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Portal:Speculative fiction

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Speculative fiction is an umbrella phrase encompassing the more fantastical fiction genres, specifically science fiction, fantasy, horror, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, utopian and dystopian fiction, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, and alternate history in literature as well as related static, motion, and virtual arts.

It has been around since humans began to speak. The earliest forms of speculative fiction were likely mythological tales told around the campfire. Speculative fiction deals with the "What if?" scenarios imagined by dreamers and thinkers worldwide. Journeys to other worlds through the vast reaches of distant space; magical quests to free worlds enslaved by terrible beings; malevolent supernatural powers seeking to increase their spheres of influence across multiple dimensions and times; all of these fall into the realm of speculative fiction.

Speculative fiction as a category ranges from ancient works to cutting edge, paradigm-changing, and neotraditional works of the 21st century. It can be recognized in works whose authors' intentions or the social contexts of the versions of stories they portrayed is now known. For example, Ancient Greek dramatists such as Euripides, whose play Medea (play) seemed to have offended Athenian audiences when he fictionally speculated that shamaness Medea killed her own children instead of their being killed by other Corinthians after her departure. The play Hippolytus, narratively introduced by Aphrodite, is suspected to have displeased contemporary audiences of the day because it portrayed Phaedra as too lusty.

In historiography, what is now called speculative fiction has previously been termed "historical invention", "historical fiction," and other similar names. It is extensively noted in the literary criticism of the works of William Shakespeare when he co-locates Athenian Duke Theseus and Amazonian Queen Hippolyta, English fairy Puck, and Roman god Cupid all together in the fairyland of its Merovingian Germanic sovereign Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream. In mythography it has been termed "mythopoesis" or mythopoeia, "fictional speculation", the creative design and generation of lore, regarding such works as J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Such supernatural, alternate history, and sexuality themes continue in works produced within the modern speculative fiction genre.

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Selected profile

Portrait by Michael Hughes

Douglas Noël Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author, humourist, and screenwriter. He is best known as the creator of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a 1978 radio comedy series which he adapted into a "trilogy" of five books that sold over 14 million copies in his lifetime. He also adapted it into a 1981 television series, a 1984 video game and a posthumously-released 2005 feature film.

Adams was born in Cambridge and raised in Essex. In 1971, he entered St John's College, Cambridge, where he became a member of the student comedy club Footlights. Despite initial hopes to become a comedian in the mould of John Cleese, Adams began his career as a television and radio writer. Although a brief writing partnership with Graham Chapman gave Adams a credit on a 1974 episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus, he entered a period of career difficulty, with many pitched projects going unproduced, but gained work as a writer on Doctor Who and served as script editor for its 17th season. (Full article...)

Selected work

Resident Evil: Apocalypse is a 2004 action horror film directed by Alexander Witt and written by Paul W. S. Anderson. The sequel to Resident Evil (2002), it is the second installment in the Resident Evil film series, which is loosely based on the video game series of the same name. The film marks Witt's feature directorial debut; Anderson, the director of the first film, turned down the job due to other commitments, though stayed on as one of its producers. Milla Jovovich reprises her role as Alice, and is joined by Sienna Guillory as Jill Valentine and Oded Fehr as Carlos Olivera.

Resident Evil: Apocalypse is set directly after the events of the first film, where Alice escaped from an underground facility overrun by zombies. She now bands together with other survivors to escape the zombie outbreak which has spread to the nearby Raccoon City. The film borrows elements from several games in the Resident Evil series, such as the characters Valentine and Olivera and the villain Nemesis. Filming took place in Toronto at locations including Toronto City Hall and Prince Edward Viaduct. (Full article...)

Selected quote


T. O'Conor Sloane (1851–1940), "Discussions" Amazing Stories (January 1927). This quote is notable for being the first "modern use" of the term science fiction.[1]
  1. ^ Westfahl, Gary. Science Fiction Quotations. Yale University Press. 2005.
More quotes from Wikiquote: science fiction, fantasy, alternate history

Selected picture

A Midsummer Night's Dream Act IV, scene i
A Midsummer Night's Dream Act IV, scene i
Credit: Artist: Henry Fuseli; Engraver: J.P. Simon
Restoration: Lise Broer

An engraving of William Shakespeare's comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream, depicting Titania and Bottom, with fairies in attendance. The play portrays the events surrounding the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta, both figures of Greek mythology, and the actions of fairies who inhabit the forest in which most of the play is set. It is one of Shakespeare's most popular works for the stage and is still widely performed today. (POTD)

Did you know...

Nancy Cartwright

Upcoming conventions

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Dates can usually be found on the article page.


See also these convention lists: anime, comic book, furry, gaming, multigenre, and science fiction.

Selected article

Din Grogu (/ˈɡrɡu/) or simply Grogu, colloquially referred to as Baby Yoda, is a character from the Star Wars Disney+ original television series The Mandalorian. He is an infant member of the same species as the Star Wars characters Yoda and Yaddle, with whom he shares a strong ability in the Force. In the series, the protagonist known as "the Mandalorian" is hired to track down and capture Grogu for a remnant of the fallen Galactic Empire, but instead, he becomes his adoptive father and protects him from the Imperials. The character's real name was not revealed until "Chapter 13: The Jedi", which also explained that Grogu was raised at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant during the Clone Wars. Before this, the character's official name, used in subtitles and captions, was "the Child". At the end of "Chapter 24: The Return", he is given the name Din Grogu after being formally adopted by the Mandalorian, whose family name is "Din". Grogu appears in every episode of the series, except "Chapter 15: The Believer". He was created by The Mandalorian creator and showrunner Jon Favreau based upon his desire to explore the mystery around Yoda and his species. The character was further developed in early conversations between Favreau and executive producer Dave Filoni, and the character's imagery was defined by concept artist Christian Alzmann. Grogu is mostly a work of animatronics and puppetry, although accentuated with computer-generated imagery. The character also appears in the series The Book of Boba Fett and the film The Mandalorian and Grogu. (Full article...)

On this day...

June 23:

Film releases

Births

Deaths

  • 1967 - Frank Edwards (b. 1908), an American writer, broadcaster, and one of the pioneers in radio, well-known for a series of popular books about UFOs and other paranormal phenomena


Possible futures

Possible events in the future as suggested by science fiction:

  • The Terran Confederation, following five years of raids against their shipping by the Kilrathi, officially declare war against them on July 5, 2634.
  • In 5000, the Filipino Army defeats the Alliance at the Battle of Reykjavik during the closing stages of World War V.

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