Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Futurism.
Best Alien Invasion Movies
American fears of the cold war with the USSR in the middle of the 20th century manifested themselves in stories of alien invasions. The movie aliens themselves often took the forms of outright green blobs, which in my opinion was probably a budgetary issue, resolved by some special effects coordinator suggesting that they leave it up to the audience's imagination. From stormtrooper looking soldiers to individual messengers of doom, the aliens kept coming until science fiction films in general became the highest grossing film genre over big movie weekends in the later 20th century. If there is even a shred of predictive truth to these films, we should have no excuse when the time comes for an alien invasion. Watch the best alien invasion movies. Get prepared.
By Futurism Staff9 years ago in Futurism
Understanding the Collective Intelligence of Pro-opinion
True Story. In May of 1968 an American nuclear submarine, the USS Scorpion, vanished in the calm waters of the Atlantic. Chaos ensued deep in the war rooms beneath the Pentagon. The greatest military minds could not with any degree of accuracy locate the vessel. It could be anywhere within a 20-mile radius and at great depth. Finding it was a monumental endeavor.
By Frank White9 years ago in Futurism
Best Anime Manga Adaptations
Once limited to paperback graphic novels read in Japan, anime manga adaptations have become a cult phenomenon. Audiences for this content have swelled to record numbers and creators have taken on a celebrity status, reaching new audiences in the United States. Manga is often printed to be read from right to left, in order to retain the authenticity of the original version. Titles are typically part of a broader series, and stories are as complex as the vast universe they exist in. The range of manga adaptions for TV and digital screens runs deep, with content ranging from history, to futuristic science fiction, to teenage romance, to profound themes about life.
By Isaac Shapiro9 years ago in Futurism
Best Time Travel Books
Time: the final frontier. These are the voyages of storytellers throughout the mysteries of time, exploring how to break through its apparently-rigid barriers and break its (apparently equally rigid) rules. But when you think about it, we're all traveling through time together—in what we can perceive as forward. Not all of us pass through at the same subjective rate, of course, because there are teeny-tiny relativistic effects at work, which have to do with our relative motions.
By Natasha Sydor9 years ago in Futurism
Mad Max Gear
Extravagantly deranged and entirely over the top, George Miller has revived his Mad Max punk-western franchise as a bizarre convoy chase action-thriller in the post-apocalyptic desert in his movie, Mad Max: Fury Road. There are dozens of huge rigs and chunky 18-wheelers driven by large, angry men with long hair and bad teeth, and their rides are pimped out with skulls and other gory accessories. Some of these assault vehicles have permanent armies of drummers on board, thumping belligerently and rhythmically away, creating the kind of scary and upsetting noise usually only heard on the streets of the Edinburgh festival. For fans of the original Mad Max trilogy, this new movie is sure to please. We have comprised a list of the best Mad Max gear in order to celebrate.
By Futurism Staff9 years ago in Futurism
Goriest Anime Deaths
The land of Japan has given us many great exports. Home video games consoles, Pokemon, cosplay, but perhaps the greatest thing to ever come from the land of the rising sun is anime. No scratch that, not just anime, but crazy anime deaths. Unlike the tamer cartoons made by their American or other international counterparts, Japan just does not seem to care and will put just anything and every crazy thing they can think of in their animated masterpieces. It’s no wonder that anime seems to have such a huge international fandom. The crazy animators of Japan are willing to go to extremes no other cartoon will ever achieve. Forget South Park on Comedy Central or Aqua Teen Hunger Force if you’re craving a little piece of the classic horror show Ultra Violence. Then anime is your best bet in terms of injecting a little bit of batshit crazy into your mundane daily routine
By Isaac Shapiro9 years ago in Futurism
Best Philip K. Dick Books
Philip K. Dick's work has transformed the way we view science fiction. He published 44 novels and over 100 short stories, and 12 book to film adaptations, extending his influence even to today. In most of his works, the wall between reality and illusion fails to exist, leaving his audience to figure out what is and is not real. He touched upon deep philosophical issues. What does it mean to be human? What is an identity? Can I trust my own memories? As a long time science fiction fan, I can't list the following PKD novels in any particular order. To impose my own order would be arrogant of me. Each of the best Philip K. Dick books can be enjoyed by any fan of science-fiction.
By George Gott9 years ago in Futurism
Sci-Fi Military Books
As a sub-genre of science fiction, sci-fi military books often imagine the future of war, relying heavily on speculative technology and, oftentimes, extraterrestrial combatants. Many authors rely on historical events, such as Hannibal or the Vietnam War, and transcribe them for the future. Instead of nations in conflict, authors present planets at war. The ethics of war and consequences of military action are on the front-lines of many sci-fi military books. When is war justified? What is the value of one life versus many? New moral dilemmas present themselves as science fiction concepts muddle the line between what is and is not permitted. Military science fiction is about the people engrossed by the carnage of war and the larger problems facing them.
By Futurism Staff9 years ago in Futurism
Finding Meaning Without Religion
Traditionally, people have had churches and religion as a support system for life's emergencies. No matter the enormity of the crisis, God and his local representative, one's priest or minister, would be there to serve as a reminder of "what a friend [one has] in Jesus." But people who have grown alienated from religious orthodoxy or even from religion itself, what do they have?
By Joshua Samuel Zook9 years ago in Futurism
Andy Weir's The Martian Review
Andy Weir’s debut novel, The Martian, is something of a success story for self-published authors everywhere. Released by the author as an e-book in 2011, the book was picked up for broader distribution last year by Crown Publishing group, and is now well on its way to the big screen. The book itself is a labor of love for Weir, a well-researched and highly-realistic work of speculative fiction. It endeavors to answer a fairly straightforward question, how could a person survive on Mars if they were stranded there? This question requires knowledge of space travel, orbital physics, botany, and NASA bureaucracy to answer effectively, and Weir quickly establishes his expertise on all of the above. The resulting book is impressive for the amount of preparation it must have required before pen could be put to paper, and manages an engaging story to boot.
By Michael Gold9 years ago in Futurism
Sci-Fi Movie Women of the 90s
Science fiction films in the 1990s featured some of the most iconic women to appear on the big screen. Too often when people think "women in sci-fi" we think of what used to be called “scream queens,” that is, the actresses who appeared in scores of latter day B pictures running from extraterrestrials on earth or grappling with tentacled creatures on spaceships or what have you.
By Glenn Kenny9 years ago in Futurism