Humanity in Science Fiction Movies: A Comparative Analysis of Wandering Earth, The Martian and Interstellar

Abstract

Wandering Earth, released in 2019, is regarded as a phenomenal film that opens the door to Chinese science fiction movies. The Chinese story in the film has aroused the resonance of domestic audiences, but failed to get high marks on foreign film review websites. In contrast, in recent years, science fiction films in European and American countries are still loved by audiences at home and abroad, such as The Martian and Interstellar, which have both commercial and artistic values. It can be seen that the cultural communication of western science fiction movies is more successful than that of China. Taking the above three works as examples, this paper analyzes the doomsday plot, the beauty of returning home and the role shaping of scientific women in science fiction movies from the perspective of the organic combination of “hard-core elements of science fiction” and “soft value in humanity”, in an attempt to help the foreign cultural communication of domestic science fiction movies. As an attempt to facilitate the global development of Chinese science fiction, this paper concludes that certain Chinese traditional cultural spirit needs further spreading, that Chinese science fiction and humanity should be combined in a more natural way, and that in particular, female character need in depth and multi-dimensional interpretation.