The beauty and vastness of outer space serves as a beacon for man's desire to continually expand, to transcend all boundaries that hinder his desire to be unrestricted in every direction. Humanity is engaged in an eternal search for greater knowledge, and outer space is inexhaustible in terms of novelty and excitement. Until recently, however, the qualities of the Earth were still much more unknown than now, and therefore our planet was much more likely to become a mysterious thing in previous centuries. But with the progress of science came a great boredom regarding the patterns of earthly things, for mankind had become enlightened as to most of them. Yet, humanity's longing for the unknown and mysterious is more vital than ever, and the science fiction narrative genre offers a place where the human imagination can run wild, as it would in a wild nature. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Science fiction is full of themes that demonstrate the relationship between civilization and wilderness. John Dean states that “The infinite and timeless realms of science fiction are wild and provocative landscapes” (1982, p.70). By this, Dean means that space, the setting of many, if not most, science fiction stories, is the truest form of wilderness, because we as humans know very little about it and its contents. , but we want to know more. Speaking of which. The whole thing is essentially wilderness. This is why there are truly no limits to the strangeness that a science fiction story can contain. The human imagination is drawn to this quality of limitless possibility, because it is an escape from the confines of the mundane, repetitive life we ​​live in our society. Through this kind of narrative it is also made clear that what separates civilization from wilderness is an artificial, centralized authority. That infinite range of possibilities found in science fiction is expressed as science itself, as one might imagine. The very nature of the birth of science fiction as a genre is a testament to this fact. CN Manlove writes in Science Fiction: Ten Explorations, in reference to the creation of science fiction as a genre, that “This process was initiated through what was initially called 'science fiction' magazines: the pioneer publisher was Hugo Gernsback, who started Amazing Stories in 1926. Gernsback's aim – if he soon found it only partially achievable – was to teach the possibilities of science through the medium of fiction” (1986, p. 7). We of the modern age know very well the distinctive features of Gernsback's vision. Science fiction novels, shows, and films all contain the theme of humanity's scientific or intellectual expansion and progress, but particularly humanity's technological progress. Manlove writes: “Although the level of science in science fiction is not constant, the genre can generally be said to be about technology, or at least the area of ​​the mind responsible for technological progress: the intellectual, conscious self” (“Science Fiction,” 1986, p. 9) The list of examples of this theme would be too long to read in full. But a few examples should suffice, such as the Terminator saga, Oblivion, iRobot, Starship Troopers, Star Wars and Star Trek, both the show and the films. All of these contain an element of technological prowess within them. The technological possibilities displayed in these artworks reflect humanity's innate desire to traverse the infinite field of possibilities. The typical wild forest we all know and love offers a range of possibilities comparable to thoseoffered by the science fiction genre, because it lacks a centralized political decision maker. Endless possibilities exist where there is no central policy maker. And where there are infinite possibilities, danger must exist in one form or another. The wilderness is a place of danger, partly due to its absence of any kind of centralized direction or tendency. Beings living in Earth's wild environments often don't like each other very much and so conflict is possible, which is what constitutes the danger. Some are determined to conquer, kill, and eat other creatures, while those they prey on are equally intent on remaining alive and well. These factors combine to create a dangerous wilderness environment. War of the Worlds (2005), a science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg, exemplifies this wilderness danger quite well, albeit in a way that could reasonably be called exaggerated. In the film, an alien invasion, which initially overwhelms governments and armies around the world, leaves the main characters fearfully wandering in search of a safe place to settle, and over the course of the film, the three encounter a series of dangers (2005). . Other science fiction films, shows, and novels also offer this type of danger, War of the Worlds is simply one of the most well-known examples to come out recently. In it, the entire human civilization, once relatively peaceful, is reduced to an absolute wasteland after the attack launched by extraterrestrial beings (2005). The film shows that science fiction is a place where the danger of the wild can manifest itself even in the domain of humanity, which is supposed to be a civilized place with limited possibilities. Some astrophysicists theorize that there are several groups of extraterrestrial beings who regularly travel between the stars. It would not be foolish or unreasonable to suggest this idea, considering the inconceivable size of the universe, coupled with the incredible amount of time it has existed for. Can we really be alone? Well, if we are not alone, one might wonder whether or not there are beings scattered throughout the Universe, all at different levels of evolutionary development. What if the entire universe contained a much larger version of Earth's biosphere? Countless science fiction stories center on this idea of ​​a universe that is home to a wide variety of life forms, some more technologically advanced than others. Star Wars is a good example of this idea. The setting of this much-adored work of art consists of many planets and non-planets (the Death Star), each inhabited by creatures of varying intelligence (George, 1977). As a result, some of the Star Wars worlds are covered in cities created by beings with a human-like level of intelligence, such as Coruscant (George, 1977). Other worlds, such as Dantooine, are inhabited mostly by creatures of a more primitive nature, and are therefore much closer to a perfect wilderness than Coruscant is (George, 1977). And some worlds, like Tatooine, are somewhere in between, sparsely inhabited by intelligent life; in the case of Tatooine, it is the Tusken, who appear to be few and far between (George, 1977). Star Wars therefore, along with other works of science fiction, is in accordance with Roderick Nash's theory of a "spectrum of conditions or environments ranging from the purely savage at one end to the purely civilized at the other" (Wilderness and the American Mind, 1973, p. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Now the reader can easily conclude that science fiction is a place where the relationship between civilization and the desert is shown. Science fiction, with all its plots and,.