"Predictions of the Future always reflect the technology and values of the Present."
In this unit we will:
- Define what Science Fiction is and how it differs from other literary genres
- Explore some of the history of science fiction writing – including famous early practioners such as Jules Verne and HG Wells.
- Distinguish between Utopian visions and Dystopian visions of the future
- Read some early science fiction short stories and analyse their vision of the future and how it differs from our own present – including extracts from 1984
- View highlights from a selection of the following visions of the future:
Metropolis
Brave New World
The Jetsons
Fahrenheit 451
2001 A Space Odyssey
Star Trek
Blade Runner
Minority Report
1984 (not strictly Science Fiction as such)
The Fifth Element
The Planet of the Apes (and there are lots of versions of this story!)
- Write our own vision for the future in a short story
Here's a fantastic link that will be the central reference point for our work in this unit.
Although not focssed on science fiction, it does have plenty of visions of the future from over 100 years ago that would have fed into science fiction writing. PaleoFuture
ACTIVITY
In class you will explore this site and look at various predictions across the decades.
Choose FIVE predictions that you find most interesting.
Copy and paste this information into a new Word document.
Under each prediction, do the following:
Comment on why you found the prediction interesting
Comment on what was accurate/inaccurate about the prediction
Comment on the ways in which the prediction reflected the technology and values of the time that it was made
Back to the Future
In the mid 1980's following the success of the original Back to the Future film, they made an equally popular sequel. We will view some of that film as it shows us their version of the year 2015.
After viewing this - respond to the following:
In what ways was the prediction accurate - be specific?
In what ways was the prediction inaccurate - be specific?
In what ways did the predictions reflect the technology and values of 1985 American culture?
What is Science Fiction?
Science fiction is a genre of fiction in which the stories often tell about science and technology of the future.
Here is an interesting Infographic that highlights technologies of the future that were predicted in the past by Science Fiction. Some examples of Science Fiction Writers and Their Predictions 1. Jules Verne - Find out who he was, when he live and what he wrote. This short video gives some idea of his predictions that were realised many years later.
2. Ray Bradbury - Find out who he was, when he live and what he wrote. We will read one of his most famous short stories of the future - The Veldt. Here is a link to it......
3. Philip K. Dick - Fascinating Science Fiction writer who has had many stories turned into films. Do some research and find out which of his stories have become films (Blade Runner and Minority Report are two examples.) This link will help you....Philip K Dick
STAR TREK
Compare the vision of the 22nd and 23rd centuries from various eras of Star Trek TV shows and films.
For over 50 years, Star Trek has envisioned our future in very different ways. For instance, look at the computer and communicator device on board The Enterprise from the original series (1966 - 69). If you have Netflix, then I strongly recommend having a look at the original series.
now from the latest films
or the communication device
Utopian vs. Dystopian Science Fiction Visions
Utopia
Read this article first: Definition of Utopia The Jetsons - although essentially a fun cartoon, had a utopian view of 2062. After looking at the trailer below, what aspects of its vision would you say are utopian and why?
Dystopia
The Veldt is an example of a dystopian view of technology and its use. What makes it so? There is a strong tradition of Dystopian views of the future in science fiction writing and movies.
Let's look at some clips from a classic 1920's Sci Fi film called Metropolis. It starts off as a Utopian vision but ends up being the opposite.
What elements did you see that were Utopian (and why)? and what elements were Dystopian (and why)?
Many Sci Fi visions of the future have both utopian and dystopian elements. Often the utopian future is for the wealthy and privileged, and the dystopian elements for the rest of us.
Take Blade Runner (for instance). Do some research about this film and find out what it had to say about the world of 2019 (not so far away). FILM AND TV EXTRACTS METROPOLIS (1927) - Fritz Lang The Trailer for the rerelease. Follow the links on Youtube to see larger sections of the film.
THE JETSONS (1962 - 1963)- Hanna and Barbera cartoon Here are some short documentaries about this popular cartoon that envisaged a future in 2062. What features do you notice about this vision of the future?
FAHRENHEIT 451(1966) - Francois Truffaut This is a version of the Ray Bradbury story of the same title.External Link to YoutubeFahrenheit 451
Blade Runner(1982) - Ridley Scott. Based on the Philip K Dick short story - Do Androids Dream Electric Sheep?
SOME MORE RESOURCES TO HELP
Check out this link to a website about using Science Fiction to predict the future.
And this TED-Ed talk (we will view this in class)
SUMMATIVE TASKMany Science Fiction authors and filmmakers have predicted the future. Some of these predictions have come true but most haven't. For this summative task you are going to work do your own predicting of the future and present these to the class.
STEP ONE: Either work by yourself or in groups of THREE people maximum.
STEP TWO - CHOOSE YOUR TIME - 30, 40 50 or more years ahead.
Then choose at least FOUR of the following sub-headings as the basis for your presentation.
Give an overview of the type of future predicted. Include (where possible) comments on the:
Housing
Transport
Food
Communications and computing technology
Entertainment
Family structures
Robotic creatures
Sport/recreation
Work
Education
Any other elements that you picked up.
STEP THREE
Research these areas. The internet is full of predictions, you should use these as the basis for your own group's thoughts. Gather lots of images as well.
STEP FOUR
Prepare the presentation. Powerpoint/Prezi are the best for this task
DO NOT have huge blocks of text on each page. The focus will be strong visuals, dot points then you have explanatory notes separate that you will explain to the class during your presentation.
STEP FIVE
Present your predictions. The length of presentation is approximately 3 minutes per person.
National Curriculum Descriptors for this Task
These will be outlined in the Task Sheet that is emailed to you.
CREATIVE TASK
Now it's your turn to write a story.
Based on your presentation about the future, you are now going to write a short story (approx 600 - 800 words) that explores the future in a creative way.
Choose a main character who lives in your imagined future and faces a problem.
Have them solve and overcome that problem.
Along the way, describe the future society that the person lives in - this can come out of the thinking and research you did for the group presentation.
Use the following PDF to help you understand more about Science Fiction, its key writers over time and the main themes it tries to explore.
This task will NOT be assessed as part of your TERM/SEMESTER Grade, but I will compile all the stories into a Future Visions Anthology for publishing and putting in the library.
In this unit we will:
- Define what Science Fiction is and how it differs from other literary genres
- Explore some of the history of science fiction writing – including famous early practioners such as Jules Verne and HG Wells.
- Distinguish between Utopian visions and Dystopian visions of the future
- Read some early science fiction short stories and analyse their vision of the future and how it differs from our own present – including extracts from 1984
- View highlights from a selection of the following visions of the future:
- Write our own vision for the future in a short story
Here's a fantastic link that will be the central reference point for our work in this unit.
Although not focssed on science fiction, it does have plenty of visions of the future from over 100 years ago that would have fed into science fiction writing.
PaleoFuture
ACTIVITY
In class you will explore this site and look at various predictions across the decades.
Choose FIVE predictions that you find most interesting.
Copy and paste this information into a new Word document.
Under each prediction, do the following:
Back to the Future
In the mid 1980's following the success of the original Back to the Future film, they made an equally popular sequel. We will view some of that film as it shows us their version of the year 2015.
After viewing this - respond to the following:
What is Science Fiction?
Science fiction is a genre of fiction in which the stories often tell about science and technology of the future.Here is an interesting Infographic that highlights technologies of the future that were predicted in the past by Science Fiction.
Some examples of Science Fiction Writers and Their Predictions
1. Jules Verne - Find out who he was, when he live and what he wrote. This short video gives some idea of his predictions that were realised many years later.
2. Ray Bradbury - Find out who he was, when he live and what he wrote. We will read one of his most famous short stories of the future - The Veldt.
Here is a link to it......
3. Philip K. Dick - Fascinating Science Fiction writer who has had many stories turned into films. Do some research and find out which of his stories have become films (Blade Runner and Minority Report are two examples.) This link will help you....Philip K Dick
STAR TREK
Compare the vision of the 22nd and 23rd centuries from various eras of Star Trek TV shows and films.
For over 50 years, Star Trek has envisioned our future in very different ways. For instance, look at the computer and communicator device on board The Enterprise from the original series (1966 - 69). If you have Netflix, then I strongly recommend having a look at the original series.
Utopian vs. Dystopian Science Fiction Visions
Utopia
Read this article first: Definition of UtopiaThe Jetsons - although essentially a fun cartoon, had a utopian view of 2062. After looking at the trailer below, what aspects of its vision would you say are utopian and why?
Dystopia
The Veldt is an example of a dystopian view of technology and its use. What makes it so? There is a strong tradition of Dystopian views of the future in science fiction writing and movies.Let's look at some clips from a classic 1920's Sci Fi film called Metropolis. It starts off as a Utopian vision but ends up being the opposite.
What elements did you see that were Utopian (and why)? and what elements were Dystopian (and why)?
Many Sci Fi visions of the future have both utopian and dystopian elements. Often the utopian future is for the wealthy and privileged, and the dystopian elements for the rest of us.
Take Blade Runner (for instance). Do some research about this film and find out what it had to say about the world of 2019 (not so far away).
FILM AND TV EXTRACTS
METROPOLIS (1927) - Fritz Lang
The Trailer for the rerelease. Follow the links on Youtube to see larger sections of the film.
THE JETSONS (1962 - 1963)- Hanna and Barbera cartoon
Here are some short documentaries about this popular cartoon that envisaged a future in 2062.
What features do you notice about this vision of the future?
FAHRENHEIT 451(1966) - Francois Truffaut
This is a version of the Ray Bradbury story of the same title.External Link to YoutubeFahrenheit 451
Blade Runner(1982) - Ridley Scott.
Based on the Philip K Dick short story - Do Androids Dream Electric Sheep?
SOME MORE RESOURCES TO HELP
Check out this link to a website about using Science Fiction to predict the future.
And this TED-Ed talk (we will view this in class)
SUMMATIVE TASKMany Science Fiction authors and filmmakers have predicted the future. Some of these predictions have come true but most haven't.
For this summative task you are going to work do your own predicting of the future and present these to the class.
STEP ONE: Either work by yourself or in groups of THREE people maximum.
STEP TWO - CHOOSE YOUR TIME - 30, 40 50 or more years ahead.
Then choose at least FOUR of the following sub-headings as the basis for your presentation.
Give an overview of the type of future predicted. Include (where possible) comments on the:
STEP THREE
Research these areas. The internet is full of predictions, you should use these as the basis for your own group's thoughts. Gather lots of images as well.
STEP FOUR
Prepare the presentation. Powerpoint/Prezi are the best for this task
STEP FIVE
Present your predictions. The length of presentation is approximately 3 minutes per person.
National Curriculum Descriptors for this TaskThese will be outlined in the Task Sheet that is emailed to you.
CREATIVE TASK
Now it's your turn to write a story.
Based on your presentation about the future, you are now going to write a short story (approx 600 - 800 words) that explores the future in a creative way.
Choose a main character who lives in your imagined future and faces a problem.
Have them solve and overcome that problem.
Along the way, describe the future society that the person lives in - this can come out of the thinking and research you did for the group presentation.
Use the following PDF to help you understand more about Science Fiction, its key writers over time and the main themes it tries to explore.
This task will NOT be assessed as part of your TERM/SEMESTER Grade, but I will compile all the stories into a Future Visions Anthology for publishing and putting in the library.