Mallig Plains Colleges, Inc.

Casili, Mallig, Isabela

The learning material is a property of the College of Teacher Education- Mallig Plains
Colleges, Inc. It aims to improve students’ performance specifically in their
SPECIALIZATION.

Learning Area: CONTEMPORARY AND POPULAR LITERATURE

Learning Resource Type: MODULE 5
Instructor: SHEILA MAE P. ARTATES

GENERAL INSTRUCTION/S:

The module will start with an introduction which will give a general background on the
subject. Series of activities and discussions will encourage you to explore and learn about the topic.
Through this module, the following instruction/s should be followed.
 This module is exclusively for MPCI students only.
Submit your activity in the GOOGLE CLASSROOM.

I. COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course provides pre-service English teachers with opportunities to acquire extensive
reading backgrounds in literature and allied fields needed in the understanding and
evaluation of critical issues in contemporary and popular literature and genres. This course
allows them to demonstrate their research-based content knowledge and its relevance in the
teaching-learning process using various methods of literary analysis.

II. LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the course, the students should be able to:
A. Discuss research-based content knowledge and critical issues on contemporary, popular, and
emergent literature and its relevance in the teaching-learning process;
B. Explain the development of a given genre of popular literature from its beginning to its
contemporary practice through a historical timeline; and
C. Use various methods of literary analysis, such as formal, psychological, and/or feminist
analysis in writing a response paper

III. COURSE CONTENT

VI. POPULAR LITERATURE GENRES
1. Science Fiction

IV. LEARNING EXPERIENCES

PREPARED BY: SHEILA MAE P. ARTATES 1

WHAT IS SCIENCE FICTION?

Science fiction, often called “sci-fi,” is a genre of fiction literature whose content is
imaginative, but based in science. It relies heavily on scientific facts, theories, and principles as
support for its settings, characters, themes, and plot-lines, which is what makes it different from
fantasy.
So, while the storylines and elements of science fiction stories are imaginary, they are
usually possible according to science—or at least plausible.

Although examples of science fiction can be found as far back as the middle Ages, its
presence in literature was not particularly significant until the late 1800s. Its true popularity for
both writers and audiences came with the rise of technology over the past 150 years, with
developments such as electricity, space exploration, medical advances, industrial growth, and so
on. As science and technology progress, so does the genre of science fiction.
II. EXAMPLE OF SCIENCE FICTION
Read the following short passage:

As the young girl opened her window, she could see the moons Europa and Calypso rising in the
distance. A comet flashed by, followed by a trail of stardust, illuminating the dark, endless space
that surrounded the spacecraft; the only place she had ever known as home. As she gazed at
Jupiter, she dreamed of a life where she wasn’t stuck orbiting a planet, but living on one. She
envisioned stepping onto land, real land, like in the stories of Earth her father had told her
about. She tried to imagine the taste of fresh air, the feel of a cool, salty ocean, and the sound of
wind rustling through a tree’s green leaves. But these were only fantasies, not memories. She
had been born on the ship, and if they didn’t find a new inhabitable planet soon, she would
surely die there too.

The example above has several prime characteristics that are common in science fiction. First, it
is set in the future, when humans no longer live on Earth. Second, it takes place on a spacecraft
that is orbiting Jupiter. Third, it features real scientific information—Europa and Calypso are two
of Jupiter’s moons, and as Jupiter is a planet made of gas, it would not be possible for humans to
live there, explaining why the ship is currently orbiting the planet rather than landing on it.

III. TYPES OF SCIENCE FICTION

Science fiction is usually distinguished as either “hard” or “soft.”

HARD SCIENCE FICTION

Hard science fiction strictly follows scientific facts and principles. It is strongly focused
on natural sciences like physics, astronomy, chemistry, astrophysics, etc. Interestingly, hard
science fiction is often written by real scientists, and has been known for making both accurate
and inaccurate predictions of future events. For example, the recent film Gravity, the story of an
astronaut whose spacecraft is damaged while she repairs a satellite, was renowned for its
scientific accuracy in terms of what would actually happen in space.

SOFT SCIENCE FICTION

PREPARED BY: SHEILA MAE P. ARTATES 2

 Soft science fiction is characterized by a focus on social sciences, like anthropology,
sociology, psychology, and politics— in other words, sciences involving human behavior. So,
soft sci-fi stories mainly address the possible scientific consequences of human behavior. For
example, the Disney animated film Wall-E is an apocalyptic science fiction story about the end
of life on Earth as a result of man’s disregard for nature.
In truth, most works use a combination of both hard and soft science fiction. Soft sci-fi
allows audiences to connect on an emotional level, and hard sci-fi adds real scientific evidence
so that they can imagine the action actually happening. So, combining the two is a better
storytelling technique, because it lets audiences connect with the story on two levels. Science
fiction also has a seemingly endless number of subgenres, including but not limited to time
travel, apocalyptic, utopian/dystopian, alternate history, space opera, and military science fiction.

IV. EIGHT SUB-GENRES AND RELATED GENRES OF SCIENCE FICTION

1. Fantasy fiction: Sci-fi stories inspired by mythology and folklore that often include
elements of magic.
2. Supernatural fiction: Sci-fi stories about secret knowledge or hidden abilities that
include witchcraft, spiritualism, and psychic abilities.
3. Utopian fiction: Sci-fi stories about civilizations the authors deem to be perfect, ideal
societies. Utopian fiction is often satirical.
4. Dystopian fiction: Sci-fi stories about societies the authors deem to be problematic for
things like government rules, poverty, or oppression.
5. Space opera: A play on the term “soap opera,” sci-fi stories that take place in outer
space and center around conflict, romance, and adventure.
6. Space western: Sci-fi stories that blend elements of science fiction with elements of
the western genre.
7. Cyberpunk: Sci-fi stories that juxtapose advanced technology with less advanced,
broken down society.
8. Steampunk: Sci-fi stories that blend technology with steam-powered machinery.

V. IMPORTANCE OF SCIENCE FICTION

Many times, science fiction turns real scientific theories into full stories about what is
possible and/or imaginable. Many stories use hard facts and truths of sciences to:

 suggest what could really happen in the future

 to explore what could happen if certain events or circumstances came to be or
 Suggest consequences of technological and scientific advancements and innovation.

Historically it has been a popular form for not only authors, but scientists as well. In the past
150 years, science fiction has become a huge genre, with a particularly large presence in film and
television—in fact, the TV network “Sci-Fi” is completely devoted to science fiction media. It is
a particularly fascinating and mind-bending genre for audiences because of its connection to
reality.

VI. WHAT ARE THE COMMON CHARACTERISTICS OF SCIENCE FICTION?

PREPARED BY: SHEILA MAE P. ARTATES 3

 Science fiction is often called the “literature of ideas.” Sci-fi novels include a wide
variety of futuristic concepts. Since they’re so imaginative, anything is possible, especially in
soft sci-fi novels. A sci-fi novel can be about space, time travel, aliens, or time-traveling
aliens in space.
Regardless of the setting and characters, all sci-fi stories are complex, contain nuanced
detail, and explore larger themes and commentary—sometimes satirically—about society
beneath the surface.

The classic elements of a science fiction novel include:

 Time travel
 Teleportation
 Mind control, telepathy, and telekinesis
 Aliens, extraterrestrial lifeforms, and mutants
 Space travel and exploration
 Interplanetary warfare
 Parallel universes
 Fictional worlds
 Alternative histories
 Speculative technology
 Super intelligent computers and robots

VII. 12 CLASSIC SCIENCE FICTION NOVELS TO KNOW AND READ

Familiarize yourself with these classic works of science fiction that inspired novelists and
screenwriters in many different genres. Many have been turned into movies and television
shows:

1. 20,000 Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne (1870): features underwater exploration
and a technologically advanced submarine—two things that were primitive at the time
the novel was written.

2. The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells (1898): tells the story of Martians invading
Earth and includes themes of space, science, and astronomy.

3. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1932): set in a futuristic dystopian world with
many scientific developments where people are genetically modified.

4. Who Goes There? By John W. Campbell (1938): tells the story of an alien creature
that’s a shape-shifter and has the gift of telepathy.

5. Foundation by Isaac Asimov (1942): follows a galactic civilization after their empire
collapses.

6. 1984 by George Orwell (1949): set in a dystopian version of the year 1984 where the
world has succumbed to extreme levels of government interference in daily lives.

PREPARED BY: SHEILA MAE P. ARTATES 4

 7. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (1953): set in a futuristic dystopian society where
books are banned and will be burned if found.

8. Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein (1961): tells the story of a human who
was born on Mars and raised by Martians who comes to live on Earth.

9. The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick (1962): set 15 years after the end of
World War II, offers an alternate history of what could happen if the Axis Powers had
defeated the Allied Powers.

10. Dune by Frank Herbert (1965): set in an interstellar society in the distant future.

11. 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke (1968): tells the story of ancient aliens
who travel the galaxy and help develop intelligent life forms in other worlds.

12. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (1985): tells the story of the women who
lose their rights after a totalitarian state overthrows the U.S. government. Watch
Atwood discuss how she arrived at her main character’s point of view in her Master
Class.

VII. CONCLUSION
In conclusion, science fiction is a genre of possibility, imagination, and innovation whose
popularity rises in relation to advances in science and technology. Its authors use real science to
create fictional stories that explore the possible future of mankind and the universe in a way that
is both imaginative and realistic.

V. ASSESMENT OF TASK
Watch the Movie, The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins and in a form of Reaction Paper,
answer the questions below:
1. How are the major characters introduced? What does this tell us about what will happen in the
story?
2. What is the message of this movie? Do you agree or disagree with it?
3. If you had a chance to ask a character in this movie a question, what would it be?
4. What part of the story told by the movie was the most powerful? Why?
5. Would you recommend this movie to a friend? Explain your reasons.

VI. REFERENCES:
Heick, T. (2017) 12 strategies for teaching literature in the 21st century

Kubala, R. (2015). “Philosophy, literature and emotional engagement” (CW).

http://teachwithmovies.org/discussion-questions-for-use-with-any-film-that-is-a-work-of-
fiction/

PREPARED BY: SHEILA MAE P. ARTATES 5