Science fiction showcase in August

Science fiction is a genre capable of the highest highs and the lowest lows (ENEMY MINE anyone?) This month AFI is proud to showcase four of the most original, and influential Science Fiction films of all time.

It’s telling that science fiction is one of the few genres that has not gotten its own list from AFI’s 100 years series (it was lumped in with fantasy.) Some legendary artists eschew the term and prefer more pretentious or confusing labels like speculative fiction. Much of the shunning or ghettoization of sci fi is in the past, it’s the era of the geek now (as it has been proclaimed in dozens of cultural journals.) Maybe this is the result of living in the strange cultural landscape where so many ideas first born in science fiction have come to life. One need look no further than the clamshell phones and blue tooth headsets on the classic Star Trek series to see the reality of this influence. So let's plug into some of the best sci fi films ever made and say a prayer for the missing android body of Phillip K Dick.