Science fiction and fantasy novels existed for decades before being successfully translated into film. The ’70s gave the genre cult classics, but only a few went on to genuine commercial success. In the ’80s, Hollywood took notice in earnest and began to create movies within the genre. A large number are “dated” and watching them now can be uncomfortable, but many still ring with timeless messages. Here are a few worth revisiting:
Dune — “I Must Not Fear. Fear Is the Mind-Killer”
Frank Herbert’s Dune series explores the human condition, our evolution, our potential, and our limitations. The universe is rich enough to support 23 books as of 2016. Even a movie focused on the first book and directed by David Lynch struggled to include enough information to explain the plot.
How a person handles fear reflects their quality as a person. Paul Atreides undergoes many trials faced by others in the past, including facing the Gom Jabbar, riding a sandworm, and drinking the Water of Life. Being brave and foolish is not enough, Paul must overcome the challenges. But his path to becoming the hero — and the first challenge many people face — begins by staring down fear.
WarGames — “The Only Winning Move Is Not to Play”
WarGames is the story of David Lightman, a hacker growing up during the Cold War. At the time, computers could directly call each other, and David calls computers in old-school, bored-hacker style. He finds one that he is unable to identify and discovers classic games and unusual titles on it. With a bit of sleuthing, he discovers the password set by an artificial intelligence programmer. The computer houses both the beginnings of AI and a military nuclear war simulation program. David sets off a chain of events that result in the computer attempting to begin– and win — a nuclear war.
All sides suffer losses in war, a lesson for both the audience and the computer. Attempts to shut down the computer and the program fail. The AI does not understand the difference between the simulation and the real world. Instead, they have to introduce tic-tac-toe to the AI and let it play against itself. This teaches the computer the concept of stalemate. It applies the concept to various simulations of war, consequently releasing control. Sometimes there is no way to win and the best outcome is to not engage in the fight at all.
The NeverEnding Story — “I Will Do What I Dream”
Based on the first half of the 1979 novel by Michael Ende, The Neverending Story is a story within a story. The first is the tale of Bastian, a bullied child whose father pushes him to stop mentally escaping into fantasy books. Bastian steals a book called The NeverEnding Story and flees to his school’s attic to read it. The story takes place in Fantasia where the Childlike Empress, ruler and essence of the world’s magic, needs saving.
Bastian must overcome his fears and dare to dream — symbolized by bestowing a new name upon the Empress — to save the storybook world. The movie asks each of us to do the same. Fantasia is a reflection of human dreams. The darkness that threatened their world, the Nothing, spread when people lost hope and stopped believing in their dreams. Remember to believe in the fantastic, even if only a little.
Labyrinth — “You Have No Power Over Me”
Teenage Sarah, played by Jennifer Connelly, wishes away her baby brother. The Goblin King, one of David Bowie’s iconic roles, grants Sarah’s wish and takes her brother to his castle at the center of the labyrinth. Realizing her terrible mistake, Sarah sets off on a quest through the labyrinth to rescue her brother. Sarah realizes that things she once valued are junk, dreams she held are illusions, and obstacles in her path are ones she could have avoided.
While each of these is an excellent lesson, Sarah must learn that she is the source of her own trials. The Goblin King has no inherent control over her. She realizes this at the end; the King offers Sarah everything she ever wanted in exchange for her servitude. The only power he had over her was what she gave him. This is a consistent truth throughout life. Others can only control us if we let them, so be wary of giving them that power.
Willow — “Don’t Call Me a Peck”
Willow Ufgood and other town folk apply to apprentice with the town’s wizard. He ‘shows off’ his skills but is revealed to be performing simple stage magic tricks. Not trusting his own instincts, he fails the wizard’s test. The Ufgoods stumble across a baby, a princess of prophecy, who is being hunted by the evil sorceress queen, Bavmorda.
By the end, Willow learns to trust himself and the skills he had before his adventures began. He recreates an illusion used to catch hedgehogs to lure the enemy into opening the gate. This allows the army of good to gain entrance to the castle. He saves the princess — and the world — with his sleight-of-hand trick used at the beginning of the movie. His greatest strengths, much like our own, came from within.