Visions of the Future: The 2010s- Here's to the Future

The closer we get to our present time in the study of history, the harder it is to see the meaning of the events we are studying. Hindsight is a wonderful gift, in that it enables us to put the pieces together, and figure out what really mattered- what really made an impact. This blog post is unique, in that I don’t know what people will still be talking about in twenty, ten, or even five years. The stories and ideas mentioned here are what I think have been impactful so far. What will be the defining characteristics of the 2010s? We still have half a decade to discover that.

Science Fiction:

Literature-

In 2010, Ian McDonald published The Dervish House, winner of the 2011 BSFA Award, as well as the 2011 John W. Campbell Award. It describes from various perspectives the aftermath of a bus bombing in Istanbul, Turkey.

The 2011 winner of the Hugo and Locus awards for best novella was Ted Chiang’s 2010 story, “The Lifecycle of Software Objects”, about a woman who raises an intelligence from simple AI to human-like consciousness.

The 2012 spoof Redshirts, by John Scalzi, won the 2013 Hugo and Locus Awards. It parodies Star Trek, (and similar science fiction shows), from the perspective of the “red shirts”- those expendable extras who never seem to make it back from away missions.

In 2011, Andy Weir published The Martian, which details the struggles of a stranded astronaut attempting to survive on Mars. The novel was adapted into a film in 2015.

Chinese author Liu Ci Xin wrote The Three Body Problem into 2008. It is an alternate history, in which aliens invade earth during China’s Cultural Revolution. It was translated into English in 2014, and won the Nebula Award for 2014, and the Hugo Award for 2015.

Television-

Continuum, a Canadian sci-fi show released in 2012, was about a group of future terrorists who travel to the present, and the police officer who was accidentally dragged along with them. It was created by Simon Barry, and starred Rachel Nichols as the displaced officer, Kiera Cameron.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe branched out into television in 2013 with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., starring  as a resurrected Agent Coulson. He and his team deal with the issues raised by superhumans and aliens, and must fight forces from outside the universe, and inside their own organization.

Film-

Christopher Nolan, known for his gritty, realistic style and mind-boggling plot twists, put out fan-favorite, Inception in 2010. It explores ideas of dreams and reality, and the thin line between them.

The culmination of the first phase of Marvel Cinematic Universe films took place in 2012 with The Avengers. The film saw an epic team-up between Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, The Hulk, Black Widow, and Hawkeye, as they learned to work together, and fought evil aliens led by Thor’s powerful and jealous younger brother, Loki.

The next year, J. J. Abrams released a sequel to his 2009 Star Trek reboot called Star Trek Into Darkness. It reintroduced feared villain Khan Noonien Singh, and had some parallels to the classic Star Trek film The Wrath of Khan.

A trend I have noticed over the past few years in film is what I would call “NASA sci-fi”- films portraying humans in the near future exploring space in ways that stay true to what we know can currently be done.

2013’s Gravity was the story of an American astronaut struggling to survive after being disconnected from the space station she worked on.

In 2014, Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar showed a group of astronauts attempting to find a solution to an ecological crisis in the not-too-distant future using ideas that are presently being studied by quantum physicists.

The Martian, by Andy Weir, was adapted in 2015, and seems to have a similar modern realism to that of Gravity and Interstellar.

Also, the rights to the Star Wars movies were sold to Disney studios, who hired J.J. Abrams to direct the first film in a new trilogy, The Force Awakens, released in 2015. You probably already knew that.

Thank you so much for sticking with me through this trek through history. I hope you’ve enjoyed it, and been enlightened or inspired in some way. I have personally learned so much through writing this series, and am looking forward to posting about some of my more specific insights in the future. The next post will be some of my recommendations for experiencing the highlights of sci-fi history. After that, I’ll briefly cover the first six Star Wars movies, and give my spoiler-free review of The Force Awakens. Then, I will finally get to work on blogging through all the episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series for the 50th anniversary of the show.

Thanks again!

Keep on glowing in the dark,

Elora

Character Analysis, Mr. Spock

It was the opening day of my show when I found out about Leonard Nimoy’s passing. I shared some brief words on social media, that day, then expounded on them on my radio show, SpaceTime, that Tuesday. This post is going to be very similar to what I said on SpaceTime. However, it is my first time organizing my thoughts on paper. So, I hope you enjoy this exploration of the character arc of Spock.

How does a character created for a rejected 1960s television pilot become a respected figure in a 2013 blockbuster? How does a an alien from an early sci-fi show that got cancelled after three seasons become a household name- a part of our modern mythology? I’m sure every creative wants to know.

As impossible as it may seem, we find this transformation in the character of Spock. I’m going to briefly explore Spock’s character arc from “The Cage” to Star Trek Into Darkness, and see what has made Leonard Nimoy’s Spock one of the most loved sci-fi characters of the past fifty years.

When we first meet Spock in the unaired Star Trek pilot “The Cage”, he hasn’t quite grown into the stoic-yet-conflicted, logical first officer we know and love. Beginning in 1966, when he is brought back onto the show with Captain Kirk and Doctor McCoy , he represents the intellectual side of the holistic human portrayed by these three men. I discussed the relationship and conflict between them in this past post.

Though Spock represents one aspect of a complete human, as part of the main trio, he also represents a complete human in and of himself. Though Spock is only half-human, he shows the very human struggle between logic and emotion very clearly. Do I listen to my heart or my mind?

While Captain Kirk has to struggle over who on the outside to listen to- Spock (logic), or McCoy (emotion)- Spock has to choose who on the inside to listen to- his human (emotional) half, or his vulcan (logical) half.

This is a struggle that we as humans can all relate to, and it is the struggle we see all throughout The Original Series.

The Animated Series, as goofy as it is, sees the same basic relationship between the three main characters, and the same internal struggle in Spock. However, we also get a peek into Spock’s early experiences that let to his development in TOS in the episode, “Yesteryear”. (Also, there is a seventy-foot Spock clone out there somewhere, that the reboot series should totally revisit. Just saying).

In The Motion Picture, Spock has made his decision. He is going to purge himself of all emotion through the kolinahr ritual. But he fails. This failure plunges him back into the turmoil he experienced in the original series, and he casts his lot with the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise crew once again. It really seems like he’s happier that way, though.

By The Wrath of Khan, Spock has learned to accept the dichotomy of his existence. He is logical and emotional- Vulcan and Human. He can not dismiss or repress either side of himself. Then, of course, he dies. When his soul is reunited with his body in The Search for Spock, he has to start from scratch.

In the beginning of The Voyage Home, we see a Spock who does not find any relevance in retraining the human part of himself. However, by the end of the movie, he sees the importance of rescuing Chekov from the hospital, even if it is not the most logical move.

The Final Frontier...happened. Alright, ok. Bear with me. Even though Star Trek V isn’t very good, there is an important character moment for Spock- it doesn't even involve gravity boots. His weird half-brother Sybok shows him his greatest pain, a scene which demonstrates the dichotomy between his humanity and his vulcanness. Spock, however, has already come to terms with his deepest pain. He was able to once again reconcile the logic and emotion deep down inside of him.

In Star Trek VI, Spock faces the consequences of his own failure. The young Vulcan officer Valeris, whom he trained to be his successor, turns out to be a warmonger and a spy. Despite this mistake, is Spock still relevant and useful?

It would appear so. In the 2009 Star Trek reboot, Leonard Nimoy’s Spock serves as a mentor and and a counselor to the alternate versions of both Kirk and Spock. His advice to new Spock- to follow his heart and not just his head, not just his head- mirrors the journey Prime Spock took throughout his life.

In Star Trek Into Darkness, Nimoy’s Spock goes against reason, and better judgement, and tells the new Spock how to avoid some of the Khan-related mistakes of his past. The punching and yelling that ensued cannot be blamed on Prime Spock at all.

Logic, emotions, uncertainty, mistakes- these are all things everyone has to sift through and deal with. The thoughtful and nuanced way that Leonard Nimoy portrayed these conflicts in Spock ensure that his character will continue to live long and prosper even after the beloved actor’s death.

Keep on glowing in the dark ,

Elora

kolinahr