Impact of Science Fiction on Popular Culture

Science fiction is one of the most popular genres today and you can see its impact on pop culture almost everywhere. Music, memes, movies, anime, cartoons, games, and books have tons of content inspired by science fiction that continues to dominate pop culture.

People who love this culture can go to comic cons or the screenings of OG films like Star Wars years after their original release. Or you can plan activities together with the fandom over discord servers. All you need is a Spectrum Internet or some other connection with fast speeds and no limits on data. Everyone can be part of the culture with their available resources.

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The following are the areas where you can see the impact of science fiction:

Movies

Whether it is bots versus clones on Star Wars or Iron Man from Avengers going against supervillains in his high-tech suit, anyone can tell that it’s science fiction. Both series have multiple series that went on to be the highest-grossing films of all time.

Apart from these two franchises, Avatar and Avatar 2 are prime examples of how much the world loves the science fiction genre. Avatar is the highest-earning film in history and Avatar 2 is the third highest. You can imagine how big of a fanbase this one franchise alone has despite the fact that the second film came a decade after the first one.

Popular mainstream successes aside, many classics like Back to the Future are again of the same genre that a lot of people love so much.

Drama Series

Fans of science fiction are not limited to just the big screen content, they come with all sizes and shapes of screens. The extensive list of sci-fi shows on Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, and other popular streaming platforms is enough evidence of it. An episode of Stranger Things that played Running Up That Hill made that song one of the most listened to for days to come. This song originally came almost four decades which makes it even more surprising. Shows like X Files continue to be all-time greats.

Anime

The popularity of anime continues to grow every year. A lot of OG anime fans got hooked on this form of art after watching Dragon Ball Z or Mobile Suit Gundam. For those who don’t know what a Gundam is, it is a giant robot for military purposes. You can think of it as a Japanese version of Transformers but a lot cooler. Not all robots in anime are carrying out military expeditions, cute ones like Doraemon have been serving humans with their futuristic gadgets.

Aliens is another concept anime and manga artists have loved so much. Goku is probably the most popular alien joined by Piccolo, Vegeta, and probably Broly. And millions love them. At anime cons, a lot of gym bros are cosplaying Goku regularly.

The best part is that the artists find ways to connect the real-world problems of today with sci-fi concepts that the audience connects with so much that they would stack up the manga additions, get wallpapers, and so much more.

Music

Today’s music is another clear reflection of how much people love sci-fi. Music videos of a lot of singers and rappers now have futuristic themes. The like of Lady Gaga and Black Eyed Peas popularized this practice which is now seen on a regular.

Music videos aside, the music itself has embraced sci-fi themes by a lot. The most prominent examples are in EDM (electronic dance music) subgenres like future bass, trap, and dubstep. Producers have found ways to make the laser sounds melodic.

Memes

Any article discussing pop culture would be incomplete without discussing memes. A lot of memes are more of people-generated content on platforms like Reddit and Twitter. You can find a whole lot of them with sci-fi themes. Nowadays, you can find a lot of AI and chatGPT memes that will give you some good laughs.

Conclusion

Science fiction has had a 360 impact on pop culture that can be seen in the lives of a lot of people. People love it and it continues to grow.

David Prior

David Prior is the editor of Today News, responsible for the overall editorial strategy. He is an NCTJ-qualified journalist with over 20 years’ experience, and is also editor of the award-winning hyperlocal news title Altrincham Today. His LinkedIn profile is here.