Beyond Soaps: Space Opera in Science Fiction Films

When Star Trek and Star Wars emerged as popular culture icons of science fiction films, they opened up a sci-fi sub-branch which became a staple of 3D animation studios: the space opera.

  Contrary to the first iterations of science fiction films wherein scientific developments are at the forefront, space operas concentrate on the romantic and melodramatic aspect of the characters involved in space voyage. In this regard, the virtues of space travel, aliens and the likes are just a device to promote the narrative of the characters.   One trademark of space operas is that like the vastness of space it explores, the themes, plots, twists and turns of its narratives are also immense. There are always a multitude of characters, of planets, of aliens and of stories. This is why 3D animation studios are always contracted to interpret the vast universe of space operas.   The term space opera first emerged in the consciousness of writers and critics in 1941 when the science fiction critic Bob Tucker described space operas as “the hacky, grinding, stinking, outworn space-ship yarn, or world-saving [story] for that matter.” It took root deeply in the pulp magazines of the 1940s when the narratives of space operas reflected the themes of adventure, crime and thriller genres.   Through the years, the favorite plot devices of science fiction films which 3D animation studios would often interpret are huge spaceships, explorers of planets, pirates and even space police forces. As with the history of cinema, the beginnings of the space opera genre also came from literature. The first acknowledged space opera literature is credited to be The Struggle for Empire: A Story of the Year 2236 by author Robert William Cole. The story centers on a vast interstellar conflict between solar men of the planet Earth and a humanoid race from the star Sirius. According to analysis, this novel emerged from the era 1880-1914 which some critics referred to as future war fiction. The space opera genre came to life when future wars were infused with interplanetary elements.   Star Wars is one of the more popular space opera examples of all time. It was a good case study to the success of space operas in captivating the imagination of people. When the initial film, simply titled Star Wars, was released by its creator George Lucas on May 25, 1977, it was able to penetrate the fancy and fantasy of many people, on its way to being a revered icon of popular culture. Due to its success, the first film was dubbed A New Hope in order to give way to two other sequels “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back” and “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.” Sixteen years later, the Star Wars franchise was able to spawn a new trilogy focusing on the beginnings of the cyborg antagonist Darth Vader.  The new prequel trilogy were entitled “Star Wars: Phantom Menace,” “Star Wars: Attack of the Clones,” and “Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.”   By 2008, the entire Star Wars franchise has grossed an estimated $4.3 billion dollars. It also went on to spawn a variety of character licensing deals across all media platforms including books, video games, television shows, and comic books. As of now, the 3D animation studio of George Lucas is busy producing the television series Star Wars: Clone Wars, which was an offshoot of the 3D animated film of the same name released recently.   Space operas are an interesting sub-branch of science fiction because it goes beyond exploring new scientific ideas. Its primary concern is studying the implications of new technology and space travel in the lives of people and their relationships. For this matter, the depth of character seems to be the most important value.

This article was written by Aldric Chang, a creative technopreneur who is at the moment running a 3d animation studio, building free virtual worlds and keeping a popular animation blog.