page_title: Science fiction
section_title: As protest literature
hierarchical_section_title: Science fiction / Social influence / As protest literature
caption_attribution_description: English: Info: A graffiti stencil, from Berlin Germany. Found on the Berlin wall. Translation from Spanish or Portuguese: "Happy 1984" See also here for confirmation that the image comes from the Berlin Wall WARNING: This is NOT historic Berlin Wall graffiti; the button configuration &amp; design clearly makes it a PlayStation DualShock controller, which did not exist until late 1997 in Japan only and wasn't introduced in Europe until 1998. Indeed, the original Flickr source states "Since 1998" in the title. The image was on an actual remaining portion of the berlin wall however
context_page_description: Science fiction is a genre of speculative fiction that typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universes, and extraterrestrial life. It has been called the "literature of ideas", and often explores the potential consequences of scientific, social, and technological innovations.
  Science fiction, whose roots go back to ancient times, is related to fantasy, horror, and superhero fiction, and contains many subgenres. However its exact definition has long been disputed among authors, critics, and scholars.
  Science fiction literature, film, television, and other media have become popular and influential over much of the world. Besides providing entertainment, it can also criticize present-day society, and is often said to inspire a "sense of wonder".
context_section_description: Science fiction has sometimes been used as a means of social protest. George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) is an important work of dystopian science fiction.  It is often invoked in protests against governments and leaders who are seen as totalitarian. James Cameron's 2009 film Avatar was intended as a protest against imperialism, and specifically the European colonization of the Americas. Its images have been used by, among others, Palestinians in their protest against Israel.
  Robots, artificial humans, human clones, intelligent computers, and their possible conflicts with human society have all been major themes of science fiction since, at least, the publication of Shelly's Frankenstein. Some critics have seen this as reflecting authors’ concerns over the social alienation seen in modern society.
  Feminist science fiction poses questions about social issues such as how society constructs gender roles, the role reproduction plays in defining gender, and the inequitable political or personal power of one gender over others. Some works have illustrated these themes using utopias to explore a society in which gender differences or gender power imbalances do not exist, or dystopias to explore worlds in which gender inequalities are intensified, thus asserting a need for feminist work to continue.
  Climate fiction, or "cli-fi," deals with issues concerning climate change and global warming. University courses on literature and environmental issues may include climate change fiction in their syllabi, and it is often discussed by other media outside of science fiction fandom.
  Libertarian science fiction focuses on the politics and social order implied by right libertarian philosophies with an emphasis on individualism and private property, and in some cases anti-statism.
  Science fiction comedy often satirizes and criticizes present-day society, and sometimes makes fun of the conventions and clichés of more serious science fiction.
caption: "Happy 1984" in Spanish or Portuguese, referencing George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, on a standing piece of the Berlin Wall (sometime after 1998).
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