Science Fiction’s Hold on the ‘80s and Transition into the 2010s
There are many things that the 1980s could be characterized by, such as the election of Ronald Reagan, the first Space Shuttle, the first Macintosh computer, and more, but one common aesthetic that was especially hard to ignore is science fiction. Although it is unrealistic to claim that science fiction influenced all lives during this decade, it can be supported that whether everyone liked it or not, science fiction pervaded the media in many forms, especially film.
Many people may ask, “why science fiction?” Science fiction had previously experienced a period of increasing popularity in the 1950s because developments in technology and the Space Race coupled with the end of World War II prompted an increase in public focus on space, dystopia etc. This rise in public imagination resulted in an obsession with the idea of progressing technology and the possibilities that the future could hold. In the 1980s, the popularity of science-fiction films specifically allowed people to engage in this concept of exploring technology (that may or may not be achievable) through a movie screen, and thus people became more invested in the genre. Along with its applicability to current events, science fiction incorporated numerous themes and elements, such as comedy, romance, horror, and suspense, thus its popularity among a wide variety of people can also be attributed to science fiction’s versatility.
John Carpenter and His Works
Movie posters from John Carpenter’s Starman and Escape From New York.
“Feature Films.” The Official John Carpenter, https://theofficialjohncarpenter.com/feature-films/.
John Carpenter, an American filmmaker, was born in 1948 in Carthage, New York, and grew up surrounded by music. From a young age, Carpenter was fascinated with film and music, and he eventually attended college at Western Kentucky University where his father was the head of the music department. Carpenter later began his cinematic career when he attended University of Southern California’s School of Cinema, and set about to work on his first film Dark Star, a science fiction comedy eventually used to define Carpenter’s typical science fiction style. Following his initial film, Carpenter had many cinematic successes, including Halloween, The Fog, Princess of Darkness, Escape from New York, and Starman, all of which are science fiction hits. Not only is Carpenter acclaimed for his directing capabilities in these films, but also for the coordination and composition of their soundtracks with the help of his musical background; Carpenter is said to be known for his “lasting influence on genre score work” and had very high capabilities of matching sounds and sequences to certain events or themes in his films. Two theme songs exemplary of his musical intelligence are “Escape From New York (main theme)” from Escape From New York and “Here Come the Helicopters” from Starman; Carpenter was the composer of “Escape From New York (Main Theme)” and worked heavily with Jack Nitzche to create “Here Come the Helicopters” for Starman (“John Carpenter – Biography” 2017).