of races and species in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy#Babel fish|Babel fish]]) | ||
| + | *[[Military science fiction]]: strategy, weapons, ranks, technologies | ||
| + | **[[Ray gun]]s | ||
| + | **[[Space warfare]] | ||
| + | *[[Omega Point]] | ||
| + | *[[Parallel universe (fiction)|Parallel world]]s or universes. | ||
| + | **There is a space based civilization variant of this theme. This plot device allows writers to write [[soft science fiction]] while accounting for the lack of technological advancement and thus similarity to the present day. | ||
| + | *[[Quantum suicide and immortality]] | ||
| + | *[[Religious ideas in science fiction]] | ||
| + | *[[Fantasy fiction|Sci fantasy]] | ||
| + | *[[Horror fiction|Sci horror]] | ||
| + | *[[Sex and sexuality in speculative fiction|Sex and sexuality]] (including [[gender role]]s, [[polygamy]], [[Human sexual behavior|human sexuality]] and [[Reproduction|procreation]]) | ||
| + | ** [[LGBT themes in speculative fiction|LGBT themes]] | ||
| + | ** [[Gender in speculative fiction|Gender]] | ||
| + | ** [[Reproduction and pregnancy in speculative fiction|Reproduction and pregnancy]] | ||
| + | ** Nudity | ||
| + | *[[Sociology]] and [[sociobiology]] | ||
| + | *[[Space Opera]] | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Beings== | ||
| + | *Alternative intelligences | ||
| + | **Beings of pure mentality | ||
| + | **[[Group mind (science fiction)|Hive minds]] | ||
| + | **[[Infomorph]]s—memories, characters, and consciences of persons being uploaded to a computer or storage media | ||
| + | **[[Noosphere]]—the "sphere of human thought" | ||
| + | **[[Solipsism]] & [[Solipsism syndrome]]—the idea that one's own mind is all that exists. | ||
| + | ***[[Simulated consciousness (science fiction)]] | ||
| + | *[[Artificial intelligence]] | ||
| + | **[[Android (robot)|Android]]s and [[Gynoid]]s | ||
| + | **[[Cyborg]]s | ||
| + | **[[Robot]]s and [[humanoid robot]]s: [[Robots in fiction]] | ||
| + | **[[Replicant]]s | ||
| + | **[[Simulated consciousness (science fiction)]] | ||
| + | *Characters | ||
| + | **The [[Absent-minded professor]] | ||
| + | **The [[Detective]] | ||
| + | **The Golem | ||
| + | **The Ignorant Friend | ||
| + | **[[Redshirt (character)|Redshirt]] | ||
| + | **The Robot Clone | ||
| + | **The Robot Servant | ||
| + | **The [[Scientist]] | ||
| + | ***The [[Mad Scientist]] | ||
| + | ***The Amoral Scientist | ||
| + | ***The Heroic Scientist | ||
| + | **The [[Wedge Antilles|Wedge]] | ||
| + | *[[Cloning|Clone]]s | ||
| + | *[[Dinosaurs in science fiction|Dinosaurs]] | ||
| + | *[[Extraterrestrial life]] (see [[Extraterrestrial life in culture]]) | ||
| + | **[[Alien invasion]] | ||
| + | **[[Astrobiology]] | ||
| + | **[[Benevolent aliens]] | ||
| + | **[[God-like alien]]s | ||
| + | **[[First contact (science fiction)|First contact]] | ||
| + | ***Principles of non-interference (e.g. [[Prime Directive]]) | ||
| + | ***[[Message from space (science fiction)|Message from space]] | ||
| + | *[[Living planet]]s (both sentinent and non-sentinent) | ||
| + | *[[Mutant (fictional)|Mutants]] | ||
| + | *[[Shapeshifting|Shapeshifters]] | ||
| + | *[[Superhuman]]s | ||
| + | *[[Symbiont]]s | ||
| + | *[[UFOs in fiction|UFOs]] | ||
| + | *[[Uplift (science fiction)|Uplifted animals]]—using technology to "raise" non-human animals to human evolutionary levels | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Body and mind alterations== | ||
| + | *[[Bio-implant]]s | ||
| + | **[[Body modification]], including [[genetic modification]] | ||
| + | **[[Bionics]] | ||
| + | **[[Cybernetics]] | ||
| + | *[[Intelligence amplification]] | ||
| + | *[[Invisibility]] | ||
| + | *[[Life extension]], [[Biological immortality]], Universal immortalism and [[immortality]] | ||
| + | **[[Artificial organ]]s | ||
| + | **[[Cloning]] | ||
| + | **[[Cryonics]] | ||
| + | **[[Organlegging#The organ bank problem|The Organ Bank Problem]]—a proposed problem in which the reduced death rate caused by [[organ transplant]]s would lead to a shortage of organs available for transplant | ||
| + | *Mind interfacing | ||
| + | **Memory removal/editing | ||
| + | **[[Mind control in popular culture|Mind control]] | ||
| + | **[[Mind swap]] | ||
| + | **[[Mind uploading in fiction|Mind uploading]] | ||
| + | **Two or more minds coexisting in a body | ||
| + | ***Human and alien coexisting in a body (see ''[[Tales from the Planet Earth]]'') | ||
| + | **Neural implants to directly interface with machinery | ||
| + | *[[Molecular manufacturing]] & [[Nanotechnology]] (nanomilitary, nanomaterials, nanoecology, nanomedicine, nanocomputing, nanospace, nanoenergy) | ||
| + | *[[Parapsychology|Psi powers and psychic phenomena]] | ||
| + | **[[Clairvoyance]] | ||
| + | **[[Telepathy]] | ||
| + | **[[Telekinesis]] | ||
| + | *[[Paradise engineering]] | ||
| + | *[[Resizing (fiction)|Resizing]] (size-changing, miniaturization, magnification, shrinking, and enlargement) | ||
| + | *[[Shapeshifting]] | ||
| + | *[[Teleportation]] | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Habitats== | ||
| + | *Alien [[Zoo]], a zoo where humans are kept as exhibits. | ||
| + | *[[Arcology|Arcologies]]—enormous habitats (hyperstructures) of extremely high human population density | ||
| + | *[[Domed city]] | ||
| + | *[[Endemism|Endemic]] | ||
| + | *Exploring alien habitats. | ||
| + | *[[Floating city (science fiction)|Floating City]] | ||
| + | *[[Seasteading]] & [[Ocean colonization]] | ||
| + | **[[Pirate utopia]] | ||
| + | *[[Reality Television]] | ||
| + | **An Earth-bound reality game where losing contestants are killed. | ||
| + | **The protagonist discovers their life has been one big reality television show for aliens. | ||
| + | *[[Space colonization]] | ||
| + | **[[Terraforming]] | ||
| + | **[[List of largest known stars]] & [[List of most luminous stars]] | ||
| + | *[[Underground city]] | ||
| + | *[[Walking City]] | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Political structures== | ||
| + | |||
| + | *[[First contact (science fiction)|Alien Contact]] | ||
| + | *[[Anarchism]] | ||
| + | *[[Anarcho-capitalism]] (see: [[Anarcho-capitalist literature]] and [[Libertarian science fiction]]) | ||
| + | *[[Assassination]] | ||
| + | *[[Astrosociology]] | ||
| + | **return to [[feudalism]] | ||
| + | **hive-like [[eusocial]] societies | ||
| + | **future [[caste system]]s | ||
| + | *[[Capitalism]] | ||
| + | *[[Dystopia]]s and [[utopia]]s | ||
| + | *[[Environmentalism]] | ||
| + | *[[Economics]] | ||
| + | *[[Eugenics]] | ||
| + | *[[Fascism]] | ||
| + | *[[Galactic empire]]s | ||
| + | *[[Interstellar federation of planets]] | ||
| + | *[[Legal personality]] | ||
| + | *[[Libertarianism]]''' | ||
| + | *Limited-franchise [[republic]] | ||
| + | *[[Militarism]] | ||
| + | *[[Telepathy|Mind reading]] and [[mind control]] | ||
| + | *[[National security]] state | ||
| + | *[[Nepotism]] | ||
| + | *[[Pacifism]] | ||
| + | *[[Plutocracy]] | ||
| + | *[[Proportional representation]] | ||
| + | *[[Racism]] | ||
| + | *[[Revolution]] | ||
| + | *[[Slavery]] | ||
| + | *[[Socialism]] | ||
| + | *[[Theocracy]] | ||
| + | *[[Totalitarianism]] vs. [[Libertarianism]] (see: [[Libertarian science fiction]]) | ||
| + | *[[Treason]] | ||
| + | *[[World government]] | ||
| + | *[[Zero population growth]] | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Possible futures== | ||
| + | *[[Alien invasion]]s | ||
| + | *[[Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction|Apocalypses or world wide disasters]] | ||
| + | *[[Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction|Post-apocalyptic life]]: new societies that develop after the event | ||
| + | *[[Posthumanism]] | ||
| + | *[[Race of the Future]] | ||
| + | *[[Ultimate fate of the Universe]] & [[Kardashev scale]] | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Technologies== | ||
| + | *[[Artificial gravity]] | ||
| + | *[[Artificial intelligence]] | ||
| + | *[[Astronomical engineering]] | ||
| + | *[[Self-replicating machine]]s | ||
| + | *[[Technological singularity|Singularity]] | ||
| + | *[[Star lifting]] & [[Stellar engineering]] | ||
| + | *[[Megascale engineering]] & [[Planetary engineering]] | ||
| + | *Technology | ||
| + | **Alien technology being found and used by humans. | ||
| + | **Far advanced technology for the time. | ||
| + | *[[Virtual reality]] and [[simulated reality]] | ||
| + | *[[Weapons in science fiction]] | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Travel== | ||
| + | *[[Space colonization|Colonization]] of other planets, moons, [[asteroid]]s, etc. | ||
| + | **[[Terraforming]] | ||
| + | *Moving planets | ||
| + | *[[Space exploration]] | ||
| + | **[[Interstellar travel]] | ||
| + | ***[[Faster-than-light]] travel and communications | ||
| + | ****[[Hyperspace (science fiction)|Hyperspace]] | ||
| + | ****[[Slipstream (science fiction)|Slipstream]] | ||
| + | ****[[Alcubierre drive|Warp drive]]s | ||
| + | ****[[Wormhole]]s | ||
| + | ****[[Ansible]]s | ||
| + | **Much slower than light | ||
| + | ***[[Generation ship]] | ||
| + | ***[[Sleeper ship]] | ||
| + | **Very nearly light speed | ||
| + | ***[[Bussard ramjet]]s | ||
| + | ***Ursula LeGuin's NAFAL ships, and the [[Twin paradox]] | ||
| + | **[[Space station]]s | ||
| + | *[[Teleportation]] | ||
| + | **[[Portal (fiction)|Portals]] | ||
| + | *[[Time travel]] | ||
| + | **[[Alternate history (fiction)|Alternate histories]]: time travel can be used as a plot device to explore [[Parallel universe (fiction)|parallel universes]]. While alternate history has its own category (see above), it often occurs in time travel stories as well. | ||
| + | **[[Anachronism]] | ||
| + | **The [[Grandfather paradox]]: can someone go back in time and kill his parents before they beget the killer? | ||
| + | **[[Time loop]] | ||
| + | *[[Travel to the Earth's center]] | ||
| + | |||
| - | In organizational or marketing contexts, science fiction can be synonymous with the broader definition of [[speculative fiction]], encompassing creative works incorporating imaginative elements not found in contemporary reality; this includes [[fantasy]], [[Horror fiction|horror]], and related genres. | ||
| - | == See also == | ||
| - | *[[Jules Verne]] | ||
| - | *[[H. G. Wells]] | ||
| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
| + | *[[Fictional technology]] | ||
| + | *[[List of science fiction topics]] | ||
| + | *[[Science fiction genre]] | ||
| + | *[[Protoscience]] | ||
| + | *[[Internet meme]] | ||
| + | *[[DeviantArt|DeviantART]] | ||
| + | |||
| - | * [[List of science fiction themes]] | ||
| - | * [[List of science fiction authors]] | ||
| - | * [[List of science fiction novels]] | ||
| - | * [[History of science fiction]] | ||
| - | * [[Skiffy]] | ||
| - | * [[Transhumanism]] (a [[school of thought]] profoundly inspired by SF) | ||
| {{GFDL}} | {{GFDL}} | ||
Current revision
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
Science fiction has a number of common concepts and themes that have been reused by numerous authors. Some have become cliches, and only truly novel treatments of them gain attention, whilst others have become "part of the furniture", ie they can be included in a story without much explanation, because readers are all already familiar with the core concept. The following is a list of recurring themes in science fiction.
Contents |
[edit]
Overarching themes
- Cosmology
- Creation of the Universe
- The future
- History
- Alternate history
- Historical cycles: history repeating itself (either on long or short scales)
- Scientific prediction of the future (e.g. psychohistory)
- Secret history
- Language
- Alien languages (e.g. Klingon, Huttese)
- All humans speaking one language (possibly Esperanto)
- Current human languages evolving/splitting
- The Sapir–Whorf Hypothesis being strongly true (e.g. Babel 17, The Languages of Pao)
- Universal translators (e.g. Babel fish)
- Military science fiction: strategy, weapons, ranks, technologies
- Omega Point
- Parallel worlds or universes.
- There is a space based civilization variant of this theme. This plot device allows writers to write soft science fiction while accounting for the lack of technological advancement and thus similarity to the present day.
- Quantum suicide and immortality
- Religious ideas in science fiction
- Sci fantasy
- Sci horror
- Sex and sexuality (including gender roles, polygamy, human sexuality and procreation)
- Sociology and sociobiology
- Space Opera
[edit]
Beings
- Alternative intelligences
- Beings of pure mentality
- Hive minds
- Infomorphs—memories, characters, and consciences of persons being uploaded to a computer or storage media
- Noosphere—the "sphere of human thought"
- Solipsism & Solipsism syndrome—the idea that one's own mind is all that exists.
- Artificial intelligence
- Characters
- The Absent-minded professor
- The Detective
- The Golem
- The Ignorant Friend
- Redshirt
- The Robot Clone
- The Robot Servant
- The Scientist
- The Mad Scientist
- The Amoral Scientist
- The Heroic Scientist
- The Wedge
- Clones
- Dinosaurs
- Extraterrestrial life (see Extraterrestrial life in culture)
- Alien invasion
- Astrobiology
- Benevolent aliens
- God-like aliens
- First contact
- Principles of non-interference (e.g. Prime Directive)
- Message from space
- Living planets (both sentinent and non-sentinent)
- Mutants
- Shapeshifters
- Superhumans
- Symbionts
- UFOs
- Uplifted animals—using technology to "raise" non-human animals to human evolutionary levels
[edit]
Body and mind alterations
- Bio-implants
- Body modification, including genetic modification
- Bionics
- Cybernetics
- Intelligence amplification
- Invisibility
- Life extension, Biological immortality, Universal immortalism and immortality
- Artificial organs
- Cloning
- Cryonics
- The Organ Bank Problem—a proposed problem in which the reduced death rate caused by organ transplants would lead to a shortage of organs available for transplant
- Mind interfacing
- Memory removal/editing
- Mind control
- Mind swap
- Mind uploading
- Two or more minds coexisting in a body
- Human and alien coexisting in a body (see Tales from the Planet Earth)
- Neural implants to directly interface with machinery
- Molecular manufacturing & Nanotechnology (nanomilitary, nanomaterials, nanoecology, nanomedicine, nanocomputing, nanospace, nanoenergy)
- Psi powers and psychic phenomena
- Paradise engineering
- Resizing (size-changing, miniaturization, magnification, shrinking, and enlargement)
- Shapeshifting
- Teleportation
[edit]
Habitats
- Alien Zoo, a zoo where humans are kept as exhibits.
- Arcologies—enormous habitats (hyperstructures) of extremely high human population density
- Domed city
- Endemic
- Exploring alien habitats.
- Floating City
- Seasteading & Ocean colonization
- Reality Television
- An Earth-bound reality game where losing contestants are killed.
- The protagonist discovers their life has been one big reality television show for aliens.
- Space colonization
- Underground city
- Walking City
[edit]
Political structures
- Alien Contact
- Anarchism
- Anarcho-capitalism (see: Anarcho-capitalist literature and Libertarian science fiction)
- Assassination
- Astrosociology
- return to feudalism
- hive-like eusocial societies
- future caste systems
- Capitalism
- Dystopias and utopias
- Environmentalism
- Economics
- Eugenics
- Fascism
- Galactic empires
- Interstellar federation of planets
- Legal personality
- Libertarianism
- Limited-franchise republic
- Militarism
- Mind reading and mind control
- National security state
- Nepotism
- Pacifism
- Plutocracy
- Proportional representation
- Racism
- Revolution
- Slavery
- Socialism
- Theocracy
- Totalitarianism vs. Libertarianism (see: Libertarian science fiction)
- Treason
- World government
- Zero population growth
[edit]
Possible futures
- Alien invasions
- Apocalypses or world wide disasters
- Post-apocalyptic life: new societies that develop after the event
- Posthumanism
- Race of the Future
- Ultimate fate of the Universe & Kardashev scale
[edit]
Technologies
- Artificial gravity
- Artificial intelligence
- Astronomical engineering
- Self-replicating machines
- Singularity
- Star lifting & Stellar engineering
- Megascale engineering & Planetary engineering
- Technology
- Alien technology being found and used by humans.
- Far advanced technology for the time.
- Virtual reality and simulated reality
- Weapons in science fiction
[edit]
Travel
- Colonization of other planets, moons, asteroids, etc.
- Moving planets
- Space exploration
- Interstellar travel
- Faster-than-light travel and communications
- Much slower than light
- Very nearly light speed
- Bussard ramjets
- Ursula LeGuin's NAFAL ships, and the Twin paradox
- Space stations
- Interstellar travel
- Teleportation
- Time travel
- Alternate histories: time travel can be used as a plot device to explore parallel universes. While alternate history has its own category (see above), it often occurs in time travel stories as well.
- Anachronism
- The Grandfather paradox: can someone go back in time and kill his parents before they beget the killer?
- Time loop
- Travel to the Earth's center
[edit]
See also
- Fictional technology
- List of science fiction topics
- Science fiction genre
- Protoscience
- Internet meme
- DeviantART
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "List of science fiction themes" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
