                  Rishon
Sabri, 2024To contact the author, please e-mail: rishonsabri@gmail.com |
History
 Science fiction, often referred to as
sci-fi, is usually fiction based in a world with futuristic technology
and scientific advancements, frequently involving themes such as space,
life on other worlds and time travel. It is defined as "a type of book,
film, etc. That is based on imagined scientific discoveries of the
future, and often deals with space travel and life on other planets"
(Oxford English Dictionary, 2023). Well, known examples of science
fiction range from the literary novels of Jules Verne, H. G. Wells and
Isaac Asimov to popular television shows such as Star Trek, Stargate
and Battlestar Galactica. While science fiction follows certain criteria there are multiple subgenres of science fiction, which differ from each other a lot. Many subgenres of science fiction focus more on the human condition and how a society in a future world can be either a utopian fantasy or a dystopian nightmare, rather than the possible technology of that future. The main subgenres that include futuristic technology that we will usually be referring to are space opera (such as Star Trek), cyberpunk and other subgenres that are based in the future with technology far above what we can achieve now. I chose subgenres like these instead of other genres such as mundane science fiction, which focuses more on a realistic future based on our current scientific and technological capabilities (this includes shows such as in the Black Mirror and The Handmaid's Tale television series). This is because those subgenres display the most futuristic technology and often are the most influential to science based on the evidence this dissertation has gathered. Science fiction has evolved and changed over time, especially with the development of film and television. The paper 'The influence of science fiction films on the development of biomedical instrumentation', divides the stages of science fiction's development into 4 periods, early cinema (1900-1930), golden cinema (1930-1955), pre-modern (1955-1977) and modern (1977-present), based on both how films could be presented and how science fiction was shown at the times. Each of these periods are in detail below: Early cinema includes films from the
start of movies to the use of sound in movies and while this period of
science fiction did not have much evidence of having an influence of
scientific advancement, most likely due to lack of interest from the
public and a lack of scientific knowledge to build on at the time.
Golden Cinema is made up of films from the use of sound in movies to the invention of the television and due to the use of sound films during this period were more popular among the public, resulting in increased viewing. Additionally, there was an increase of films that influenced scientific advancements, like the defibrillator, which was inspired by the use of electricity to create life in Frankenstein. Pre-modern consists of films from the invention of the television to the commercialisation of the VCR and this period saw an increase in science fiction based on real concepts, with much more advanced technology, with at least some grounding in real science. Due to the increased viewership of science fiction due to the use of the TV, many people could be influenced by it and also due to increased scientific knowledge at the time science fiction influenced multiple scientific advancements. As well as that, at this time more popular science fiction shows, like Star Trek started to appear. Modern includes films from the commercialisation of the VCR to now, with science fiction shows having a lot more funding and special effects compared to the previous periods, allowing for more technologies and concepts to be visualised so that they're easier to understand and more visually appealing. This allows science fiction to be an excellent indicator of what technology we should aim for and useful inspiration for scientists. This is why the modern period has shown the most evidence of the influence of science fiction on scientific advancement, from research into warp like technology to competitions to build real life tricorders. This is the time period that will be focused on in this dissertation due to its wealth of examples of science fiction influencing scientific progress. This dissertation focuses on Star Trek, which is a science fiction show, created by Gene Roddenberry in 1966, with several different series highlighting different aspects of its universe, set hundreds of years in the future. It's specific subgenre of science fiction is a space opera, emphasising dramatic adventures set in space. In the world of Star Trek humanity has developed faster than light space travel and has formed a union of planets called the United Federation of Planets, based on the core ideas of improving quality of life for all using their advanced technology, peace among worlds and exploration. Each episode usually shows a new challenge which is usually solved by using the advanced technology and scientific knowledge available to the protagonists. While there are many other possible science fiction shows I could have used, I decided to use Star Trek as my main subject of this dissertation because of its major impact on how the public views science compared to other science fiction shows. There is also a wealth of resources available for researching the franchise and the benefit of my previous knowledge of its lore from watching it from a young age..
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