Codes and Conventions of the Sci-fi genre - Jonathan

The codes and conventions of Science Fiction (Sci-fi) movies are essentially clear narrative themes, often emotive and heavily influenced by fantasy. Mise en scene is a critical part of Sci-fi as it is very often used to communicate the plot or time period in many cases. Props and settings like spaceships, virtual worlds, advanced technology or fantasy inspired resources and such are communicative to the audience of what to expect from the movie. There is often an unrealistic threat or defining characteristic to the plot with often moral ideology as well being reflective of real life issues; such as threat to the human race and the possible use of aliens as either heroes or villains and the moral attitudes and prejudices surrounding them (District 9/Avatar). They often have a very narrative theme which often involves saving the human race or the end of the world (Armageddon/Independence Day), survival (Alien), invasion (Mars Attacks) or the use or development of advanced technology (Minority Report) and the use of space travel or special/super powers (Star Wars). These are very typical to the genre, but Sci-fi movies do not always have to be constricted by all or the majority of these codes and conventions, but many of these characteristics are very definitive of the genre and often what makes a film more noticeably Science Fiction.

Other typical codes and conventions of this genre are:

Time travel (The Time Machine/ Back to the Future). This idea appears very appealing to the audience because it appears to be an interesting concept and captures peoples imaginations and allows the film to show how events could be or could have been by manipulating the past and future, its engaging to think and watch movies with this idea as we are allowed to see various eras and events in one movie while still keeping it canonical and eye-catching. This manipulation allows for the director or screen writers to design almost endless possibilities, this is almost the essence of a Sci-fi movie, expanding the impossible, making complex ideas simple and delivering them to the audience in an engaging way, they don't have to adhere to normal laws of reality most of the time such as gravity etc. it is this idea that anything is possible that attracts viewers to this genre. This is primarily targeted towards those who enjoy a twisting often complex story, usually males, from tamer representations for kids to more explicit content for adults and adolescents.

Futuristic settings (Total Recall/ Demolition Man/ Escape from New York). Likewise a futuristic setting allows for the manipulation of the world around the protagonist(s), worlds can be changed, anything can be altered, this is an appealing concept as well as it grabs our attention and allows our imaginations to flourish. These films are usually targeted at teens and adults who enjoy the concept of a futuristic setting but may also be targeted for (but often tamer) kids.

"Outworldly" planets (Doom/ Ghost in the Shell). Like the previous two ideas, this is used because it is a fascinating postulation, that we could experience life on a different planet and it allows for the world to be crafted in any way they want allowing for endless possibilities. Again usually targeted at people with an interest towards space and other worlds, usually males: teens and adults.

Unrealistic or highly advanced yet apparently simplified technology (Blade Runner/ The Fifth Element). This is also an interesting belief, that in the future we will have interesting, near impossible to contemplate technology... this is the basis for why this is used, we enjoy the idea of having the ability and possibility of creating these devices even if it is impossible in reality, but this never the less is a very engaging method of grabbing the audiences attention. Again this is aimed at a male target audience as technology typically (not always) is considered a to be affiliated with the male gender.

Creatures whether good or bad (Jurassic Park/ Planet of The Apes). Also an interesting concept, that creatures can be given enhanced mental and cognitive abilities, they can be on par or greater than humanity and this competition is an attracting quality for a movie. These are most likely targeted towards those with an interest in creatures, monsters or gene manipulation etc. this is often associated with the younger age group but can be aimed at adults and teens as well.

The use of animation instead of live action (A Scanner Darkly/ Howls Moving Castle/ Dead Space). This is a very unique method of grabbing the audiences attention, it is because of its scarcity and unique nature that these films often appear so interesting, the unique style allows for further manipulation of reality and almost anything on screen really allowing for near endless possibilities to engage the audience. This unique method is targeted towards teens and children usually females but often towards males as well depending on the sub genres and plot.

The recreation of such as novelised etc. characters (Van Helsing/ Hellboy/ Judge Dredd)
and the use of steampunk (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen/ Stardust). This is often used to grab the attention of such "fanboys/girls" and anyone with prior knowledge of the redesigned and re-imagined character and also introduces them as a new character to people with no prior knowledge. This is normally targeted towards a select group of people often with a love of the character, but companies often use big budgets to reach a larger audience.

Deep thought is often involved along with complex theories (2001: A Space Odyssey)
often accompanied by drugs or the equivalent (The Matrix/A Clockwork Orange). Similarly this simplified version of complex ideas allows for anyone to understand the concept and understand its limits and such, this results in a much more interesting and engaging experience. These are typically aimed towards the older more mature nature due to their complex ideas.

Unlike other genres the protagonist is often female and has defined masculine qualities to make for a stronger character (Resident Evil/ The Hunger Games). This unique take on protagonists and antagonists makes for an interesting change to both the pace, appearance and atmosphere of the film, often giving a refreshing take on many sub genres and hybrid genres. This ironically is aimed at the male gender more so than females, due to a female lead attracting a male fan base, but this is also debatable because of the various nature of the films, this can range from children to teens and even adults in many situations.

The inclusion of robots (Terminator/ iRobot). Similar to the inclusion of creatures, this appears very interesting as giving a machine intelligence is a fear for many, and its this manipulation and use of peoples fear that makes an enjoyable film especially for the horror hybrid genre, this goes for many other codes of conventions. They also may be used just for entertainment due to their uniqueness in appearance and design. This is aimed at a broad target audience, from children to adults, but is primarily aimed at males due to the stereotypical male fascination with often war and technology (often combined).

Within the Sci-fi genre there are many sub genres which are in turn hybrids of a mixture of two or more different genres such as: Sci-fi horror, Sci-fi thriller, Sci-fi mystery, Sci-fi action/adventure. There is also the influence of such sub genres involving super heroes (heroes), the past with futuristic influences -steampunk/ retro future - (Wild Wild West).

Sci-fi movies are usually distributed by an extremely large variety of com pines, ranging from indie developers, to big named companies (Warner Brothers), from America and Europe, to Japan and their unique form of animation often adapted by the western world and manipulated for their audience. This is why the genre appears so appealing to such a wide range of people, as it is able to reach views because of its world wide distribution. The audience usually expects to see the abnormal, the supernatural, essentially anything that appears to exaggerate reality and the norm.