Prediction in Science Fiction Films

The aim of this book is to explore how the structure of prediction is built in science fiction films, identifying its most prominent formal features and how this structure is achieved through the use of cinematic language.

The author seeks to provide fundamental definitions of the science fiction genre, while tracing its narrative movement, its main characteristics, and its cinematic form. The study also analyzes the artistic discourse adopted by such films and how they deal with philosophical issues. Particular attention is given to the predictive structure that defines the genre — without which a film could hardly be classified as science fiction.

The book further focuses on the general visual and narrative signs that reflect the film’s overall vision, examining how events, conflicts, and characters are constructed within its broader structure.

This work represents an informed attempt to explore cinema’s predictions and expectations for the future, and how the cinematic image conveys them. When reading these predictions as cinematic foresight, one notices that many have indeed come true — or nearly so — as science and technology have permeated all aspects of life.
Thus, filmmakers have managed to present their predictive visions in a scientific, logical, and aesthetically captivating manner.