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Science Fiction (Sci-Fi) – Conversation Lesson

AJ: I’ve got a new sci-fi addiction.

Kristin: What’s that?

AJ: I started watching Stargate Atlantis. It’s—I think it was on, I think it ended, the show ended back in 2004 or 2005.

Kristin: Uh-huh.

AJ: Yeah, but I’m getting sucked into it. I’m watching it on Amazon.

Kristin: Is it related at all to Star Trek? I’ve heard of Stargate, but—that’s what you said it’s called, right?

AJ: Stargate, yeah.

Kristin: Stargate.

AJ: It’s another—it was another, actually there were two, technically there were three, but anyway there were two main Stargate series. There was first of all, there was a movie called Stargate. It had Kurt Russell in it.

Kristin: Okay. That’s—that’s probably how, what I’m thinking of for Stargate is the movie.

AJ: Yeah, and I think James, is it James, James Spader.

Kristin: Uh-huh.

AJ: Something Spader—yeah, and so then they made a whole series called Stargate or SG1. It ran for like 10 years.

Kristin: Wow.

AJ: Yeah, and then they made Stargate Atlantis as a spinoff of that show and that went for 5 years.

Kristin: So you’re watching Stargate Atlantis?

AJ: Because I’ve already watched the other one

Kristin: Oh. Do you think it’s as good as Star Trek?

AJ: No, it’s—it’s a little less serious, a little lighter than Star Trek.

Kristin: Okay.

AJ: Y’know, Star Trek, I love Star Trek out of all this kind of sci-fi stuff, but Star Trek kind of really had these deep themes, y’know—

Kristin: Yeah.

AJ: Basically I think the—the whole like underlying message of Star Trek was very optimistic, like they’re trying to show that humanity can evolve in the future to be wiser and more just and, y’know, that was sort of the premise.

Kristin: Right.

AJ: Whereas Stargate is set in more of like the modern day.

Kristin: Okay.

AJ: It’s a little more mixed. It’s a little more humorous. Stark Trek had some humor, too, but Stargate is—is I think a little more tongue in cheek.

Kristin: Okay. Y’know, growing up I never liked sci-fi and my older brother, I can remember in the bathroom I’d always find books, all these sci-fi books, and I would be in the bathroom and start looking at them, and they were just—I’d start trying to read some of the books and they were just over my head. I didn’t get it at all. Of course, y’know, he was 4 years older than me.

AJ: Mm-hm.

Kristin: But it wasn’t until I started getting older that I really started appreciating sci-fi. Although I will say I did like Star Wars from a very young age. I loved Star Wars.

AJ: Well, that’s what did it for me, too. Because when I was young, y’know, late elementary school, Star Wars came out in ‘76, I think. And I went and I saw it 13+ times at the theater and then when it came out on videotape at that time I watch it again. I know how many times I’ve seen that first Star Wars movie, but it’s getting remember it anymore, I’ve seen it so many times.

Kristin: yeah, yeah I look I love the Star Wars movies but I also just came to me when I was in middle school, I did read a Ray Bradbury book, something wicked this Way comes I think.

AJ: there’s a movie about that too.

Kristin: he’s a, he’s a sci-fi writer right?

AJ: yeah.

Kristin: I did like that. I tried to read another one a wrinkle in Time is, Is he the author of that?

AJ: I’m not sure, I haven’t read that.

Kristin: that one was a little over my head but it’s funny. One of the books I remember that my brother had and loved was Dune and it was just I don’t know eight years ago, I find I picked it up. A friend of mine had it and read it and said he was talking to how much he loved it. I was like yeah I remember my brother reading that many years ago and he keep recommending it to me so when we were in Thailand living in Thailand I found a copy and and read it or actually I brought it back for America. But anyway, I loved it, and looking back they were and I don’t know that I would’ve appreciated this reading it when I was younger, but there’s so many subtle references to like energy work in like meditation kind of really learning how to work with your mind and not let your mind I control.

Kristin: Yeah, I really appreciated that about it, as well as the—the whole worlds that were, or world I should say, that was described in Dune.

AJ: Well, that’s what I like about sci-fi is that—good sci-fi, at least—can really explore a lot of really interesting questions. It can be very imaginative. But also, y’know, lots of questions and imagining about what is the future of mankind? Y’know, what is the nature of humanity and, y’know, how are we evolving as a species or society? What direction are we going? And, y’know, sometimes the writers or the filmmakers, y’know, can paint a pretty dark picture of what may happen.

Kristin: Yeah.

AJ: And then another, others may be more optimistic and somewhere in the middle. But I find it just very thought provoking. A lot of good sci-fi is very thought provoking because the themes are—are fairly deep and complex and it’s like a genre that really allows for a lot of imagination and a lot of exploring of different themes and even complex themes.

Kristin: Mm-hm. Like I just remembered this group, Bene Gesserit, I think.

AJ: Oh yeah, in Dune.

Kristin: Yeah, they—in Dune, exactly, they were all about controlling your fear.

AJ: Yeah.

Kristin: Because fear will take over your mind and you’ll lose control.

AJ: Yeah.

Kristin: And that’s—that’s just a theme that I see occurring in different spiritual things that I do now.

AJ: Hm.

Kristin: So it just, it resonated with me reading it at a later time.

AJ: Mm-hm. Yeah, y’know, because I think in a lot of other genres like, especially that you see on TV or in movies, it can become very, very, very formulaic and in sci-fi I think at least, especially in books, that you can find a lot wider range of topics and imagination. For example, Star Wars, y’know, when I watch Star Wars now especially, I can see a lot of basically Taoist parallels, Taoist messages.

Kristin: Uh-huh.

AJ: Themes within that movie, y’know, they’re very kind of spiritual, very Zen, Taoist-influenced ideas, I think, throughout Star Wars, which are all very positive messages.

Kristin: Yeah, like I guess when they say, what, “May the force be with you.” AJ: Yeah, y’know, it’s kind of—the force in that movie is the idea of the Tao in Taoism, y’know, which is this sort of energy which goes through and makes up all of the universe, which also meshes well with modern physics, too.

Kristin: Right, right. Yeah—oh go ahead, were you going to say something.

AJ: I was just going to say, I just think that the thing that is fascinating about sci-fi, at least when it’s good, is that the themes and the ideas can be so much more deep or interesting or intellectual or philosophical than I find in other genres.

Kristin: Right. Yeah, no, I agree. Y’know, I wasn’t a big Star Trek fan when I was little. I like it now, I appreciate it now. But something I remember like thinking back to any Star Trek episodes I’ve seen, it’s interesting how they had little gadgets that you see now. For example, in the original series which was filmed back in—

AJ: ’60s.

Kristin: —the ’60s, they had a—they were like what our flip phones are like today.

AJ: Yeah, their communicators then in the show, back in the ’60s— Kristin: Yeah.

AJ: —they were basically predicting the cell phone.

Kristin: Right.

AJ: Yeah.

Kristin: Which is pretty, pretty amazing.

AJ: It is, yeah, you’re right, it is pretty cool. I know Star Trek: The Next Generation they started using tablets. They were showing them using tablets a lot and that’s back in the ’80s or ’90s.

Kristin: Oh, I never noticed that.

AJ: Sort of predicting tablets and iPads and things, too.

Kristin: Yeah.

AJ: Yeah, so they’ve done a—y’know, not all the time, but they’ve done a good job of predicting some technological trends.

Kristin: Uh-huh.

AJ: Yeah, the things they’ll show in an episode will pop up, y’know, 20 years later in a store.

Kristin: Yeah, I don’t know why I didn’t really like Star Trek when I was little, like, y’know, unlike Star Wars. I loved Star Wars. But Star Trek, I just couldn’t get into it at a young age.

AJ: It’s more cerebral, y’know, so Star Wars has more of an action adventure feeling to it, which can appeal to kids, I think.

Kristin: Yeah, right.

AJ: Whereas Star Trek is a little more cerebral, more, y’know, philosophical. Y’know, it makes you think more, a little more complex I think and I think for that reason it’s more appealing to adults, generally.

Kristin: Yeah, that makes sense. It’s got—so many of the episodes have great messages though.

AJ: Yeah, true.