do you find the way that sci-fi portrays the future depressing?

ha ha ha ha ha... I like Sci fi. I guess there must be war and depression before any drama can be written about it. Nothing can be written if everything is find and dainty, does it? So, I am not surprised if they paint a gloomy picture of the future. This is the hero or heroine will be able to come and save the world or make the world a better place to live in.

SciFi has talked about gloom and doom since the 50's. I was watching a Twilight Zone episode earlier today where aliens were talking about humans being so destructive, starting wars, killing people, etc. They're still doing that with the addition of a possible future for us if we don't change our ways. It is kind of scary because a lot of things we've seen in SciFi movies have come true. The "communicator" in Star Trek is now called "cell phones", they had computers they could talk to, we do now, too. There are quite a lot of gadgets from the old SciFi movies that we have now. All I can say is that I HOPE we don't end up in a world like that, overcrowded, gray and dreary, everyone starving, etc. But, not all are so dreary. Quite a lot are just plain weird. I'm watching a Twilight Zone episode right now where a young woman keeps seeing herself as an old women. It's the old her trying to talk some sense into the young her, but her future looks like it does now, not gloomy, except for her poor choices. Star Trek has never seemed gloomy. They go ahead and back in time all the time and it usually looks pretty much the same as it does now. Only the people or aliens are different (although the aliens almost always look surprisingly human... lol). Maybe you've just been watching the same kind of SciFi. There really are some that are quite nice! (I'm a HUGE SciFi fan.)

I think it's funny how they always blame the government or big corporations for every disaster. I look at it as what it is science fiction, not science fact. So in answer to your question, while I agree they present a bleak outlook on the future, no I don't find it depressing.

Well, if in sci-fi the future wasn't bleak and in need of fixing, then there would be no story or plot. Something's got to be worng or are hero (every sci-fi story has got one) wouldn't have anything to fix. Actually, to contrast this idea that everything is bleak in sci-fi, in the Star Trek The Next Generation, series, everything on Earth is peachy. There is total peace, no one is poor, there is no hunger or despair, they fixed everything. Of course the series itself is in a galaxy far far away...or wait that's Star Wars...but you get my meaning....

Its just the genre mate. In order to sell tickets and get maximum revenue you need people through the doors and they will only do so if they fear or are excited by the future. Not if the future will be what it is today. Which is most likely whats going to happen. So they make the future look as bad as possible to get money.

Science Fiction movies often depict an all technological, robotic, humans-only, grey world on a dying planet, which could suggest how some people perceive the future of the earth to be. If you ask me, I'd rather live during the French Revolution than during the Chronicles Of Riddick times. You'll have to admit that the future of human is crappy.

I think if they made the images of the future rosy and wonderful then people will say why worry about the environment or global warming. It will all be good for many many years to come. I actually enjoy sci-fi movies. We laugh and say we are learning how to prepare for zombies, aliens or global destruction.

Why is it that we seem to be drawn to the prophetic messages of doom or destruction in regards to the futuristic state of our world! Think about it..! Many recent sci fi movies that did very well Terminator , star trek ,fifth element ,independence day ,Fantastic 4 plus a few more even the transformer series all in one way or another carries the storyline of the end of the world... I think there is something in the collective sub conscious of us mortals now have gotten the message that if we carry on the way we do ,thats how eventually we will end up,(frightened cry of anguish)problem is not that we dont know how we can play a role in improving things but most of us cant be bothered, leaving it to the next bloke to save the world as it were ,while we carry on with our daily routines..yup ,may be said its a collective thing,an effort ,however small or insignificant it may seem to an individual,if multiplied by millions makes a big difference. Who among us dont know about global warming ,pollution,nuclear threat,ozone and on and on.. Sci fi is inspired by current events,and as it is ,most of the sci fi authors seem to head towards the doomsday conclusion!