How not to build a future society.



Science fiction films have many warnings for us – not least, how the road to a perfect future society is fraught with peril. Quentin Cooper loads up the DVD player to see what lessons we can learn.Science-fiction films sometimes offer us a future so bright we’ve got to wear shades. But mostly we’re deluged with visions of tomorrows far bleaker than today, from wildly unlikely “what if?” disaster scenarios through to entirely plausible but still scary extrapolations of the present.
Doris Day may be right when she sings in Que Sera, Sera that “the future’s not ours to see” – for instance, I’m betting no-one saw that Doris Day namecheck coming until I made it – but at least these movies can flag up general directions we might be best steering clear of.
So what can we learn for society and our species to survive? Here is my spoiler-heavy list of the top nine things science-fiction films claim to teach us.
1. Avoid androids and AI
Artificial creatures that look and behave a lot like us also look a lot like a heap of trouble. Some androids are made bad, such as the originalTerminator relentlessly coming after us, or Ash in Alien, betraying everyone through its lack of humanity. Others soon get that way through malfunction or rebellion, like the gunslinger in Westworld which starts shooting to kill, or the replicants in Bladerunner willing to take human lives to extend their own.

Ash in Alien (20th Century Fox)
Ash in Alien (20th Century Fox)

All this draws not only on anxieties about increasing dehumanisation and creating intelligences greater than our own, but also on older fears – as seen in films like Invasion of the Bodysnatchers (alien spores duplicate townsfolk and replace them) or Invaders from Mars (aliens implant mind control crystals to take over locals) – about the enemy within that appear the same as we are, but who deep down are dangerously different.

The Matrix (Warner Bros)
The Matrix (Warner Bros)

Even if you take away their body and ability to move, something sentient still poses a threat. First, computers can oppress entire societies (simulating reality in The Matrix trilogy to keep the entire population subjugated, or outlawing art and emotion in Alphaville to control free thought); second, they can commit mass-murder (the supposedly humanity-protecting Red Queen in the Resident Evil films), or third, just leave you an emotional mess (the seductive sentient operating system inHer). Given enough time, machines may figure out how to pass themselves off as people (the “type 3” androids in Screamers), allowing them to do most of the above.
It’s a common theme that systems designed to protect us end up reaching the not entirely illogical conclusion that the greatest threat comes from people (in Colossus: The Forbin Project the US and Russian defence supercomputers join forces to take over the world.)
Again, we’re in the technophobic territory of being scared our creations will turn against us, part of that wider mistrust of science and scientists that goes back to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and beyond.
See also: Robo-Maria in Metropolis, robot Bill and Ted in their Bogus Journey, David in Prometheus, all The Stepford WivesTronI, Robot,Demon Seed.
2. Machinery plus weaponry equals catastrophe
Whatever they look like, it’s a general rule that anything artificially intelligent is really inconvenient, if it is armed it’s probably disastrous, and if it’s in charge of nukes then it may well be apocalyptic.

Cyborg in Terminator (Tristar)
Cyborg in Terminator (Tristar)

From the Cold War onwards, cinema has often shown us the hazards of all-out atomic warfare (most famously the “reveal” at the end of the original Planet of the Apes) and atomic testing (the irradiated giant ants inThem!, or the sleeping monsters awoken in the original Godzilla). And according to many stories, we will face particular risks if nuclear weapons are governed by machines – whether it’s the supercomputer Joshua nearly launching global conflict in Wargames or Skynet going one better in the Terminator films and almost wiping out humanity.
The take-home message is that no nukes is good news, and no weapons in the hands of anything artificially intelligent is even better. (Discounting the fact that these malign machines rarely have actual hands.)
See also: On The Beach, The Day The Earth Caught FireRobocopThe Iron Giant. 
3. Ban human cloning
At best you have to wade through the ethical quagmire of individuals raised only to be organ donors or cheap labour (Never Let Me GoThe IslandMoon); at worst you create a vast army and start a pan-galactic conflict (Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones). In between this comes your genes sealing your fate (Gattaca’s genetically determined class system), manipulating DNA to create superhumans who then turn against us (Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan and  Into Darkness), and frightening fusions of humans and other creatures (Alien: Resurrection,The Fly).  And that still leaves genetically modified viruses, plants and animals.
We’ve only relatively recently become concerned about this kind of genetic tinkering simply because we have only recently become able to do it. Science is always advancing into the unknown, and the unknown can always be made scary. Given the resistance to work on crops – especially since the term “Frankenstein foods” was coined 25 years ago – it’s only to be expected that resistance to, and fear of, cloned people is far greater.
4. Control the state or it will control you
Science fiction’s predictive properties are highly debatable, but what it is good at is exploring present-day situations in a stripped-down way. So whenever future societies are seen on screen – whether the film is set just a few years from now or millennia, on Earth or among alien races on distant planets – they almost invariably echo or extrapolate what’s happening in the here and now. And although the politics vary, what’s consistent are the warnings about leaders and administrations becoming too powerful, bureaucratic and interfering.   

District 9 (Tristar)
District 9 (Tristar)

This year’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier deals with the theme of government agencies reacting to terror threats with increasing surveillance and an ever-greater armed presence. As a line in the film spells out, this approach risks “holding a gun at everyone on Earth and calling it protection”. It’s a nice point about losing freedoms in the name of preserving freedom.
Many films – such as Brazil or Fahrenheit 451 – are set within oppressive regimes. Some are even more totalitarian, keeping the population under control by dividing them (the alien ghetto in District 9, the slums for the masses on Earth and space station for the elite in Elysium), drugging them (THX 1138), distracting them (the titular mass entertainment ofDeath Race 2000 and The Hunger Games), or doing them in (in Logan’s Run everyone lives in a computer-controlled utopia, but life ends at 30).  
See also: SerenityDemolition ManIn Time.
5. Beware large corporations
With the honourable exceptions of Wayne Enterprises in Batman and Stark Enterprises in Iron Man, any big company in sci-fi is usually a bad one. And the bigger they are, the shadier they get. Particularly ruthless are Omni Consumer Products in Robocop controlling every aspect of life from basic goods to government, and the Soylent Corporation in Soylent Green who quietly decide to overcome food shortages by feeding the masses to themselves. But perhaps the ultimate in conglomerated evil is Weyland-Yutani in the Alien franchise: always willing to make sacrifices – “crew expendable” is the directive they send in the first film – to further its own ends.
All these blockbusters are of course made by big studios owned by multi-national corporations… so what, maybe, are they trying to tell us about the nature of big companies?
See also: The Buy-N-Large Corporation in WALL-E, Tyrell Corporation inBladerunner; Cyberdyne Systems in the Terminator franchise.
6. One world – try to preserve it
Science fiction often depicts humanity as having spread out across the Universe. That may eventually be how our species can survive, plundering other worlds for resources like in Outland (mining titanium on Jupiter’s moon Io) and Avatar (picking a fight with peaceful blue aliens because they’re sitting on reserves of amusingly named mineral unobtanium). 

Zoe Saldana and Sam Worthington (20th Century Fox)
Zoe Saldana and Sam Worthington (20th Century Fox)

But until that’s possible we need to stop making a pig’s ear of planet Earth or just look where we’ll end up. The driver may be the various nuclear apocalypses already mentioned, runaway climate change (The Day After TomorrowWaterworld), excessive pollution (WALL-E) or running out of natural resources (it’s oil shortages that send everyone crazy in Mad Max). But the lesson is always the same: mend our ways before we end our days. 
See also: Silent RunningGodzilla vs HedorahRed PlanetThe Core.
7.
 Watch the skies
Through no fault of our own, cosmic trouble can come looking for us. So if we keep on the lookout we might at least be marginally better prepared. It could be a full scale invasion from aliens that for no given reason have singled out Earth as ripe for conquest (Independence DayMars Attacks!to name but two), a rogue extra-terrestrial causing trouble (The Thing,CloverfieldSuper 8), our planet happening to be where aliens get into a scrap (TransformersAlien vs. Predator) or just a raid on our planet for resources (in Cowboys vs Aliens they’re after gold, in  This Island Earthit’s uranium and scientists). 

Earth vs the Flying Saucers (Columbia)
Earth vs the Flying Saucers (Columbia)

While there is no pressing reason to worry about extra-terrestrials muscling in on us, the odds are slightly less astronomical that we could collide with something from space. It could be an asteroid (Armageddon), comet (Deep Impact), meteor (err, Meteor) or rogue planet (When Worlds Collide). As they say in The Thing from Another World – watch the skies, keep watching the skies.

The Avengers (Walt Disney)
The Avengers (Walt Disney)

It’s admittedly unlikely, but if oddly garbed individuals with amazing powers and/or superior technology offer to help humankind in the future, it might seem to be a good thing. It isn’t. They mean well, but as Newton’s third law of motion pictures says, to every action hero there is an equal and opposite anti-hero. Before you know it the stars are spangled with even stranger looking villains, aliens and/or alien villains, and easily recognised landmarks are getting trashed (the Golden Gate bridge is a particular favourite). Disaster experts have calculated the damage to Manhattan in The Avengers would have cost $160bn to repair. So thanks Superman, Thor, X-Men, Fantastic Four, et al, but no thanks.
See also: Batman, SpidermanWatchmen.
9.
 Stay put
Maybe all this space exploration is just plain bad for us. Not sending humans to the stars would mean no risk of anyone being terrified away from terra firma (Alien, Event Horizon), or bringing back nasty creatures (Alien: Resurrection, Lifeforce), or drawing attention to Earth so aliens attack it (Starship Troopers, assorted Star Treks, Apollo 18).  
Unmanned missions can be just as imperilling, getting contaminated with extra-terrestrial microorganisms (causing deadly illness in The Andromeda Strain, or growing into weird creatures in Monsters) or being transformed by aliens so it threatens to wipe out Earth (the Voyager probe that becomes a sentient energy cloud in Star Trek: The Motion Picture). Even transmissions beamed out to make contact with friendly extra-terrestrials can attract the wrong responses (like the alien seductress keen to spawn in Species or the hostile alien fleet inBattleship).
Given all of the above, the take home message is that while the Universe may be teeming with larger than life life-forms, we should stay home and keep ourselves to ourselves.  
bbc.

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Sandhurst's sheikhs: Why do so many Gulf royals receive military training in the UK? A parade outside the building at Sandhurst Continue reading the main story In today's Magazine The death list that names 5,000 victims Is this woman an apostate? Voices from a WW1 prison camp The Swiss selfie scandal Generations of foreign royals - particularly from the Middle East - have learned to be military leaders at the UK's Sandhurst officer training academy. But is that still a good idea, asks Matthew Teller. Since 1812, the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, on the Surrey/Berkshire border, has been where the British Army trains its officers. It has a gruelling 44-week course testing the physical and intellectual skills of officer cadets and imbuing them with the values of the British Army. Alongside would-be British officers, Sandhurst has a tradition of drawing cadets from overseas. Many of the elite families of the Middle East have sent their sons and daughters. Perhaps the most notable was King Hussein of Jordan. Continue reading the main story Find out more Matthew Teller presents Sandhurst and the Sheikhs, a Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4, on Wednesday 27 August 2014 at 11:00 BST It will be available on iPlayer shortly after broadcast Four reigning Arab monarchs are graduates of Sandhurst and its affiliated colleges - King Abdullah of Jordan, King Hamad of Bahrain, Sheikh Tamim, Emir of Qatar, and Sultan Qaboos of Oman. Past monarchs include Sheikh Saad, Emir of Kuwait, and Sheikh Hamad, Emir of Qatar. Sandhurst's links have continued from the time when Britain was the major colonial power in the Gulf. "One thing the British were excellent at was consolidating their rule through spectacle," says Habiba Hamid, former foreign policy strategist to the rulers of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. "Pomp, ceremony, displays of military might, shock and awe - they all originate from the British military relationship." Sheikh Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa, King Abdullah, Sultan Qaboos Sandhurst alumni: King Hamad of Bahrain, King Abdullah of Jordan and Sultan Qaboos of Oman It's a place where future leaders get to know each other, says Michael Stephens, deputy director of the Royal United Services Institute, Qatar. And Sandhurst gives the UK influence in the Gulf. "The [UK] gets the kind of attention from Gulf policy elites that countries of our size, like France and others, don't get. It gives us the ability to punch above our weight. "You have people who've spent time in Britain, they have… connections to their mates, their teachers. Familiarity in politics is very beneficial in the Gulf context." "For British people who are drifting around the world, as I did as a soldier," says Brigadier Peter Sincock, former defence attache to Saudi Arabia, "you find people who were at Sandhurst and you have an immediate rapport. I think that's very helpful, for example, in the field of military sales." The Emir of Dubai Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum with his son after his Passing Out Parade at Sandhurst in 2006 Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Emir of Dubai, with his son in uniform at Sandhurst in 2006 Her Majesty The Queen's Representative His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, The Emir of Qatar inspects soldiers during the 144th Sovereign's Parade held at The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on April 8, 2004 in Camberley, England. Some 470 Officer cadets took part of which 219 were commissioned into the British Army Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the Emir of Qatar until 2013, inspects soldiers at Sandhurst in 2004 Emotion doesn't always deliver. In 2013, despite the personal intervention of David Cameron, the UAE decided against buying the UK's Typhoon fighter jets. But elsewhere fellow feeling is paying dividends. "The Gulf monarchies have become important sources of capital," says Jane Kinninmont, deputy head of the Middle East/North Africa programme at the foreign affairs think tank Chatham House. "So you see the tallest building in London being financed by the Qataris, you see UK infrastructure and oilfield development being financed by the UAE. There's a desire - it can even seem like a desperation - to keep them onside for trade reasons." British policy in the Gulf is primarily "mercantile", says Dr Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, of the Baker Institute in Houston, Texas. Concerns over human rights and reform are secondary. The Shard at dusk The Shard was funded by Qatari investors In 2012 Sandhurst accepted a £15m donation from the UAE for a new accommodation block, named the Zayed Building after that country's founding ruler. In March 2013, Sandhurst's Mons Hall - a sports centre - was reopened as the King Hamad Hall, following a £3m donation from the monarch of Bahrain, who was educated at one of Sandhurst's affiliated colleges. The renaming proved controversial, partly because of the perceived slight towards the 1,600 British casualties at the Battle of Mons in August 1914 - and partly because of how Hamad and his government have dealt with political protest in Bahrain over the last three years. A critic might note that the third term of Sandhurst's Officer Commissioning Course covers counter-insurgency techniques and ways to manage public disorder. Since tension between Bahrain's majority Shia population and minority Sunni ruling elite boiled over in 2011, more than 80 civilians have died at the hands of the security forces, according to opposition estimates, though the government disputes the figures. Thirteen police officers have also lost their lives in the clashes. "The king has always felt that Sandhurst was a great place," says Sincock, chairman of the Bahrain Society, which promotes friendship between the UK and Bahrain. "Something like 20 of his immediate family have been there as cadets. He didn't really understand why there was such an outcry." David Cameron and King Hamad David Cameron meeting King Hamad in 2012... A protester is held back by police ... while protesters nearby opposed the Bahrain ruler's human rights record Crispin Black, a Sandhurst graduate and former instructor, says the academy should not have taken the money. "Everywhere you look there's a memorial to something, a building or a plaque that serves as a touchstone that takes you right to the heart of British military history. Calling this hall 'King Hamad Hall' ain't gonna do that." Sandhurst gave a written response to the criticism. "All donations to Sandhurst are in compliance with the UK's domestic and international legal obligations and our values as a nation. Over the years donations like this have saved the UK taxpayer a considerable amount of money." But what happens when Sandhurst's friends become enemies? In 2001, then-prime minister Tony Blair visited Damascus, marking a warming of relations between the UK and Syria. Shortly after, in 2003, Sandhurst was training officers from the Syrian armed forces. Now, of course, Syria is an international pariah. Journalist Michael Cockerell has written about Libyan dictator Colonel Gaddafi's time at the Army School of Education in Beaconsfield in 1966: "Three years [later], Gaddafi followed a tradition of foreign officers trained by the British Army. He made use of his newfound knowledge to seize political power in his own country." Ahmed Ali Sandhurst-trained Ahmed Ali was a key player in the Egyptian military's removal of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi That tradition persists. In the 1990s Egyptian colonel Ahmed Ali attended Sandhurst. In 2013 he was one of the key figures in the Egyptian military's removal of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, now rewarded by a post in President Sisi's inner circle of advisers. In the late 1990s there were moves by the British government under Tony Blair to end Sandhurst's training of overseas cadets. Major-General Arthur Denaro, Middle East adviser to the defence secretary and commandant at Sandhurst in the late 1990s, describes the idea as part of the "ethical foreign policy" advocated by the late Robin Cook, then-foreign secretary. Tony Blair and Robin Cook Tony Blair and Robin Cook at one point planned to end Sandhurst's training of overseas cadets The funeral of King Hussein in 1999 appears to have scuppered the plan. "Coming to that funeral were the heads of state of almost every country in the world - and our prime minister was there, Tony Blair," says Major-General Denaro. "He happened to see me talking to heads of state - the Sultan of Brunei, the Sultan of Oman, the Bahrainis, the Saudis - and he said 'How do you know all these guys?' The answer was because they went to Sandhurst." Today, Sandhurst has reportedly trained more officer cadets from the UAE than from any other country bar the UK. The May 2014 intake included 72 overseas cadets, around 40% of whom were from the Middle East. "In the future," says Maryam al-Khawaja, acting president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, "people will look back at how much Britain messed up in the [Middle East] because they wanted to sell more Typhoon jets to Bahrain, rather than stand behind the values of human rights and democracy." "It's one thing saying we're inculcating benign values, but that's not happening," says Habiba Hamid. Sandhurst is "a relic of the colonial past. They're not [teaching] the civic values we ought to find in democratically elected leaders." line Who else went to Sandhurst? Princes William and Harry, Winston Churchill, Ian Fleming, Katie Hopkins, Antony Beevor, James Blunt, Josh Lewsey, Devon Harris (From left to right) Princes William and Harry Sir Winston Churchill Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond (but did not complete training) Katie Hopkins, reality TV star Antony Beevor, historian James Blunt, singer-songwriter Josh Lewsey, World Cup-winning England rugby player Devon Harris, member of Jamaica's first bobsleigh team line Sandhurst says that "building international relations through military exchanges and education is a key pillar of the UK's international engagement strategy". Sandhurst may be marvellous for the UK, a country where the army is subservient to government, but it is also delivering militarily-trained officers to Middle Eastern monarchies where, often, armies seem to exist to defend not the nation but the ruling family.

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