Classic Technophobic SF Movies

Terminator (1984) film poster

Art reflects, but also incites and strengthens social stances. Release of a number of especially popular technophobic movies followed the increased use of personal computers and computer games by the end of 20th century. In all of them, the technologies have some hidden or open fault, leading to danger and dehumanization. The sole exception is the firearms technology, which always functions flawlessly, while the displayed violence subliminally provides additional fodder to the feeling of fear.

Alien (1979, 1986, 1992) – developing various high technologies for space exploration will only enable some ugly monsters to devour us.

Mad Max (1979, 1981, 1985) – the future brings social decay, violence and nuclear holocaust, with a passion.

Blade Runner (1982) – extremely capable, humanoid robots turn into murderers when something irks them, like—for instance—their limited lifespan.

WarGames (1983) - teenagers + computers = end of civilization as we know it.

The Terminator (1984, 1991, 2003) – the computers are evil, robots are ruthless unstoppable killers, nuclear technology is disastrous. Run! Run!

Electric Dreams (1984) – home PC adopts demon-like role, trying to dominate the life of its owner.

RoboCop (1987) – even the most humane man can be turned into a machine. There's no turning back afterwards.

Akira (1988) – Mad Max on steroids, with added teenage angst.

The Lawnmover Man (1992) – using virtual reality leads to insanity and horror.

StarTrek: First Contact (1996) – members of the Borg civilization got too cozy with their computers. Now they want to make us do the same, or destroy us, whatever comes first.

The Matrix (1999, 2003) – the computers would not only enslave us and exploit us, they will also fix us in a way that the majority will be fine with it. Only God can save us.

The 6th Day (2000) – like in most science fiction movies starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, our future is bleak. This time, the guilty party is genetics.

I, Robot (2004) – technophobic antithesis of Isaac Asimov's Laws of Robotics (the title is the same as his most famous short story), as opposed to the Bicentennial Man (1999) which follows the original plot of a humanizing robot who fights for his human rights.

Test: Which SF&F Film/TV Character are You?

A nonscientific "personality test", matching the user with favorite fantasy or science fiction characters who appear in movies or TV series:

• Which Fantasy/SciFi Character Are You?

The cumulative results are quite revealing. Top five characters are: Galadriel, Aragorn, Yoda, Princess Leia, and James T. Kirk.

I would be happy if such tests begin including characters that have not appeared on screen yet, such as Shevek from the Dispossessed, Corvin of Amber, Richard Burton of the Riverworld, the Doomguy, to name but a few.

Video: Cyberpunk Educator

The Cyberpunk Educator is "1980's study of cyberpunk film for structural, literary and political content. Or if you, prefer, the story of existentialist robots with guns."

The authors use the term in very broad sense and provide sometimes surprising, but always relevant connections, dispensing knowledge about number of notions, including some of the basic premises of Western Civilisation.

Beware: this free film, made available by www.cyberpunkfilm.com, is 1:40 hrs long, and can suck you in like the mythical heroes it discusses. Even if you don't fully agree with its conclusions, it can serve as a reminder to see again some classic movies.

Side note: it might be wise to dowload the movie soon, before the copyright lawyers get it. It even includes music from U2.

SF Rock Music Stars: Queen

British rock band Queen has made significant contribution to science fiction by making music for two movie soundtracks: Flash Gordon (1980, DVD, CD) and Highlander (1986, DVD).

Both are great albums, even though not everybody thinks so. Concerning the later, Wikipedia notes:

The original movie had a well-regarded soundtrack by Queen, including "Princes of the Universe," which is also used in the Highlander television series title sequence. While an album specifically tied to the Highlander movie was never released, the Queen album "A Kind Of Magic" (a phrase spoken twice in the movie by Connor) featured most of the songs from the film, as well as other music on the same theme. Notably, Queen's version of "New York, New York" (playing while The Kurgan drives Brenda through New York) was never released by Queen. All the Queen songs in Highlander were purposely written for the movie, except the song "Hammer To Fall" which had been previously released on their album The Works in 1984. Queen saw an early screening of Highlander, and decided to compose music for the film's entire non-symphonic soundtrack. They wrote many of the songs specifically to match the mood of the scenes when the songs were played, notably Brian May's heart-rending "Who Wants To Live Forever" concerning the doomed love of Connor and his original, mortal Highland bride.

Higlander-related videos:

• Princes of the Universe - colage made by fans using scenes from the movie
• A Kind of Magic - official video
• Who Wants to Live Forever - ditto
  

Flash Gordon is mostly instrumental, and had one single "Flash's Theme," "notable for its pounding, repetitive bassline and the camp humour of the snippets of dialogue from the movie that it contains." The linked video clip features key scenes from the movie.

Update: 50 Queen videoclips.