Has Modernism Influenced the Visual Language of Science Fiction Cinema? Introduction The genre of Science Fiction is one that has a very specific visual culture attached to it. When considering the visual language used in science fiction cinema, it is littered with visual conventions, clichés and stereotypes that conform to what viewers expect from the genre. A quote from Katya Rogatchevskaia, curator of the British Library’s exhibition ‘Out of This World: Science Fiction but not as you know it.’, provides the most striking example: “[…] If you asked a selection of people to draw an extraterrestrial life form, it is highly likely that you would be presented with at least a few domed-headed, boggle-eyed beings. This representation of aliens is not based on any real science, but it has entered our visual culture and become iconic.” (Rogatchevskaia, 2011). The visual culture to which Rogatchevskaia refers, is one that has naturally evolved and has been reinforced, embedding itself into Western cinematic culture, after decades of science fiction literature and cinema. While the history of the genre explains the evolution of its visual language, it doesn’t do much when questioning the origins of it. Wherein lies the aesthetic origins of the ‘boggle eyed beings’, the sleek spaceships and the geometric utopian cities? The antecedents of Science Fiction don’t provide all the answers, however, the philosophical and artistic movements of the era in which it began, may provide further insight into the influences that informed its origin. Modernism This essay will focus on Modernism with specification to its potential influence upon Science Fiction, through an investigation of the evolution of the science fiction aesthetic and the modernist design principles of which may have contributed to it. The aim being to discover whether Modernism, and its sub-movements (Minimalism, Futurism, Expressionism, etc), played a part in forming the visual language and culture of present day science fiction cinema. In general terms, Modernism can be defined as ‘an international tendency’ that expressed itself in Western literature, theatre, music, visual arts and architecture in the latter half of the Nineteenth century and early Twentieth century. (Hermansen and Hvattum) To understand the relation between Modernism and Science Fiction, it is important to understand the philosophies of the Modernist movement. These philosophies were brought on by fundamental changes in social sciences, technology, science and the arts. There were numerous factors that contributed to this reformation. Dawtrey (1996) exemplified “the development of industrial capitalism such as the growth of cities and new methods of transport and communication. [...] increased democracy and the secularisation of modern society. Even conceptions of human subjectivity itself […], as a result ‘for example’ of modern ideas about the unconscious”. These changes resulted in a movement “characterised by a deliberate rejection of the styles of the past; emphasising instead innovation and experimentation in forms, materials and techniques in order to create artworks that better reflected modern society” (Tate.org.uk, n.d.). This evolution in societal thinking and the development in Modernism occurred during the late Nineteenth to early Twentieth century (Dawtrey, 1996), a time in which cinema, due to the industrialisation, was both created and then grew to become a sophisticated form of technology and entertainment. (Nowell-Smith, 1996). It can be said that the two, (Modernism and cinema), clearly became intertwined. Modernist design principles and movements informing many early films and the exploration of moving pictures, thus forming an intersection between art and cinema.
Kyle Prior – Illustration – Level 5 – OUIL501 Studio Brief 1
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