I’ve been thinking a lot about romance in science fiction lately, in case you couldn’t tell by the flavor of my writing posts. One of the things I’ve found myself doing is justifying to people the rightful place of romance as a part of science fiction. To that end, I’ve had a few films that I fall back on to say ‘Hah, there’s even a romance there!”
I’m not using the obvious films, though. That would be too easy. It’s tough to miss the romance in Avatar, for example (It’s the main plot after all), and Time after Time is easily one of the best time-travel romances out there (If you’ve not seen it? Do yourself a favor and go watch it, now.) Instead I’ve tried to pick films that people don’t think about as romances. So without further ado:
#3 – Wall-E (2008)
I can say a lot of things about Wall-E, and frankly I debated including it in my list because the romance is so blatant. At the same time, there is something absolutely heartwarming about two characters expressing their love for each other while only being able to express themselves by saying each others’ names. I get choked up in two places every time – the beautifully choreographed flying sequence (which is Miyazaki-esque in its gorgeousness) and another scene towards the end which I will not discuss for fear of spoiling it. Regardless, as SF and Romance go, I can’t say enough good about this.
#2 – The Empire Strike Back (1980)
The best of the Star Wars films (despite what Randal Graves thinks). It’s made even better by the shift from antagonism to romance between Han and Leia. There are a number of great scenes, but one of the high points is the two of them working together to fix the Millennium Falcon. I’m not too proud to say I didn’t riff that idea for my own scene in Hearts and Minds; it’s brilliant, and a classic. For all the great scenes together, and the excellent demonstration of their growing relationship, nothing tops the sardonic exchange of:
Leia: I love you!
Han: I know.
#1 – Aliens (1986)
James Cameron has a thing for tough-as-nails women who fall in love with Michael Biehn (see also 1984’s The Terminator) but I love how Ripley develops her relationship with Hicks, so Aliens won out. I love the scene where he’s teaching her how to use the pulse rifle, and the scene with the locator beacon (it’s the next best thing to an engagement ring). I could say a lot about the underlying motherhood themes that permeate this movie (especially the extended cut) but I’m going to keep to script and just deal with the romance. It’s a great one, with two characters who are perfectly fine on their own finding something in each other that gives them a reason to fight even harder.
Tags: Hearts and Minds, Movie Views, nerdPride, SF Romance, writing
Good post, good topic.
How about “Dune” and “Blade Runner” as well? While less important in Dune, the question of Deckert’s humanity and his feelings for Rachael are important elements of the character in BR.
For me, Aliens is more about motherhood than romance. The queen alien and her eggs versus Ripley and Newt were what I saw as the heart of the film. On the other hand, Ripley saving the day while Hicks is wounded does echo Cameron’s later love-conquers-all battle scene at the end of Avatar
Funny enough, the original version of the essay had Dune included and I dropped it, mostly because the Lynch version concentrates more on the hallucinatory predestination than on Chani’s significance. In the books though, I completely agree – it’s a huge theme, between Jessica’s love for Leto and Chani’s for Paul, it’s a fine example.
I thought long and hard about including Blade Runner, and finally decided against it, mostly because every time I watch it, the ‘love’ sequence plays too close to a rape for me. It’s appropriate as an exploration of Deckard’s humanity/inhumanity, butit’s tough to see as love. (Sean Young again, though, and she gets my favorite line in the movie “I’m not in the business. I am the business.”