Science Fiction
(sample topic for Illustration Essay)
This is just an example
A topic that I am passionate about
What is science fiction?
"Science fiction is the improbable made possible."
Rod Serling
"You're gonna see all sorts of things. Ghosts from the past. Aliens from the future. The day the Earth died in a ball of flame."
"Science fiction is anything published as science fiction."
Norman Spinrad
""It's like Pornography.
You just know it when you see it."
Mark Glassy
What is science fiction?
Why is science fiction important?
Social Commentary
Politics
Social Status
Ethics and Morals
Politics
Laws and Freedoms
Individual Rights vs. Collective Rights
Personal Freedom vs. Safety
Liberty vs. Government Control
Economic Policies
Capitalism vs. Socialism
Welfare state vs. Social Darwinism
Social Status
Men's/Women's Rights
Minority Rights
Minority Rights
Sexuality
Gender
Religious Freedoms
Ethics and Morals
Justice vs. Vengeance
Treatment of non-humans
Exploration/Colonization
Exploitation/Terraforming
Technological Advancements
Extrapolating from Current Tech
Provide imaginative uses of current tech
Using current science to predict the future.
Benefits to Society
Ways to use technology for good
Possibility of exploitation
Politics
War
Using technology to control society
ENTERTAINMENT
Message
Fiction can get past censors
Audience
Fiction has a large base
Transcendence
Literature tends to last longer than nonfiction
WHY IS SCIENCE FICTION IMPORTANT?
History of Science Fiction
Proto-Science Fiction
Epic of Gilgamesh
The Ramayana
The Thousand and One Nights
Utopia
Epic of Gilgamesh
Ramayana
Early Science Fiction
Frankenstein
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
The Time Machine
The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde
Frankenstein
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The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde
The Golden Age of SciencE Fiction
A Princess of Mars
I, Robot
The Sentinel (2001: A Space Odyssey)
The Martian Chronicles
A Princess of Mars
I, Robot
Golden Age TV and Film
Metropolis
THEM!
Doctor Who
Star Trek
Metropolis
THEM
Post-Modern and Dystopian
1984
Brave New World
Fahrenheit 451
Anthem
1984
Fahrenheit 451
New Wave and Cultural Revolution
Dune
Stranger in a Strange Land
A Scanner Darkly
A Boy and His Dog
Dune
Films of the New Wave
Soylent Green
Planet of the Apes
A Clockwork Orange
Alien
A Clockwork Orange
Alien
Cyberpunk and MOdern
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Neuromancer
Akira
Red Mars
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
(Blade Runner)
Akira
Contemporary Film and TV
Stranger Things
Passengers
Black Mirror
The Walking Dead
Flash/Arrow/Legends of Tomorrow
Black Mirror
The WALking Dead
Stranger Things
HIstory of Science Fiction
How to Write the Paper
Topic and Purpose
My essay will focus
on science fiction
and why it is important.
I believe everyone should have
an appreciation for science fiction.
Hook
Science fiction is the most important
literary genre. Don't think so?
Then picture a world with portable
communicators and
more available information
than any one person
could ever hope to learn.
Oh wait! We're already there.
Thesis
So why is science fiction important?
Because without it, we might still be
walking to work, riding horses to see
family in other towns, sending info
via Pony Express, butchering our own
cows, and watching while our sons
and daughters died from easily
prevented diseases.
Putting it all together
Science fiction is the most important literary genre. Don't think so?
Then picture a world with portable communicators and more available information than any one person could ever hope to learn. Oh wait! We're already there. But now imagine that you lived in an era before telephones or automobiles, when people were still routinely bought and sold as commodities, but the stories you wrote had racial and gender equality, wall-mounted high definition televisions, routine space travel, and portable wireless communicators. You just might be Jules Verne. So why is science fiction important? Because without it, we might still be walking to work, riding horses to see family in other towns, sending info via Pony Express, butchering our own cows, and watching while our sons and daughters died from easily prevented diseases.