Science fiction films did not always have the range of topics they do today. Originally, they dealt with technology that was fantastical at the time. Released in 1902 and considered the first science fiction film, Le Voyage dans la Lune depicted space travel to the moon. The next decade or two found film makers exploring pioneering ideas, often merging science fiction with horror.
The decade of the 1930′s saw several comic strips adapted into films, which opened up the possible directions that the genre could take. This decade also saw the birth of big budget film making, and a great many iconic science fiction movies were created. Films such as King Kong, Flash Gordon and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. By this time studios and writers began to realize the lucrative future these films could have. Thus, the “golden age of the science fiction film” was ushered in.
The 50′s brought with them intense interest from the public into all things science and technology related. The dawn and spread of the television no doubt assisted science fiction’s meteoric rise. Great leaps were made in special effects, including the use of stop motion animation to a more realistic degree. Interest waned in the 60′s, but the few films that were made turned the genre upside down. Stanley Kubrick created 2001: A Space Odyssey, which is to this day a classic. Films such as The Planet of the Apes gave science fiction a way to comment on social situations in society.
After the manned lunar missions, science fiction became popular again. The leaps and bounds in computer technology increased the special effects possibilities. Nowhere was this more evident than in movies such as The Terminator and the Matrix. Considering how far it has come, there is no telling where it can go.