jesustonight

tinymoves

shehanum

War of the Worlds was a novel in 1898.

Philip K. Dick died in 1982, which makes it safe to presume that all his works were completed before then.

And that explains how you lost me in the first two paragraphs of your expose on how 9/11 (which occurred in 2001) changed science fiction.

Auld_Lang_Ziety

cde

cde

Dybbuk

50 years from now, only old geezers will know anything accurate about it. 100, and it'll be less than a footnote.

It was unpleasant, but on the national scale, it was less than a pinprick. For example, it only raised the year's murder rate by about 15-20%. It wasn't even surprising, really, if you'd been paying any attention to the world. Sure, I doubt many people expected it to happen right then, but my basic reaction after the second plane was 'holy mackerel, Bin Laden got his shit together'.

As many others have said, these are all standard SF themes. Trying to make them the result of 9/11 seems like excessive navel-gazing.
-Kle.

Klebert L. Hall

I think maybe io9 is having a division (or one of many divisions) in its audience/staff: those who just want some popscifi stuff to reminisce, remember old films I want to watch, etc; and those who want to really get into a big discussion of ideas, themes, what they mean, where they go, etc. I like both, but I don't think many of the articles can be all things to all people, though I think some might try. It would be great to have an article about KIT from Knight Rider in one article, then a more serious article about artificial intelligence trends in movies and books the next article.
Or maybe I'm putting too many demands on the great staff here at io9 when they have their own vision for the site :)

Spiral

For example The War of the Worlds was originally a commentary on the dangers of technology and the pitfalls that H. G. Wells predicted for the world. It made a point that, no matter how powerful man believes he is, something else is going to trump us - aliens, bacteria, either way their is always a bigger fish.

But 9/11 changed that, and it became adapted into a movie about invaders from outside our world. A surprise attack from underground that was so quick and shocking the world was unprepared for it's consequences.

This isn't so much a direct changing of the story, or of sci-fi, rather it's showing how cultural events and real world happening can change how we read and enjoy our sci-fi, and even how it can keep a book written before man learned to fly relevant.

I would love to say that I enjoy this site, because some of the articles are genuinely interesting and insightful, but then others, like this one just seem to lack a basic understanding of science fiction in general and the subject matter it's trying to cover - more often than not with considerable effort to make it seem valid.

The list of religious stories and angels that were heavily tied into science fiction was another example of a poorly thought out article. This place can do better if a little more effort was placed into the research and writing of text, and if the people involved actually tried to understand it at times.

Marcus117

Chris Wren

That's not to say there aren't 9/11 effects on scifi. Most of the heightened terrorism concerns are in there. I just feel some of the examples in the article are reaching. Destroying New york? That's a cliche in scifi. Also, the original stories that two of your movies are based on were written decades ago. Surveillance state? Cliche. 1984? Also, two of your examples were based on stories of a man who died in the eighties. Terrorists are everywhere? Yes, this did increase post 9/11. The department of homeland security seems less a point since many of the examples are just "military experiment gone awry", which is a very big scifi cliche. And finally, the desert planet point? Why are all the sources things originally written/made before 9/11, sometimes decades ago.

Hate to have this sound like a negative post. I love this site, just some of the articles feel like they really reach for examples in more mainstream scifi sources when there are plenty of other scifi sources to prove the point.

Spiral

Marcus117

The Mist pre-dates Gordon Freeman by at least a decade, maybe 2. Never saw the movie but it was an outstanding short story.

Speaking of which, why the hell hasn't Half-Life been made into a movie??

Epaminondas

Half-Life, The Mist and other stories of it's bread are actually based on the little known Montauk conspiracy. Google it.

Marcus117

Pope John Peeps II

The_Real_Quiet_Desperation

SeeingI

Dybbuk

Jack

syncpulse

tiemposbuenos

Sorry, your post actually proves to me that 9/11 changed nothing in science fiction and didn't introduce a single new theme that hadn't already been part of mainstream SF for decades. Either that, or 9/11 is proof that SF has already generated all the themes it's capable of generating, and can only respond to world events by shuffling certain of those themes to the front row.

Chris Wren

Lost has it's share, too...especially with the character of Sayid and the various Iraq references made.

I'm also surprised you made no reference to "Children of Men", which is practically the post-9/11 allegory handbook.

WizarDru

Just a tip, Beware the HMS Sophie.

mcsey

Jim (The Canuck One)

The Goa'uld enslaved people of Abydos, who were innocents. It wasn't particularly a desert planet too.

There are no parallels in the whole Goa'uld storyline with what was mentioned in the list above for the next 5+ seasons, all pre-9/11. The final seasons with the Orii' and their religious war? Totally a 9/11 thing. Can't believe you would miss such a thing.

Also another thing - DS9. I watched it late, post-9/11 and there are loads of elements in it that are relevant to your list. Insurgents (flipped sides though) etc.

enjikunoichi

I'd also argue, that the destruction of NY, while recently very popular, is mostly a consequence of NY being such a major and iconic American city (a factor that could arguably be why it was a target in 9/11 too). Destroying Debuque, while a lovely place, doesn't present the same weight.

What's missing from this list, I think, which others may have already mentioned, is the rise of the zombie genre again. Popular in the Cold War for the faceless commie hordes, now they're the faceless jihadi hordes. Zombies are the numerous human-but-different threat.

Gomi

geekusa

Hollywood reacted differently with Pearl Harbor--but then, that involved a country (countries) we could actually strike back against. Back then they weren't "terrorists", they were called "Fifth Columnists" (and they were real, if far less organized than Al Queda members). Instead of sci-fi, they used War Movies and suspense films to given a fictionalized arena for the ill-ease the audience was experiencing.

Personally, I have a horrible feeling we're watching DUNE come to life before our eyes, with numerous jihadist dickheads vying to be declared Muad'dib (or however you spell it).

Cacafuego

Lizfu

donquixote235

Marcus117

Jonn

Even the recent Godzilla, a terrible film with pretty good special effects, was far more polite than warranted about what it would be like for a truly gigantic and angry creature to be on the loose.

Perhaps somehow 9/11 contributed to a willingness of movie makers to consider the actual horror aspects necessitated by so many adventure, science fiction, or super-hero stories.

Of course, there's a geographical component: people know the New York landmarks; it contains a large number of skyscrapers; it is very close to the water. And there's the favoritism of U.S. locations -- would Hollywood fund as much a monster movie which ravages Guangdong?

It probably wouldn't be that interesting to have monsters and aliens attacking two-story houses in subdivisions.

EnBuenOra

Marcus117

cde

I guess that's the other side of the coin: how many science-fiction stories came true on 9/11 and during its aftermath?

moerex

DrMeteorologist

Marcus117

Two... Destroy New York has always been a SciFi Cliche. Look at Escape from New York, Godzilla, etc.

cde

The main character does indeed fly the plane into the Games Building, in fact the last thing Killian sees is Richards in the cockpit giving him the finger as the plane slams into the building.

Marcus117

Garrison Dean, King Awesome

Sure, they have been re-imagined for a post 9/11 world to some small degree, but that's merely a change in reading and interpretation, not a change in science fiction... if anything it's merely a strengthening of the near prophetic nature of the text... reality mimicking fiction, rather than the other way around.

Marcus117

Battle Royale II is a clear reaction to the post-9/11 world. The film opens with the twin towers of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Tokyo's tallest buildings, crumbling under a bombing by a group called the Wild Seven's. This group of youth are waging a war on the adults.

the whole time the Japanese government is desperately trying to stop the Wild Seven. Yet the government is more terrified of being bombed by the Americans. because they cant stop the wild seven then fear of the wild seven themselves.

At one point the leader of the Wild Seven says "In the past sixty years, America has bombed..Some 8 million dead among 22 nations!" then stating "You are either with us or against us".

lets just say Japanese government is not the winner nor is the US a hero.

Dybbuk

Unfortunately, since SG-1 started in 1997, those "early SG-1" seasons you speak of predate 9/11.

In fact, there are many more examples of these sci-fi things you speak of that predate 9/11. Weren't we just discussing Independence Day a few weeks ago? And there's all those buildings destroyed in the beginning of Armageddon. I remember that the Chrysler Building was a very popular target for destruction that year.

Lampbane

Marcus117

Garrison Dean, King Awesome

Haze - for it's deep political commentary about PMC's and government control.

Mass Effect - it's examination of galactic politics and terrorist agents are deeply shrouded in clever metaphors geared towards a post 9/11 world.

And many more... I know that they might be beyond the interest of some writers here, but they are science fiction as well.

Marcus117

Marcus117

moerex

Forgive me if I'm wrong but doesn't the term "nasties and insurrectionaries" imply that you believe the Abydosians where against us?

Marcus117

Annalee Newitz

The Japanese processed and recycled that trauma for at least a couple of generations. I don't know if our obsession with reliving 9/11 will last quite as long; most likely it will burn out within a decade or so--or even faster if an even more profound and horrible event eclipses it.

moerex

Garrison Dean, King Awesome

I never like your list, they are so poorly done, and seem to just throw series in for inclusion with no viable, or explained reason. I know that your capable of better too.

Marcus117

"It's pretty horrific when you realise that what you've written, admittedly an extrapolation of a trend, has got stronger and stronger," said Grant. Going to Glasgow airport and seeing police officers armed Judge Dredd-style confirmed to Grant the state of society. "We are living in a dystopia, and pessimistically I can only see it getting worse."

JohnnyZito

Frozen-Tex

Annalee Newitz

DrCreep

Garrison Dean, King Awesome

skweetis

Annalee Newitz

OhHenry

adamant88

Frozen-Tex

Annalee Newitz

Annalee Newitz

Frozen-Tex

Frozen-Tex

Or even how Mark Millar/Bryan Hitch's THE ULTIMATES have made these themes de rigeur in comics? CIVIL WAR? SECRET INVASION? Captain America being shot dead on the courthouse steps?

Mark Kardwell