SIHA 2018 Original cover art by Michael Whelan |
Science fiction fans praise authors who are "world builders". For example, Isaac Asimov created a fictional universe in which there were NO aliens, but while we humans spread through the galaxy we were accompanied by humanoid robots. Arthur C. Clarke and Carl Sagan both imagined fictional timelines for Earth in which we humans made contact with aliens who were technologically advanced far beyond our primitive culture.
Fwai-chi |
Sadly, movie makers in Hollywood seldom bother trying to depict an alien civilization on screen.
Sometimes, in the absence of there being any interesting aliens in new films, I turn SIHA into a desperate search for ANYTHING interesting in Hollywood, not just interesting aliens. However, here in 2018 I did not have to go to that extreme. In my view, it is likely that if aliens ever make the long journey to Earth, then they will arrive in the form of artificial lifeforms. We might not even recognize such alien visitors and they might think about humans in much the same way we think about insects.
source |
This year an effort was made to go beyond the American movie industry of Hollywood in hope of finding interesting space aliens (see this earlier blog post). When I allow myself to fantasize, I wonder if maybe the film-making industry in some other country has a more sophisticated view of the role of space aliens in movies.
Nominations
Extinction |
Welcome to the future Earth of Extinction, a world where robots live as families and are not even aware that they are robots. How can this be? Someone in Hollywood wanted the make an alien invasion movie... without aliens. Here, the "invaders" of Earth are humans who had been living on Mars because the robots took over Earth and kicked the humans out. Or something.
I have not watched Extinction. I watched some snippets, but I fast-forwarded through the seemingly endless shooting scenes. This is a "revolt of the robots" movie that initially fools viewers into thinking that they are watching an "alien invasion" movie.
In the Ekcolir Reality original cover art by Barclay Shaw |
Maybe there will be a prequel movie made that will explain the backstory for Extinction and how it came to be that Earth was populated by robots who don't know that they are robots. All the makers of Extinction did in their "explanation" was repeatedly say, "The robots were made to forget that they were robots so that they would be happy." Riiiiiiight. It makes no sense, which is par for Hollywood flicks.
by Dennis Feltham Jones |
The Blob 2018 |
1958 |
Annihilation
2) Nominated in the "mysterious blob" category.
"it might be fair to say that the Shimmer’s origins are alien, but they might not derive from an alien" (source)
Try not to loose your head on the beach. |
cover art: Paul Lehr |
One of the first science fiction novels that I ever read was Frank Herbert's The Santaroga Barrier. That Paul Lehr cover illustration for The Santaroga Barrier (the image to the right on this page) helped teach me not to buy a book because of the cool cover illustration.
If I were an alien...
Imagine some aliens who reach Earth, but these aliens are a form of artificial life. The aliens are composed of nanoscopically tiny components and they want to start studying Earthlings. Maybe their goal is to find a way to step in and fix some fundamental problems in human society. As a first step, the aliens take control of the residents of a small town by feeding them a steady diet of behavioral control nanites (called "Jaspers" by the locals). Anyone from outside of this small test site is either assimilated and brought into the local alien-controlled community or quietly killed.
cover art by Dean Ellis |
Recycling
Fast forward to Annihilation and we see this same basic plot of The Santaroga Barrier once again. A small part of the country (called "Area X") is under the control of some alien influence. The aliens have advanced nanotechnology and they can casually manipulate the cells and genes of humans, just as easily as our scientists now splice genes and transform bacteria in laboratory culture dishes.
It is the middle ground, Area X, between science fiction and horror |
Film makers have a problem when trying to visually depict invisible aliens. It is easy for me to imagine that First Contact might happen when an artificial life form of alien origin reaches Earth. However, an artificial life form composed of nanites might be invisible until many of its nanite components assemble onto a macroscopic shape. Since I'm not addicted to making horror movies, I believe that such an artificial life form would be better programmed than the alien depicted in Annihilation. Of course, you can't make a mindless horror movie if the aliens are logical and behaving rationally.
...what big teeth you have, Grandma... |
Why Now?
Any First Contact story should concern itself with this question: why are the aliens making contact with us now? The only answer to this question from the makers of Annihilation is that this was when they wanted to make a horror film.
Arthur C. Clarke actually made 2001 into a science fiction movie; he showed that the aliens had long been visiting Earth, and even shaped the human species. Humans only got around to noticing the presence of the aliens in the year 2001. For Annihilation, the aliens are just a scaffold for a horror movie. And, sadly, I fear that there will be a dreary sequel to Annihilation with even more gore and less to say about the aliens. However, that movie has already been made: Before We Vanish...
3) Nominated in the "Japan invades America" category is Before We Vanish.
Before We Vanish begins right where Annihilation ended. Some aliens have taken on human form and they start exploring Earth and human society.
"Let's Make a Copy" or "why Hollywood actresses need big boobs" |
Into the Shimmer: "Stop or I'll kill me!" |
Rogue Moon |
cover art by Christopher Yates |
Related Reading: "Invasion of Privacy"
The 2018 SIHA Award Winner
Next: return to 1977
Visit the Gallery of Posters |
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