Critical Evaluation of Sci-Fi: Present Concerns in Avatar and Lucy

This essay critically evaluates the statement that "Science Fiction is more about the present than future," using the films Avatar (2009) and Lucy (2014) as examples. The essay argues that sci-fi movies, though often set in the future or featuring futuristic elements, primarily reflect contemporary social, political, and philosophical concerns. It examines how Lucy's exploration of human potential and Avatar's depiction of environmental and colonial themes resonate with present-day issues. The analysis highlights how these films use futuristic settings and technologies to comment on current human conditions, societal problems, and the human relationship with the environment, thereby supporting the central argument that sci-fi serves as a mirror to the present rather than a window into the future. The essay delves into the philosophical aspects of human conditions as portrayed in these films and how they connect to real-world issues, such as environmental degradation, resource exploitation, and the treatment of indigenous populations.

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Sci-Fi or Science Fiction is a film genre, which uses science-based fiction and
speculative depiction of a phenomenon not generally accepted by the conventional science
like alien worlds, extraterrestrial life forms, extrasensory perceptions, and time with elements
like robots, spacecraft, interstellar travel, cyborgs and other technologies. The concept of time
travelling has been used mostly in sci-fi films (Appel et al. 2016.) This kind of movies also
stresses on highlighting social and political issues and explore the philosophical aspect of
human conditions. The genre of sci-fi had existed since the early years of silent cinema. The
first movie under this genre was “A Trip to the Moon” directed by Georges Melies in 1902. It
was made using the trick photography effects (Solomon, 2016.) The other major example of
this genre is Metropolis which was again a silent movie directed by Fritz Lang in 1927. It is
also an example of German Expressionism and considered one of the greatest films of this
film theory (Rozzano and Smith, 2018.)
As per (Stam, 2017) German Expressionism is a German art movement of the early
twentieth century that emphasised on the ideas and inner feelings of artist replicating the
reality by bright colours, simplified shapes and brushstrokes. The German movies of the
1920s brought art to life. There was a lack of coherent plot at times and characters
represented art pieces of expressionism into films and motion pictures rather than a random
story in visual media. However, Lang’s Metropolis had proved as a journey of departure
overgeneralized from the gross analysis mentioned above. The film was still considered more
congruent along with characteristics of Die Neue Sachlichkeit. It says that the theory of
German Expressionism is linked somewhat with sci-fi films because of the plots that feature
one’s insanity and themselves occupied with madness. It is very similar to the above theory
when all the aspects are brought together into reality in a futuristic way with numerous
subtexts in them. This paper aims to critically evaluate the statement “Science Fiction is more

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about the present than future.” The movie Avatar (2009) and Lucy (2014) will be discussed in
support of the above statement.
Lucy is a movie directed by Luc Besson in the year 2014. It is a French science sci-fi
action film starring Scarlett Johansson as Lucy and Morgan Freeman as Professor Norman. It
is dependent on a myth that we only use ten per cent of the human brain. Lucy taps into a
possibility beyond limitless and unlocks a power that allows her to use 100 per cent of her
brain. The movies of sci-fi always revolve around one factor that is humanity versus progress.
Despite being 29 years old, Scarlet Johansson played the role of an American student who
lives in Taipei. She starts to date a sketchy man that wanted her to get one locked briefcase to
Mr. Keng, a mysterious person into a hotel (Shetley, 2018.) It clearly shows that it is an
unwise move, but the film is trying to give jarring cuts into images such as a mouse that is
approaching some trap. Those juxtapositions are only a link of what is going to come next in
the movie and also later into full blast through a Koyaanisqatsi-Esque-montage.
The statement “Science fiction is more about the present than future’ links with Lucy
in a way where the superpowers of Lucy depicts the future, but everything is happening in the
present. The main agenda of sci-fi movies are that they are always made in the present, but
even if they are watched after ten years, it still feels like a present. Lucy makes unintentional
contact with a narcotic that is new (Vrasidas et al. 2015.) After Mr. Keng’s hooligans get
hold of Lucy, she gets knocked out and comes in contact with CPH4 that gets inserted into
her belly. When the molesters end up hitting and defeat her, the chemical substance gets
leaked into the stream of her blood; it spreads all over her body resulting in giving birth to a
new superhero. Lucy is a 90-minute film where the prior two-thirds of the cinema is fun and
propulsive. She gets driven towards little avengful but also indulged in the hunt for other bags
full of drugs. CPH4 is a natural drug that is given to pregnant women. She has the ability to
make people float in the air, type in a supersonic speed and manipulate phone lines. These are

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the powers that signify the scientific and futuristic perspective but again, there is a point
everything is happening in the present (Faithful, 2016.) The main theme behind this revolves
around the myth that human being only uses ten per cent of their brain. The movie shows the
possibilities if human beings become capable of using their brain more than ten per cent.
They will be able to do things in the present that is futuristic. The above statement links here
that being in the present, Lucy is doing futuristic activities that might reflect the capability of
reality but it not reality yet ( Telotte, 2016.)
Since Lucy accidentally consumes that drug, the power of her brain starts to escalate
from the conventional ten percent usage of human brain. This brings her magical powers
those are unusual for normal humans. The powers include manipulating phone lines, make
people float in the air, and type in a supersonic speed. She also knew that with these powers
she will not survive for long because she is using larger percentage of brain. She requires
additional crystals for reaching to full transcend and provide freeman the knowledge, which
mankind seeks. These powers can be both misused and used in a productive way. Through
Lucy, Besson tries to portray a dilemma of human consciousness where killing can be both
used in a positive way or negative way. Lucy tries to kill people who harmed her and tries to
find answers for her then present state.
Here, it is very justifiable of her to find the hooligans and kill them but if looked
from a contrasting perspective then killing is a negative activity from a humane perspective.
The director shows the two conscious dilemmatic human minds and how both are right in
their own way. The philosophy in this sci-fi states a human condition of using their
superpowers or abilities in a way that either helps the mankind or destroys them. When the
anecdotes are joined with the above statement of this essay, it is opined as per the critical
evaluation that the science fiction showed on screen might talk about the futuristic abilities

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but all of them are happening and linked with the present (Swanson, Bubandt and Tsing,
2015.)
The movie ends in an abrupt way somewhat like 2001’s A Space Odyssey with
shorter spans of attention. When Lucy is headed towards a psychedelic freak out and stakes
of screenplay gets raised, there is a scene of action with Korean hooligans fighting with
French cops. The Korean people tries to get Lucy while the French cops are trying to protect
her. Meanwhile, the percentage of her mind reaches to 100 per cent and she disappears and
gets deatomotized. Hence, the science fiction is more about the present than future and even
if t is watched after ten years it still seems like present. There is no future events and it is
basically an illusion to portray the present human conditions in a futuristic way (Alpher,
2019.)
On the other hand, in the movie Avatar directed by James Cameron in 2009 is a
movie taking place in 2154. As per (Bergesen, 2016) It shows that human beings have
depleted natural resources of Earth and moved to outer space in a colonized world like
Pandora, which is a moon that orbits around a giant of gas into a galaxy of Alpha Centauri.
The protagonist is Jake Sully played by Sam Worthington who travels to Pandora in disguise
of the Naavi tribe as Resource Development Administration or RDA’s spy. He was sent there
to get a metal unobtanium only found in the indigenous Naavi Island that costs millions on
Earth. Colonel Miles Quaritch offers Jake a deal to gather all the information about Naavi
Island in return of giving him new legs. However, infiltration of Jake in the Island does not
goes as expected. He meets the Neytiri played by Zoe Saldana, a Naavi woman and develops
a soul connection with her. He learns that the spiritual connections of Island and becomes one
of them. There is a fact that Jake is still a human inside the body of a Naavi and RDA’s spy.
The administration sends out an order to destroy the Island and move them to some other
place. The people there finds out the truth of Jake. In spite of Neytiri and other Naavi people

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being against him, Jake finds out ways and fights for the Naavi Island against administration
and defeats them. He gets transferred as a Naavi and lives there with the people (Otomo et al.
2019.)
As per ( Kramer, 2018) The movie is set in the present time but talks about the
futuristic perspectives relating to the present. The troubles faced by the indigenous people of
Naavi reflects the problems of indigenous people on Earth. Also, the resources on Earth are
getting unrenewable in a way that people have to go to other planet like to bring resources on
Earth. The tree of souls in the movie has powers to take away consciousness, personality and
memories of a person then transfer them via an immersive network of neural belonging to
Pandora and get permanently placed into a human body and let them survive as Naavi
member. The transformation here not only depicts the spiritual beliefs of Naavis but also
gives out a hint of scientific advancements that has the potential to become achievable in
future. This will might allow saving life on Earth through this neural transformation process.
This future aspect of science fiction id again showed in the present and portrayed in a way
that can be inculcated into the present for benefiting mankind. The futuristic perspective of
problems faced by the indigenous people in Naavi Island shows the actual present condition
of the indigenous people on Earth (Liao, 2016.)
The movie Avatar can be linked to human history in a number of ways that talks
about the present with futuristic perspective. The parallels amongst Pandora and conquest of
RDA depicts the European colonization of Africa, Asia, America and so on that happens on
planet Earth. RDA is driven financially similarly as the European countries were during tie of
imperialism. Gobbling of the resources and forcing of original inhabitants to shift in some
other place or kill them was a huge section of forming the modern world of human beings.
The issues of racism, industrialization consequences losing civilizations and so on continued

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after that in human world. Avatar particularly evaluated plights of the naïve Americans
againgts the forces of Europeans through the RDA against the Naavi Island (Tevares, 2019.)
It also shows a futuristic suggestion that in 2154, humans will destroy mother Earth
and go to other planets through some repetitive cycle leading to destruction of the
environment. The movies portrays the view humans had once upon a time that is the pristine
world of lush, landscape and untouched. It showed an atmosphere that not only gets
destroyed by pollution but also gets destroyed by other issues and consequences received in
order to save a planet that is thriving (Ripple, Meijaard and Newsome, 2018.) It also showed
the philosophy of present human condition that they believe to get entitled on every good
thing available on the planet but that is not how it works and ultimately ends up into misuse
of resources. Thus, the statement science fiction is more about the present than future is
shown through the reflective issues that is faced by planet Earth.

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