How has fantasy art gained popularity throughout history?

Throughout history, the concept of fantasy and fictional concepts has been examined by humans
using a variety of mediums and sub-genres. From ancient poetry and manuscripts dating as far back
as 2000BC to the modern film industry exploring advanced technology and extreme scientific ideas; I
will be conducting a personal study on the rise in popularity of fantasy and how it has affected
society in recent history. More specifically, I will be focusing on sci-fi genre in order to demonstrate
the impact of fictional content on society

Early fantasy and science fiction

One of the very first precursors to science fiction and fantasy is a poem from ancient Mesopotamia
titled ‘Epic of Gilgamesh’, it dates as far back as 2000BC being the oldest great piece of literature and
the second oldest religious text losing only to the Pyramid texts from ancient Egypt. The story of
Gilgamesh tells a tale of gods, immortality and mythical creatures, the text written across several
stone tablets is considered by many to be the starting point of all fictional literacy and art, the tale
also mentions a fictional event called ‘The Great Flood’ which is considered by some to be the first
sighting of the ‘apocalyptic science fiction’ sub-genre. Mythology also went on to become popular in
other ancient civilizations such as Japan, Greece, Rome and the Mayan civilization.

The first mentions of what can be considered futuristic

technology have been done by poets from ancient India; for
example, in the Hindu Ramayana text the authors describe
flying golden palaces called ‘Vimana’ which are capable of
travelling through space, underwater and destroying entire
cities with advanced weaponry. Similar Hindu epics talk about
mechanical birds which sound like robots, as well as one tale
hinting at time travel when it includes a story of a King who
comes back from heaven and is surprised to see that many
ages have passed upon his return to Earth. A well known
ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes also wrote several
works around 400 BC which included elements associated with
‘fantastic voyage’ such as air travel and extra-terrestrial life.
Meanwhile, in 10th century Japan, “The Tale of the Bamboo
Cutter” featured illustrations which depicted a round flying
Illustration of a mechanical Vimana palace
machine which can be looked at as one of the earliest from ancient Hindu manuscripts
representations of the iconic ‘flying-saucer’ , a stereotypical
symbol of extra-terrestrial life which is used in modern day sci-fi as well as in the recent history of
media which has sparked and developed many famous conspiracy theories. Another notable
waypoint in the evolution of fantasy was the One Thousand and One Nights (also known as the
Arabian Nights), which was a collection of Middle Eastern stories from the Islamic golden age.
Multiple stories from the collection can be observed to feature science fiction elements. The tale
‘The Adventures of Bulukiya’ features a protagonist seeking immortality, who finds himself traveling
through the cosmos to worlds much different than his own encountering alien civilizations and
societies such as mermaids, talking serpents, talking trees and many more, a parallel can be drawn
between this and the 19th century Lord of the Rings saga. Many of these stories made their way to
Europe during the Medieval Ages. It is unknown by most people today that many iconic stories such
as “Aladdin’s Wonderful Lamp” or “Alibaba and the Forty Thieves” originate from the Arabian
Nights.
Birth of Modern Science Fiction - 19th Century

The 1800s are considered the birthplace of modern science fiction. It was during this time that some
of the most famous stereotypes and aspects of modern culture and speculation really started to
develop, having a greater impact on society.

One of the most iconic figures from the early 19 th century period was the English writer Mary
Shelley, who was the mind behind the famous story of Frankenstein. The point at which the book
was released is marked by many as the monstrous birth of science fiction, it’s regarded as the first
true piece of sci-fi and is the first and most famous instance of the “mad scientist” sub-genre and
stereotype. The book follows the story of a crazy scientist named Victor Frankenstein who residents
in a large laboratory experimenting on a giant corpse made up of carefully selected limbs and
features chosen by Victor himself. Using advanced technology, the scientist eventually reanimates
the corpse using a strike of lightning, and although having designed the creature to be beautiful, he
rises hideous and terrifying. The story has become so popular that people to this day mistakenly
refer to the creature as Frankenstein, as the iconic green giant with metal screws in the temple had
become a staple of gothic horror and it’s many spin-offs such as the one in the kids cartoon series
Scooby Doo has made it a popular character associated with Halloween and the supernatural
(despite the character not actually being of supernatural origin). Interestingly enough, while the plot
seems like an innocent and entirely fictional story on the surface, many professionals who have
studied the text believe that the technology behind the scientist’s experiment holds a tiny bit of
truth to it… more specifically that reanimating or at least preserving life using electricity and
neuroscience may be something what technology today is leading to within the next century or so.

Europe’s mark on Sci-Fi’s development and popularization came later in the 19 th century, in the form
of Jules Verne’s scientific romances and the science-oriented novels of H. G. Wells; known for
criticizing society and its way of life. The French Jules Verne’s romantic adventure stories such as
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and Journey to the Centre of the Earth were famous for
mixing emotionally relatable escapades with advanced technology and are recognised as one of the
first instances of modern sci-fi. On the other hand,
H. G. Wells used the genre’s storytelling devices to
make a didactic point about his society, in novels
such as The Time Machine or The War of the
Worlds. These two novels particularly were
credited with the popularization of time travel
using a vehicle (something seen in more recent
times like the TV series Doctor Who and pop-
culture phenomenon Back to the Future) and the
common modern theme of experiencing an alien
invasion. The War of the Worlds was later
illustrated by the Brazilian artist Alvim Correa who Jules Verne and H.G. Wells
created the famous ‘tripod’ depiction of the
futuristic Martian war machines. Wells often commented on the English society or political issues
such as Marxism, something reminiscent of the authors Charles Dickens in Oliver Twist and A
Christmas Carol or the socialist writer J.B. Priestley. The differences in the two’s storytelling
techniques and goals highlighted a key tension always present in the genre… whether it is best to tell
an exciting story focused on characters and ideas or to tell a realistic tale and make a didactic point
with the hope of making an impact on society.
Science Fiction’s Golden Age - 20th Century

The 20th century is regarded as the Golden Age of science fiction due to the immense amount of sci-fi
content produced and the drastic growth in popularity of the genre. It is also the century when
science fiction started covering other genres such as film, television, comic book and magazine. It
also saw the rise of some of the most impactful franchises in the history of pop-culture. After the
talent of Verne and H. G. Wells the next collective of sci-fi writers led the expansion of the genre,
such as Olaf Stapledon, Robert Hugh Benson, John W. Campbell, George Bernard Shaw and many
more. The most popularized sub-genre during this time period was by far space opera, a part of sci-fi
which involved space warfare and intergalactic battles.in 1926 an outlet was created for sci-fi stories
in the form of the pulp Amazing Stories magazine, which was a magazine dedicated entirely to sci-fi
and published multiple stories iconic to American culture such as Armageddon 2419 A. D.

With the advances in special effects and the piles of source material which Golden Age writers
provided, science-fiction was ready to come into its own in the 1950s and satisfy the public desire
for picture depictions of future technology, time travel, aliens etc. The 1950’s produced the first and
most classic sci-fi movies such as “Destination Moon, Them!”, “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”,
“Forbidden Planet” and many more. Apocalyptic sci-fi also started to take off with entries such as “It
Came from Beneath the Sea” and “The Day the Earth Stood Still”. The 1950’s also saw the creation of
iconic movie posters which accompanied the release of the movie. Fast forwarding 20 years, 1977
marked the release of the first Star Wars movie “A New Hope”, the following sequel “The Empire
Strikes Back” (later renamed to “Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back” after the release of 3
prequel movies) was established by a fan vote to be “The Greatest Movie of all Time”, due to the
movies amazing characters including a menacing villain, world-building and didactic messages.
Furthermore, George Lucas wasn’t afraid to comment on political and historical issues; the entire
franchises creative choices such as the name of the enemy soldiers (stormtroopers), imperial officer
uniforms, Darth Vader’s helmet and Emperor Palpatine’s rise to power create one huge allegory of
Nazi Germany, and the ending of the original trilogy where the protagonist forgives the antagonist
and focuses on the real villain in the story conveys a message of forgiveness and teaches the
audience that the problem ahead of them isn’t always the cause. The conflict between the less
equipped and outnumbered Rebel Alliance against the Galactic Empire also mirrored the conflict of
the Vietnam War.

The year 1934 also saw the founding of DC comics, before Marvel Comics also following them 5
years later. The two brands who focus on publishing superhero comic books have been leading the
industry for decades, with many of their characters having sci-fi and fantasy origins/plots, and are
the reason comic book illustrations are one of the most recognisable forms of art in the world. The
two companies went on to establish their own film franchises in the 21 st century, with their releases
making up over 20% of the top 50 highest grossing box office films of all time.

Impact of Science Fiction in the Present Era

The genre has had a greater impact on the public and society as it grew larger and more popular.
During World War II, American and German military planners studied various works of science fiction
in order to get ideas for weaponry or scare tactics. Allied air-craft pilots reported various sightings of
UFOs, which were assumed to be secret weapons employed by the Axis. In some instances, the
pilots described a saucer shape, and gave the UFOs the nickname ‘foo fighter’. German V1 and V2
rockets were also reminiscent of rocket ships from pulp magazine sci-fi. Most importantly, the event
which turned sci-fi from fiction and imagination to possible reality was the dropping of the atom
bomb in 1945, something that was predicted in many prior pieces of sci-fi literature. Another similar
event is the supposed flying saucer incident in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947, which turned a large
area of sci-fi into modern folklore or urban myth. The incident is believed to have been covered-up
by the FBI, as they quickly got control over the rubble and disregarded it as a weather-balloon; whilst
witnesses described grey humanoid bodies on the crash site. Sci-fi has also predicted new
technological inventions years before in novels and film, such as: the defibrillator, machine learning,
tasers, 3D printers, erasing memory and many more. The public was also shocked, when the
American government revealed that they had undertaken a CIA mind control program coded ‘Project
MKUltra’ and other unethical inventions such a heart-attack gun with invisible bullets.

Today, the sci-fi genre tackles a lot of political and ethical issues. Some examples including
deforestation and global warming in 2012’s “Avatar”, overpopulation in 2018s “Avengers: Infinity
War” and 2008’s WALL-e which showed the potential effects of pollution and littering on our planet.