Gender and Race in Science-Fiction Films

1. Sybille Lammes, "Moving Science: Science, Gender and Science Fiction", The European Association for the Study of Science and Technology (March 1997)
Lammes' article focuses on the relationship between science and fiction, largely in regards to gender. She writes that it is important to see that gender is embedded in fiction film and television and thus that these representations should be taken seriously, rather than simply assuming that science is fact and fiction fancy. Audio-visual media is traditionally seen as being essentially male (through voyeurism and observation) and this tradition of gendering still exists in film and television today. Lammes writes of philosopher Sandra Harding's analysis of scientific metaphors of gender throughout history, in which "the female body is the passive locus of scrutiny". according to Harding, this idea of passivity associated with the female body can be traced back to Copernican theory, in which the Earth-centred universed metamorphosed into a sun-centred universe from the fifteenth century onwards. The female body and the passive Earth have been coupled ever since, from which evolved the idea of the environment and the woman, of "wild nature/the woman (having) to be tamed in man's struggle to control his fate". Lammes then examines two science fiction texts - Metropolis (1926-27) and The X-Files (1993-2002) - to illustrate the scientific scrutinising of bodies in audiovisual media, and in doing so further supports her claim that fiction does produce elements of scientific fact through the area of gender.

2. Fiona Barnett, "Race, Ethnicity and Diaspora in the Digital Age", Humanities, Arts, Science, and Technology Advanced Collaboratory (January 2010)
This website is a forum for people wanting to explore race, ethnicity and diaspora in cyberspace. It observes the ways in which these issues are presented in new technologies (the Internet, television and film etc) and how race and ethnicity are still "other" in these spaces (despite the fact that we believe we are moving forward to a "post-racial age"). The introduction describes how the issue of race is seen as a social construct, yet still affects individual identity, prejudices and social relations. Both the negative and positive aspects of these constructions have followed us into the cybersphere, with difference and individual opinion being celebrated but prejudices and methods of "othering" persevering as well.Barnett writes that we are "far from being post-racial, if that is even a plausible or desirable goal".

3.Mikhail Lyubansky, "The Racial Politics of Avatar (part 1)", Between the Lines: Perspectives on Race, Culture and Community (December 2009)
In his article, Lyubansky observes the ways in which the issues of race and (to a lesser extent) gender are portrayed in the 2010 science fiction movie Avatar. In part 1 of the article he makes a few points regarding race in the film, three of which I have listed below.
- That Jake Sully serves a vital role (to allow "us" - humans - to experience the world of Pandora with him
- That Jake is more than just a (white) outsider
- That the Na'vi rescue themselves, rather than being saved by a 'white saviour' in the form of Jake
This article assumes that the white male lead is generally still regarded as the norm in science fiction films - the level-headed lead character with whom the audience can relate - while those represented as a different race (the Na'vi) are unfamiliar and unknown. In regards to gender in sci-fi films, the white male of the future is more technologically driven, and it is generally up to the woman, she who is eternally in touch with the environment, to "bring him back down to earth"; to the desirable world of nature. This view is apparent in Avatar, and also The Fifth Element, in which both female lead characters are of an alien race, further emphasising their "otherness".

4. Michael Peterson, Laurie-Beth Clark and Lisa Nakamura, "I See You?": Gender and Disability in Avatar", FlowTV (February 2010)
This article is an observation of the representations of gender and disabillity in Avatar. In relation to gender, Peterson, Clark and Nakamura describe how although at the beginning of the movie Jake Sully is "hypermasculinised", he steadily becomes more "feminised" as the film goes on, with the help of the alien Neytiri and his closeness to nature. The "smokin' hot" Neytiri is a highly sexualised character; the article proclaims that James Cameron himself said in an interview that "Right from the beginning (he) said, 'She's got to have tits,' even though that makes no sense because her race aren't placental mammals". The feminism of the other main female roles in the film - Grace, the intelligent and savvy xenobotanist, and Trudy the butch tomboy helicopter pilot - is "narrow and generalised to the point of meaninglessness". The female characters represented in Avatar, this article says, are therefore still either reinforcing traditional sex roles or "progressive" in a very narrow-minded way.

5. Eloriane, "Final Paper Analysis of The Fifth Element", Gender Goggles (December 2009)
The writer of this article claims that Besson's The Fifth Element is supporting an anti-technology ideology. What is relevant to the topic question in this article, however, is the fact that the technology side of the future is represented by the ex-militant white male, Korbin Dallas, and the calm, 'romantic' side represented by the beautiful alien female Leeloo. (It is interesting to note the similarities of these representations to those of Avatar - ex-militant Jake Sully versus beautiful alien Neytiri.) By examining such aspects as camera angle and colour scheme, the writer show how the film endorses Leeloo's natural and peaceful way of thinking over Korbin's, which is 'cluttered' and sterile. Korbin gradually begins to identify with Leeloo's way of thinking as the film progresses. She also observes that sex is represented by the alien character. At the end of the film, as the article explains, Korbin has sex with Leeloo, symbolising him totally giving in to her philosophy (similarly to how Jake gave in to Neytiri's world).