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It’s probably more common to see a dystopian setting in a science-fiction movie than a utopian one. Dystopias are naturally more interesting, and will provide more conflict for the characters who find themselves living in a dystopian or even post-apocalyptic sci-fi world. They represent directions the world could go in that the people currently on Earth wouldn’t want it to go in, making the fictional world of sci-fi movies a good place to explore various worst-case scenarios.
The only problem for viewers is that at a point, the pessimistic science-fiction stories found in dystopian movies might prove exhausting or too intensely downbeat. Pessimism or harsh realism is great for the sci-fi genre, but it shouldn’t be everything. The following sci-fi movies all offer a little more hope, depicting scenarios that suggest optimism for the future, or present challenges that futuristic characters respond to in a positive, overall cooperative manner.
1 ‘Arrival’ (2016)
There are a few situations that probably come to mind when one pictures an “aliens coming to Earth” narrative. There might be flying saucers, people getting disintegrated, or various landmarks getting blown up. Most of the time, alien visitors do not come in peace, and stories involving extra-terrestrial beings coming to Earth will often end up violent, with humanity fighting back.
Arrival’snot the first movie to depict a gentler alien “invasion” of Earth, but it’s one of the best recent examples. It turns out that there are no plans to attack or enslave the population, and though there’s some tension surrounding what exactly they want earlier on, Arrival ends up focusing on a linguist’s attempts to communicate with the extra-terrestrials, leading to peace between the species.
2 ‘Her’ (2013)
Even a family-friendly movie like Wall-E suggests that humanity increasingly relying on technology will be a bad thing for the future. It’s rare to see a science-fiction movie present a less fearful depiction of large-scale adoptions of new technology, but that’s more or less what Her ends up doing.
It’s not exactly a happy film, and it deals with loneliness while suggesting that some of the main character’s sadness comes from technology. His story – which involves a surprising romance with an advanced AI assistant – is shown to have its emotional ups and downs, with the film arguing that technology can isolate, but can also bring people together. It’s a balanced look at where the world might be going, and a positive one in comparison to most other sci-fi stories about technology.
3 ‘Metropolis’ (1927)
The once lost – but now almost complete – sci-fi classic Metropolis rides a line between a utopian future and a dystopian one. The titular city is a utopian one for those who are well-off, with an abundance of resources, facilities, and things to do. However, for the working class, it’s a dystopia, as they’re exploited and overworked, inevitably suffering so the well-off can live lavishly.
After the working class rebel against the wealthy, there’s a good deal of tension and unease until the film’s optimistic (albeit sudden) conclusion. The protagonist – labeled the “heart” – is said to be the one who can unite the city’s “hands” (its workers) and its “head” (the city master). If viewers are hopeful such a mediator will be successful for the city’s future, Metropolis ultimately ends on a positive note.
4 ‘A Trip to the Moon’ (1902)
A Trip to the Moon is one of the most famous short films of the silent era. It’s not held up for its scientific accuracy, of course, but for its technological innovation and imagination, serving as an early sci-fi/fantasy film that hinted at the wondrous worlds cinema as an art form would eventually depict on-screen.
Going to the moon was a completely futuristic hypothetical back in 1902, and ultimately, it’s an optimistic depiction of a manned mission to the moon. Getting there via a giant cannon proves relatively simple, there doesn’t seem to be a Space Race like there was in real life, and there’s also a thriving alien population on the moon, instead of the barren landscape actual astronauts would find nearly 70 years later.
5 ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ (1968)
Admittedly, 2001: A Space Odyssey is not an entirely sunny depiction of the once futuristic year of 2001. For one thing, the various food astronauts have to eat look pretty awful, and there’s also the matter of a particular AI – the infamous HAL 9000 – turning against the humans on his mission and proving deadly.
However, it’s a fair statement to say that 2001: A Space Odyssey aims to be a balanced look at the future of humanity in space. Space travel is shown to push the human race forward, some of the technology is awe-inspiring, there’s little conflict/warfare in space outside the HAL 9000 scene, and the film’s crazy final section also shows humanity being pushed forward into a new stage of evolution.
6 ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ (1977)
Almost 40 years before Arrival, Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind presented its own take on an optimistic alien visitation. Once again, there’s some mystery about what the aliens want in the film, but ultimately, they do come in peace.
Further, the human race at large seems willing to cooperate to accommodate the alien visitors, and there are no sequences featuring either species attacking the other. Sure, the main character clashes with his family due to an overwhelming obsession with the newfound alien species, but the story as a whole depicts a peaceful interaction between aliens and humans, all things considered.
7 ‘Until the End of the World’ (1991)
With a director’s cut that clocks in at almost five hours, Until the End of the World is an epic sci-fi/road movie. It takes place at a time when people are fearing the end of the world, and follows a man and a woman who travel to various countries before ending up in Australia, so the man can reunite with his family.
Some of its predictions about humanity’s dependence on technology are pessimistic, and some tension naturally comes from the fear of the world ending. However, the fear ends up unjustified, and though not all characters get an optimistic ending, it concludes in a way that feels hopeful for some, and overall suggests that the human race is resilient and can move with the times, even when the future initially looks frightening.
8 ‘Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure’ (1989)
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure follows two high school students who use time travel to assemble various famous historical figures for a school presentation. The entire plot kicks off because a utopian society some 700 years in the future realizes the two students to pass history, otherwise it’ll impact history in a way that won’t allow the utopia to exist.
It’s therefore pretty easy to compare to Back to the Future, although here, it goes far further into the future and far further into the past than that series ever did. Part of the plot naturally implies the world will have sorted out all its problems by the 2680s, which is indeed a nice, optimistic thought.
9 ‘Pacific Rim’ (2013)
Of course, a plot about giant monsters attacking Earth and destroying many of its cities doesn’t sound optimistic. That’s the basic premise of Pacific Rim, a wonderfully entertaining action romp that depicts literally the entire world facing an enormous threat unlike any other it’s faced before. Naturally, it’s not a future most would want to live in.
However, it’s the way that humanity bands together and cooperates to fight the monstrous invaders which proves hopeful. All the countries of the world band together, and some may consider it optimistic – or even naive – to think this would happen in real life, should such an existential threat come humanity’s way.
10 ‘Star Trek: The Motion Picture’ (1979)
Star Trek – at least early on – was seen as a sci-fi series that showcased the good in humanity’s potential future more so than the bad. The world tends to seem more peaceful than expected, with civilizations advancing to the point that in some areas of the galaxy, conflict, war, and poverty are all uncommon.
This carries across to some of the movies, too, particularly when it comes to the slower-paced 1979 film: Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Of course, its sequel made the futuristic world of Star Trek look darker and more violent, and so too have the more recent movies from 2009 onwards, but at its core, Star Trek is still known for being an unusually utopian and optimistic sci-fi series.
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