Science Fiction To Medical Reality

At the other end of the spectrum we can see the distinctly cautionary warning that the If this Goes On scenario embodies within SciFi cinema. Dystopian science fiction makes great use of the fears conjured up by the intrinsic warning in the phrase If this Goes On. The film adaptation of George Orwell’s novel, 1984, for example, presents a world where invasive surveillance through ‘tele-screens’ and the media manipulations of a totalitarian government create a frightening vision of what our society might become if we do not heed the warnings about proliferation of surveillance technology and government invasion of privacy. Similarly GATTACA serves as a profoundly cautionary tale against the misuse of genetic information and genetic profiling. What if, If Only and If this Goes On… are, in a sense, scenario questions. They establish a framework for generating and modulating the feelings viewers have as they enter into the world of the story and the contract of viewing. And this, of course, is at the heart of understanding genre: recognition that individual genres elicit and connect with specific modes of emotion in viewers. More particularly that viewers enter into the viewing contract with expectations about how that viewing experience will make them feel. As we select the DVD from the rental store or buy the movie ticket at the box office we may not possess knowledge of what will happen in the film, but we do have clear expectations of what we hope and expect to feel from watching the film based on the genre we have chosen.