FictionThatMatters.org

Science fiction stories are easily done badly. UFOs can be seen dangling from strings, characters blurt out stiff, mechanical lines, and the action can turn upon the thinnest of plot points. You’ve seen them – you may even have a poster of Robot Jox (1990) stuffed somewhere in your old college hamper. But a good science fiction story can recast your assumptions about the way you live, about our purpose, and make you reconsider your own faith. Human rights issues can be placed in a new light, rendering them more accessible outside the parameters of the ‘real’ world. Sci-fi stories can also be inspiring. Consider Michio Kaku, an acclaimed inventor of the ‘theory of everything’ known as string theory. Kaku is a life-long sci-fi lover who credits the genre for his inspiration. A good science fiction story can change your life. It can give you everything, like Kaku, or nothing but a cramp.

What’s the difference between the good and the bad? The Imagine Science Film Festival kicked off with an illuminating panel by leading scientists, filmmakers, and screenwriters who specialize in understanding the role of science in fiction. The panel was moderated by National Public Radio host Ira Flatow at the futuristic office of the New York Academy of Sciences. Ari Handel, neuroscientist and screenwriter of The Fountain (2006), Darcy Kelley, neuroscience professor at Columbia, Sidney Perkowitz, a physics professor and film buff, and screenwriter Billy Shebar all joined in an impassioned discussion about “Science in Fiction”. The panel was as much concerned about the valid depiction of scientists as it was about the quality of the entertainment.

Flatow steered the four experts – between silly puns – into educating us about science’s role in film. But the lessons learned are easily attributable beyond film into fiction in general. Read how to write a sci-fi story in seven easy steps here.