Abstract
The present paper is an attempt to explore and do some justice to the impact of science fiction upon the development of law and its jurisprudence. It commences with the historical origins of science fiction where disagreement is seen as to its founding fathers and categorization, observing that the inherent structure of the genre enables insights into law and society. The next segment examines the engagement of the judiciary with science fiction, wherein the notion of judicial rulings being influenced by science fiction is discussed. The last segment concerns itself with the critical potential of science fiction in informing the law’s engagement with popular cultural narratives. This is illustrated through an analysis of a film dealing with the intermixing of species, and its consequent influence on actual legislation in the U.K. It is hoped that the paper would shed light upon the often profound yet underappreciated relationship between literature and law, and cause a greater regard for the former, especially in the legal fraternity.
Keywords: science fiction, law, popular culture narratives.
VISITING THE GENESIS AND CONCEPTUALIZATION OF SCIENCE FICTION
The genre of science fiction has significantly shaped the creative faculties of modern society, with a majority of individuals familiarizing themselves with its archetypes and motifs from a young age. This section aims to delineate a functional definition of science fiction while concurrently alluding to its historical context.
Restrictive interpretations of science fiction frequently assert that the genre did not exist prior to 1920s and that it originated within the pages of Amazing Stories, the first science-fiction magazine ever published. From this perspective, the inception of science fiction coincided with its formal definition. Nevertheless, Gernsback’s characterization of science fiction evidently references a pre-existing corpus of authors whose writings were not classified as science fiction during their time. This has prompted some scholars to argue that science fiction encompasses works produced by authors like Edgar Allan Poe and Jules Verne, or even that its origins can be traced back to these literary figures.
However, it is the very diversity and adaptability of science fiction, evident in its ability to integrate concepts from numerous disciplines, that has sustained the genre for more than a century. There definitively exists no singular, authoritative urtext; instead, there exists a multitude of origins. This abundance of influences constitutes a significant factor contributing to the contentious nature of the term “science fiction.”
Nevertheless, scholars posit that we ought to regard science fiction as a comprehensive term, analogous to the concept of “sport.” It is infeasible to delineate “sport” merely by alluding to the regulations of football or tennis, for instance. This does not imply, of course, that the concept of sport is nonexistent. One might observe parallels in this regard with the field of law; it would be challenging, for example, to characterize “law” by solely referencing contract law. Such a characterization would inadequately reflect the numerous dimensions of law.
The notion of detachment is pivotal for any attempt at comprehension of science fiction. The interaction between the familiar and the unfamiliar penetrates the essence of the genre. The necessity for the genre to construct an imaginative framework distinct from the author’s milieu remains a topic of contention. While numerous works are situated in disparate temporal and spatial contexts (Star Trek, Star Wars, very notably) many others unfold in places resembling the author’s surroundings, albeit with the incorporation of novel contexts or scenarios that introduce a sense of otherness. This “otherness” introduces several legal and ethical quandaries that the characters must navigate against, and in doing so, they reveal insights into our society and lawmaking, howsoever startling they may be (1984, The Handmaid’s Tale, Animal Farm are classics of this field).
JUDICIAL PARTAKING IN SCIENCE FICTION
Science fiction has explored legal frameworks and jurisprudential issues across numerous narratives; still, I contend that this interaction is bidirectional. Science fiction has significantly influenced perceptions within legal systems, the judiciary, legislative bodies, and public opinion. The necessity for legal discourse to interact with the mechanisms through which texts convey their meanings has been highlighted as vital, and in this segment, I will elucidate various domains in which legal discourse has deliberately engaged with science fiction and its motifs. As a result of this interaction, legal terminology, in certain contexts, embodies elements of science fiction.
The judiciary has engaged with the genre of science fiction across various contexts. For instance, laws address science fiction through patents and copyrights, which formally acknowledge it as a genre within both literature and cinema. Second, science fiction is frequently depicted in case law as an interest of individuals with psychological disorders, categorized as a hobby of, among others: offenders, child exploiters, and those with mental health issues.
This perception persists despite the fact that science fiction represents at least 10% of the total books sold globally and many of the top fifty highest-grossing films of all time are oriented toward science fiction.T hus, to isolate science fiction as a deviant interest appears somewhat unjust, if not empirically dubious.
Another application of the term “science fiction” within the realm of law serves as a descriptive reference when discussing scenarios for which legal entities were insufficiently prepared, exemplified by the examination of advertising contracts that failed to anticipate the expansion of Internet advertising. In the case of Hiram Walker & Sons Inc. v. Drambuie Liqueur Co. (1998), the involved parties sought resolution in court over a disagreement concerning Internet advertising. Lord Penrose, who presided over the case, asserted that at the time of the contract’s inception, Internet advertising was considered “science fiction.” In this context, science fiction was implicitly understood as a conceptual framework that can, to a certain degree, accurately forecast future legal and societal challenges.
Yet another interpretation of science fiction, arguably the most intriguing, relates to judicial conjecture. The judiciary occasionally contemplates how its rulings might have been influenced had the specifics of a case been significantly modified by concepts derived from the science fiction genre. Judges have indulged in such conjecture concerning the creation and production of artificial life, deliberating on whether nonhuman machines are capable of inflicting torture, and examining the increasingly indistinct boundary separating life from death.
By recognizing that scenarios once relegated deep within science fiction, such as the proliferation of the Internet, the engineering of synthetic life forms, and advancements in pioneering medical methodologies, can exert an influence on legal principles, the judiciary has exhibited a propensity to utilize the lexicon of science fiction in articulating its judgments. This inclination may suggest that science fiction possesses the capacity to encapsulate societal values and trends in a manner that legal discourse may not effectively achieve.
Consequently, the imagery inherent in the narratives of science fiction permeates the common vernacular, ultimately finding its way into the legal terminology. By examining the interactions between culture and technology, science fiction does carry the potential to foresee and address social and technological transformations prior to their acknowledgment by the judiciary.
An academician once noted that although judicial authorities and lawmakers are restricted by established precedents as well as financial and political motivations, literature possesses the liberty to embrace innovation, disrupt traditional norms, and express new conceptualizations that may subsequently influence legal structures and legislation.
This is because, through the envisaging of potential interactions and catastrophic outcomes, science fiction facilitates a cultural reflection, assessment, and critique of occurrences prior to their manifestation. As a literary genre, one might even plausibly argue that science fiction holds an innate superior capability to address such matters compared to other cinematic or literary forms, as it is inherently focused on themes related to the future and technological advancements. Since it spotlights conceivable futures, science fiction empowers legal systems to explore varied approaches for navigating emerging events and circumstances.
UNEARTHING AN INFLUENCE
In this final segment, I will support my argument as the symbiosis between law and science fiction, with one of my most cherished movies of all times: Species; a movie I watched, enjoyed and loved as a child, as a teenager, and continue to do so today, but it is only fairly recently that I have come across the ramifications of its attitudinal tilt regarding a murky terrain, upon actual legislation.
“Species”: A Textual Analysis
In the narrative, a transmission originating from Earth, which carries the full mapping of the human genome, is returned back from the “extraterrestrials”, seemingly dispatched by a well-intentioned alien civilization along with directives for the successful amalgamation of human and alien genetic material. Researchers subsequently employ this intelligence to fabricate a hybrid embryo. Nevertheless, the embryo undergoes rapid gestation, ultimately manifesting as an adult female entity, designated as “Sil.” Following an endeavor to eliminate her, Sil manages to escape from the scientific research facility in which she is confined and initiates a quest for reproduction.
This discourse presents several critical concerns. Primarily, the hybrid resembles a (strikingly beautiful) human; her aspiration for conception could potentially yield hybrid offspring and lead to species contamination. Consequently, the essence of humanity is jeopardized by the sexual agency of the (monstrous feminine) hybrid. Sil embodies two classifications of the monstrous feminine delineated by Creed: the “woman begotten with an abomination” and the “woman as an alluring yet deadly assassin.”
Additionally, the hybrid’s semblance to humanity engenders a diminishment of the uniqueness within the human category, and by depicting hybrid progeny as having widespread repercussions, the prospect of disease transmission is also invoked.
The film is fundamentally predicated upon the unearthing of suppressed or latent female sexuality. A palpable apprehension regarding the reproductive female anatomy appears to surface; Sil’s aesthetically appealing exterior is juxtaposed with her grotesque reproductive organ. As Creed observes, horror cinema frequently invokes the “timeless association between femininity, reproduction, and the monstrous.”
In Sil’s context, gender plays a pivotal role in her monstrosity. Her aspiration to conceive and reproduce represents a peril to societal norms. Her libido, her sexual identity, poses a threat of triggering a widespread crisis. The trepidation surrounding the hybrid offspring intertwines with anxieties about female sexuality, single motherhood, and societal disintegration. The amalgamation of human and animal (or in this scenario, extraterrestrial) unveils the ostensibly primal essence of female sexuality. The hybrid embodies both the seductress and the executioner (I say this because she eliminates the males subsequent to mating, or attempting to mate, with them).
In one way, the intertwining of anxieties surrounding such an organism and apprehensions regarding female sexuality can be attributed to the cinematic portrayal, as the provocative essence of the film is evidently designed to enhance its commercial success. Conversely, this “weaving” may also reflect a broader societal bias.
Both the hybrid and the female physique have been depicted as possessing “a propensity to blur the delineated boundaries between self and other, to taint and envelop.” Embedded within this ambiguity lies the potential for peril and illegality, resulting in the stigmatization of both entities.
The perceived threat posed by them may be juxtaposed against the legal ideal of the normative male body, which is characterized by its defined, impenetrable, and distinct nature. Through this feminist perspective, one may interpret the “moral objection” as being intricately linked to ethical debates concerning gender and sexuality. Consequently, it becomes evident that Species manifests certain public anxieties regarding human-animal combinations.
Certain potential ramifications of neglecting to restrict cell hybridization become particularly evident in the context of the movie, wherein such an embryo is carried to birth. At this juncture, the conceptual ambiguity distinguishing human from animal is most acutely perceived. The entity possesses human-like characteristics yet is fundamentally different. The rights and personhood associated with the event of “birth” raise immediate concerns.
From a legal standpoint, a principal rationale for prohibiting such events is to avert the necessity for the law to adjudicate the status of such organisms once they reach full gestation, given that embryos themselves do not possess legal personhood. Science fiction is capable of circumventing these legal constraints, thereby compelling us to reflect upon the ethical and legal implications surrounding these entities in a world where their existence is firmly real. I will now try and draw parallels as to the influence of the film upon a law dealing precisely with such considerations, passed in the United Kingdom.
Legislative Implications
In 2008, amendments were instituted regarding the regulation of hybrid fertilized embryos within the United Kingdom. According to the “Human Fertilization and Embryology” (shortened to HFE) Act of 2008, the integration of human and animal cells for non-reproductive research purposes was permitted. This was subject to the stipulation that no admixed embryo is permitted to develop beyond fourteen days. Consistent with the earlier Act of 1990, it remains impermissible to implant such an embryo, or any gametes other than those derived from humans, into a female, or any animal species.
In the movie, it was legally permitted the formation of hybrid embryos, yet it also imposed a temporal restriction beyond which the entity must be terminated. In the plot, this deadline extended significantly beyond the fourteen-day mark, thereby facilitating the emergence of the peril subsequently posed by Sil.
Conversely, the earlier discontinuation date endorsed by the 2008 Act mitigates this dual menace to both the definition of “human” and the existential continuity of humanity as presently understood. Nevertheless, these temporal boundaries and prohibitions may not endure indefinitely. Speculative fiction, societal attitudes, and legislative frameworks are all plausibly anticipated to present divergent interpretations of cross-breeding in the future.
An examination of the distinctions between the 1990 and 2008 Act, reveals a notable transition in focus from the outright prohibition of the entity to a restriction on reproduction and procreation. This shift in prominence echoes the prevailing fears inherent in the discourse surrounding the film.
Despite Sil’s remarkable physical prowess and her nature as a remorseless assassin, she did not constitute, as an individual, a direct menace to society; rather, the threat she embodied stemmed from the alleged epidemic repercussions of her reproductive capabilities. In this context, the entity itself was not initially subject to prohibition; instead, reproduction, as articulated in the 2008 Act, emerged as the act deemed impermissible.
We cannot surely say that the United Kingdom government, in revising the Act, did explicitly adhere to the counsel of science fiction, it certainly did pay heed to public skepticism as encapsulated in and disseminated by narratives such as seen in the film.
In conclusion, it is important to remember that the journeys we take in fiction may not be “real” in the physical sense of the term, they always carry the potential. Law has and continues to shape and be shaped by literature, especially science fiction in the modern era; it is foolish to belittle the worth of this tryst for it has, does and will permeates all of society, everywhere. All one needs to do is look.
