The Human Centrism in Sci-fi films about Outer Space

I just watched Guardians of the Galaxy and one thing that really got to me was the presentation of the various alien life forms. They seemed more or less like what you come to expect, a grotesque or benign representation of human beings. The presentation of various alien life forms are far from accurate because we cannot fathom what alien life forms will look like at the moment. In the mean time we imagine all sorts of things but at the core of this imagination are our many human perceptions. Can our own imagining of alien worlds really help us to achieve anything? It’s the best we have right now but let’s face it: it doesn’t achieve much. When these representations of our imagination are presented on film for all to see and be visually stimulated it actually reveals our limitations as a species. Humankind can barely go past the moon at present much less to traverse our tiny solar system which is one small part of a vast Milky Way galaxy. The primary question is why do we even buy into these many representations of alien life forms or alien worlds? This is primary because most of our imaginings of these fantastic places and the life that they support are a greater or lesser version of what we know. So what has imagining all these fantastic worlds done for us?

The primary answer to this question is that our imagination is a force that can propel us into significant terrain or it can befuddle us or lead us down the path of delusions. We need to imagine various possibilities as human beings because that becomes the basis for us to attempt something new in the realm of actuality or the manifestation in reality of what should be the idea. There needs to be a more concrete material basis for all these imaginings. If a man/woman suddenly decides to imagine random things it does not necessarily get us anywhere because the possibility of realizing/implementing such random thoughts or imaginary episodes is null.  There must be something compelling us to imagine various possibilities or we would not have gotten this far as human beings. Every endeavour carried out by human kind is grounded in some technical basis. The foundation of this technical basis is human labour which allows humankind to assume a dominant position away from the instinctual atmosphere associated with the primordial beings whose level of consciousness was quite low but gradually assumed the character of human beings as we know it today. As social beings humans have always advanced as a unit. Even if one individual advances ahead of the rest of those in the social unit he carries them along knowingly or unknowingly. In social units humans form bonds with each other with the basic bond being blood relations and then the various communities that share a similar sort of bloodline or characteristic that creates a sense of affinity. These tendencies reinforce kinship and so humans have a long natural history of discovering ways to benefit the community even if individual rewards are there for the taking. Human labour which harnesses the raw materials of mother nature for the benefit of the species is the driver of all advances in humanity.  Humans have always labored. From the day we are brought into this world success is determined by the amount of work we put in. Obviously the division of labour means that many work on behalf of others when you consider private property and the individual making advances initially for his/her own  benefit in the form of profit/rent etc. it still redounds to the community of human beings in some form or the other. If that individual is successful the benefits inevitably spill over into the public sphere. Either the individual will impart his wisdom, wealth or his initial creation that impacted the social sphere. The point being made here is that human labour by extracting the resources of the earth has created many things that redound to the benefit of human beings, some more than others. It is by continually adding to the previous creation that we can make things better and so we have to actually imagine what that possibility is based on the foundation laid by the previous creation of human labour. This creation that adds to the productivity of human labour is machinery/technology. The more advanced it is the more our labour can contribute to the social sphere. We also have to ponder how this new creation will benefit human kind. If humans are faced with extinction the earth won’t miss us. We have to be prepared for the reality that we won’t last forever as a species on earth unless we can explore the frontiers of space. This is where sci-fi comes in.

The films about outer space are always tied into some form of exploration of other worlds, galaxies or solar systems or a fantastic imagining of the likely alien life forms on other worlds that can support  the life force.  Outer space is the greatest frontier humankind will ever encounter and when we imagine all of these alien life forms we do so in the most fantastic way. We have never encountered alien life forms and in films they are either very grotesque representations of species already existing on earth or more benign versions: wise and benevolent although looking a bit odd.  We reinforce our own limitations of what we know. Space is such a vast frontier that space travel in sci-fi films dealing with outer space has to be linked to some advanced form of technology. In the Star Wars or Star trek series travel throughout galaxies, in a heartbeat, is done by a hyper drive which allows the vehicle to travel at light speed. Are we even close to that sort of technology?  The other way for us to travel long distances is by allowing humans time to explore the vast frontier because as everyone knows just to reach a planet like Mars can take quite a long time. In these films like 2001: A Space Odyssey or Alien (1979) the humans go into a coma like sleep for a couple years or months and the spaceship they travel in must have some back up in terms of fuel reserves.  This is the more realistic approach. Either way both approaches assume that the actors exist in a time where technology is quite advanced. In the upcoming film Interstellar advanced discoveries in astrophysics make it possible for travel  across the galaxy to be undertaken, for the fictional characters, in quick time through wormholes. Wormholes have always been a feature of space travel in sci fi but this film seems to be grounded in the theoretical physics that defines wormholes.  The human centrism in all of this is tied into our own belief of what is required to conquer this vast frontier. Even in galaxies far away the aliens are advanced on a de facto basis. In reality we are imagining, through the creation of advanced alien civilizations, our own potential to be advanced. All of these alien worlds are representations of what we aspire to be or they would not be advanced in the imagination.

 A lot of the alien civilizations in these sci-fi  films, that deal heavily in outer space,  feature very human characters in some cases. Even in Star Wars, where there are no sign of earthlings, a lot of the heroes are earthlike. All of the aliens that do not look like earthlings speak English in most cases. They also mention concepts such as democracies or republics.  In other cases the language is mere gibberish or an invented language that does not carry much weight and is a mere representation of how languages that are not English are viewed in the West.

What the marvel films have made more stark in their presentations is the presence of massive forces of energy that can only be channeled by god like figures that understand their potential. This sort of power is beyond the reach of ordinary humans. These forces of energy can only be transmitted in the form of grand magic or by propelling advanced technology.

A lot of the grotesque alien life forms  are outright killers. They represent our nightmares about smart carnivores or a superior biological organism. On earth they are not very far away in the many jungles like Predator. Travelling through some jungles or in the deep sea is akin to an alien world for some and has even been referred to as the heart of darkness. The frontiers of earth are yet to be conquered as well by human exploiters.  In outer space the aliens are advanced living organisms that are superior to humans; this is reflected in how they dominate the protagonists as  efficient killing machines. This is clearly exhibited in the great film Alien.  In films like Avatar the aliens might look strange but they are elegant in a supermodel sort of way with their lanky frames and it’s enough for humans to consider changing the form of their appearance.  

A lot of the peaceful aliens are not much different from the religious kind found here on earth. The Star War series is a good example where the Jedi are mystical, harmonious beings that can channel a lot of energy that would be considered spiritual on earth. George Lucas named the martial artists in China as an inspiration for their creation.  E.T: the Extra Terrestrial also featured a character that is very harmonious and almost divine in its conception. These harmonious aliens represent the better part of our nature or our divine aspirations. It is not far removed from a conception of god but in alien form it ties into a more scientific basis because these godlike figures are also very dependent on technology. They can use their bodies to do extraordinary things  even in an age of advanced technology. This goes to show that all is not lost for humanity and that we are still capable of being soulful, conscientious  people. Even Superman, who is an alien, is representative of a very advanced technologically based civilization however when he comes to earth he assumes biological superiority to ordinary humans. He acts as a sort of inspiration for what we can be as human beings biologically although it’s a warped belief especially as his powers make him godlike because they are out of reach.

Lastly, the question that must be asked is: do these fantasies make us delusional or beings with a lot of foresight? Only actual exploration can answer those questions. There was a time when it was thought that heaven was in the sky or that the gods resided on a high mountain top. With human exploration beyond the sky or to the highest mountain top a lot of those fantasies have been laid to rest. They remain fantasies but can never apply to reality or what we know. When it was discovered that no heaven was in the sky then it’s claimed that the kingdom of god is even further away or that it’s a state of mind. This also applies to hell which was supposed to be underground but deep sea explorations and oil drilling has laid that delusion to rest. Only when we encounter actual alien life forms or alien worlds will all of these fantastic imaginings be laid to rest. What a great shock it would be to discover that we are actually the most advanced species in the galaxy (I will refrain from mentioning other galaxies). The other life forms would not be existent and only habitable worlds would be in reach. There might be signs of life but no life in the advanced self. When we are able to explore the galaxy as a whole then a lot of the sci-fi films we consider great might seem like a big joke or astounding masterpieces. Some would have to be given honorary Oscars or be dumped in the dustbin of history as a reference point for when we still had very childish thoughts of the galaxy.

What we must get clear is that our fantastic imaginings of outer space is no different from the fantasies associated with the past. It is also tied into a belief system where hope and faith is more a source of ideas than actual science for the time being. When humans do not understand something or they fear it or wonder about various unrealized potentialities they tend to exaggerate in a fantastic way. Sci-fi is no different but the basis for our scientific fantasies, related to outer space and its imagined habitants, is still rooted in a human conception of the universe. We won’t be able to remove ourselves from this human conception unless real, actual discoveries are made. Until then we can only keep dreaming through film as we struggle to leave our own solar system in human form.