Examples of sci-fi hybrid genres:

Sci-fi western comedy e.g. Cowboys and Aliens (2011)

Sci-fi first contact action adventure e.g. Independence Day (1996)
Sci-fi alien invasion comedy e.g Mars Attacks (1996)

Examples of sci-fi sun genres:

AI (Artificial Intelligence) AI (2001)
Classic Sci-Fi War of the Worlds (1953)
Creature Films The Blob (1958)
Dystopic or Dystopia - e.g. Cyborg (1989)
Time Travel e.g. Back to the Future (1985)

A full list
Action or Adventure Sci-Fi
Alien Invasion
Aliens, Extra-Terrestrial Encounters
Anime
AI (Artificial Intelligence)
Atomic Age
Classic Sci-Fi
Creature Films
Disaster - See Greatest Disaster Film Scenes also
Dystopic or Dystopia
End of World
Exploration
Fairy Tales
Fantasy Films
50's Sci-Fi
"First Contact"
Futuristic (or Future Noir)
Galactic Empire
Lost Worlds
Mad Scientists
Militaristic
Monsters and Mutants
Mythic Fables or Mythology
Natural Horror

Near Future
Other Dimensions
Outer Space
Parallel (or Alternate) Universe
Post-Apocalyptic (or Apocalyptic)
Pre-historic
Psychological Sci-Fi
Pulp
Punk Sci-Fi (i.e., Steam Punk, Nano Punk, Atom
Punk, Cyber Punk, etc.)
Religious or Theological
Robots, Cyborgs and Androids
Sci-Fi Comedies
Sci-Fi Horror
Sci-Fi Thrillers
Space Opera
Space or Sci-Fi Westerns
Speculative
Star Trek
Super-Hero Films (e.g., Supermen and Others)
Supernatural
Tech-Noir
Time or Space Travel
Virtual Reality

The generic conventions of Science

Fiction
Film
Techniques:
Special
effects

Film
Techniques:
Close Ups of
futuristic
technologie
s/ scientific
elements.

Setting - Time:
The future, an
alternative timeline, or
an historical past that
contradicts historical
records.

Setting - Place:
Outer space,
other worlds,
or alternative
versions of
earth.

Science
Fiction
Convention
s

Symbolism:
Futuristic props, costume
and setting that represent
the scientific advancement
at the centre of the film.

Narrative
Elements:
Conflict
between
good and
evil.

Narrative
Elements:
The
development
and/or
application
of:
a) new
technology
(e.g.
nanotechnolo
gy, robots,
spaceships)
b) new
scientific
principles
(e.g. timetravel)
c)new
political
systems (e.g.
dystopian/uto
pian
societies)

Demographics and
Psychographics

Demographics
Definition: Demographic information
is used in media marketing to classify
an audience into age, gender, race
and other categories.
Demographics are broken into bands
depending on peoples jobs or status.
This is shown in this table.

Demographic Table

Psychographics
Psychographic segmentation divides
the market into groups based on
social class, lifestyle and personality
characteristics. It is based on the
assumption that the types of
products and brands an individual
purchases will reflect that persons
characteristics and patterns of living.

Psychographics

Strauss Binary Opposites

How the theory developed

Strauss was a French anthropologist
who lived in the early 1900's. He
believed that the way we understand
certain words depends not so much
on any meaning they themselves
directly contain, but much more by
our understanding of the difference
between the word and its 'opposite'
or, as he called it 'binary opposites'.

Examples
Our understanding of the word "villain"
depends on the difference between that
word and the opposing word "hero".
Within the media field, binary oppositions
are used very frequently in films,
especially in the horror genre. Many horror
films include sets of binary oppositions in
their plots. Particularly good and evil, sane
and insane, rational and irrational and
human and supernatural.

Producing binary opposites in your

own work
Make sure you include binary
opposites in your work relating to the
genre. These can be multiple
opposites within two characters, for
example good VS bad but also young
VS old.

History of binary
opposites
Binary opposites used to be
very simple and easy to spot
in films, such as good VS bad
in traditional fighting films.
However in recent years they
have become more complex
and unusual. For example, the
recent twilight films have had
a complicated plot in slowly
revealing vampires VS
werewolves, and this binary
opposite is difficult to spot in
the first film.

AVATAR -Another example

These oppositions reveal the structure of media

texts like posters, television and film. For
example,Lvi-Strauss suggested that if we look
at the genre of Science-Fiction we can draw a
series of Binary Oppositions. The themes of
Good and Evil seem to contrast with each
other, the same with: Humans and Aliens, Past
and Present, Normal and Strange, Known and
Unknown. If we look at the film Avatar, for
example, we can see a clashing of themes. The
fundamental idea is that the film is an
opposition between aliens and humans. Even
though these aliens (called the Navi) have,
some would argue, human characteristics,
there is still a confronting of races displayed.
The native, animalistic qualities of the Navi
contrast with the seemingly adapted and highly
intelligent humans. This is seen, while war
wages, in the high-tech weaponry of the
humans, juxtaposing with the tribal sticks and
stones weaponry of the Navi. The naked aliens
only covered with scraps of material juxtapose
with the humans strong, unyielding armor.
By noticing these types of binary oppositions,
we subconsciously create a contextual
background of films, engrossing us more and
allowing us to understand contrasts and
differences in the narrative, consequently
creating an understanding of the big picture.

Symbolic Codes involve all symbolic

Genre: Sci- Fi
elements in the film, even those a
Genre Codes: Low Key Lighting is used.
part of the above codes; lighting is or
-Sound effects are used (techno etc)
-Green screens are used
can be used symbolically, as can text
Conventions: It is used to create a sense of tension
in titles, colour of settings, costume,
It creates suspense
It gives a sense of reality
props etc; symbolic codes play a very

part in our reading of film

The key signifiers in this poster are Will Smith, the significant
robots
in the background, and the text i,robot.Theyall signify
meaning.
different things as each signifier has a different meaning
WE EXPLAIN USING THE
and can be interpreted in may ways. Will Smith signifies
the main character and from his body language and
WORDS
facial expressions we can gather that he is a inquisitive
CONNOTE OR
character as his facial expressions shows that he is
intrigued/confused. Some may also say that his facial
CONNOTATIONS
expression shows determination. The robots are position
within ranks almost as if to show they are an army.
However as the are standing behind the main character
it can also be said that they are his army. Also the title I
robot is the film title and can give us a clue as to what
the film is about. In this case we can gather that it is
about robots.The fact that there is only one man within
the picture, who is enlarged compared to the robots,
may represent that one man is the strongest. The
army of robots in the background can inform us that a
battle of some sort will occur etc. The poster gives the
audience a sense of what the concept of the film is and
who the main character is. This poster shows us that
robots play a main part of the film from both the
background, which is full of robots in stand, and from the
title i,robot

Symbolic codes in Aliens

RIPLEY
Only smiles for the child (Newt)
Shows she is maternal as well as tough.
the Exosuit, the military version of the P-5000.
symbolises Ripleys iconic status as a female action hero
There is a scene at the end where Ripley threatens to kill off its
offspring and the beast backs off. That shows a certain level of
kinship. They are both mothers, after all.
XENOMORPHS (The Aliens)
Acid blood connotes terror if you wound them, it hurts you
Big long heads (They have elongated, cylindrical skulls) binary
opposition to their human enemies connotes mystery and
otherworldliness
humanoid hind limbs shows they have been spawned using

Narrative metaphors:
Avatar has aliens representing 3rd
world people and humans=s
representing 1st world people,
destroying the environment and
destroying cultures
District 9 has aliens representing
immigrants and the black and
white people of south Africa are
united in their hatred for the
aliens it's a big metaphor for
apartheid and how wrong it is
since the aliens are not
dangerous