Saturday, February 12, 2011

SyFy and the decline of Science Fiction

I'm a fan of sci-fi. I am not going to pretend otherwise, but every week I become more and more disappointed in sci-fi as produced by SyFy.
Case and point, right now I'm half watching an abysmal movie about some bright teal space goop/bacteria that brings metal stuff to life, and it rampages and attacks people.
Earlier was a movie about an ice monster. Next week? Anacondas.
Yay giant snakes.

What happened to good, thought provoking, mind expanding science fiction?
Science fiction has long been used as a vehicle for exploring higher concepts, not just technological, but ethical and humanist concepts. Sci-fi allows for tales in which races and cultures are infintely diverse as a backdrop for examining very real social issues. Sci-fi creates canvases upon which to paint scenes of moral dilemas with near god-like powers of technology.
Science fiction gives people hope by spinning tales of what people can achieve, and overcoming systemic invasions through the tenacity of the human spirit. Differently abled and gendered persons can be central characters without feeling like an after school special.
So, with all this fertile possibility, why, oh why, does SyFy keep pumping out less-than-B monster movies?
Where are the This Alien Shore and Footfall of the little screen?
I postulate that if you are going to make a film, invest more in script and less in bad special effects.
Did we not learn from Clerks (albeit not a science fiction piece) that entertainment isn't all about budget? I thought we did.

2 comments:

Slee said...

Let it be pointed out that I am not referring to their series programming, but specifically the movies. Though it will be difficult for them to move and inspire me the way Battlestar Galactica did, and raise ethics questions like that and Caprica, or examine the possibilities of other worlds like the Atlantis franchise, they are doing some positive genre furthering in that format.

The Coats Family said...

Do you watch Big Bang Theory? Just thought you might get a giggle about this. I'm not a science fiction person so this show is about the extent of what I know. LMAO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nowxIRXvwA