# Gnosticism and Science Fiction



## Neon Genesis (Jul 25, 2013)

Why do so many sci-fi movies and books use so many Gnostic themes in their stories?  Like there's a lot of stories and movies that deal with the theme of knowledge and how do we know this world is the real world and how do we know everything isn't an illusion.  These aren't completely modern ideas but date back all the way to the Gnostics who thought the universe was an illusion created by an evil false god and it was only by discovering "Gnosis" through following the true good god could you break free from the illusion.  A lot of the Gnostic mythology had a lot of sci-fish prototype elements in their stories so is it because Gnosticism was already like a big epic sci-fi story that makes it easier for sci-fi authors and directors to use their ideas?  Are sci-fi authors and directors somehow more drawn to "heretical" philosophies like Gnosticism than more traditional religions and spiritualities?  Is there something in human nature that causes us to question the why behind everything?  Or is it just because Gnosticism is so whacky it makes for good storytelling if you place their myths in a modern setting?  Also, are there any fantasy novels that deal with Gnosticism?  Why does Gnostic themes only seem to show up in the genre of sci-fi and not other fictional genres?


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## Brian G Turner (Jul 25, 2013)

Gnosticism is much more complex than that - I would suggest Eastern philosophies have been the bigger influence. I can't think of any explicit hat tips to Gnosticism at all, certainly not the texts.


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## Neon Genesis (Jul 26, 2013)

If I recall correctly, the Matrix trilogy was influenced a lot by Gnosticism and Plato.


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## JoanDrake (Jul 29, 2013)

Neon Genesis said:


> Why do so many sci-fi movies and books use so many Gnostic themes in their stories?  Like there's a lot of stories and movies that deal with the theme of knowledge and how do we know this world is the real world and how do we know everything isn't an illusion.  These aren't completely modern ideas but date back all the way to the Gnostics who thought the universe was an illusion created by an evil false god and it was only by discovering "Gnosis" through following the true good god could you break free from the illusion.  A lot of the Gnostic mythology had a lot of sci-fish prototype elements in their stories so is it because Gnosticism was already like a big epic sci-fi story that makes it easier for sci-fi authors and directors to use their ideas?  Are sci-fi authors and directors somehow more drawn to "heretical" philosophies like Gnosticism than more traditional religions and spiritualities?  Is there something in human nature that causes us to question the why behind everything?  Or is it just because Gnosticism is so whacky it makes for good storytelling if you place their myths in a modern setting?  Also, are there any fantasy novels that deal with Gnosticism?  Why does Gnostic themes only seem to show up in the genre of sci-fi and not other fictional genres?


 
While I can't think of what they are right now I think Gnosticism is an influence in a lot of things beyond SF. It was, after all, a major influence on Christianity in general so must have percolated into lots of medieval stories.

I think, OTOH, you might also be seeing the influence of just one man, (and the several he's influenced.) Philip K. Dick was almost obsessed with Gnosticism and the question of reality, pretty much to the exclusion of writing about anything else, but rather just examining the problem from several angles. He's very popular now, particularly in movies, as he wrote very cinematically and the overall concept works well with movie's and even computer game's immersive aspects.


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## BetaWolf (Jul 29, 2013)

A few things come to mind. 

(1) In SFF, writers generally stay away from mainstream religion I think for fear of turning off a larger readership. Well at least if your allegory lines up with your own religious orthodoxy too much. Looking to classic fantasy, Tolkien used Catholic notions as the basis for his own cosmology. But not so much so that it was a one for one relationship. C. S. Lewis, however, made it much clearer that he was talking about Christianity even in his Narnia and Space series books, though he drew on Theosophy and Arthuriana for the latter.

(2) Since the 1960s, there has been a lot of questioning conventional notions of reality. It's a trend in western thought at least usually labeled as 'post-modern' (or 'post' something). PKD is the best example in SFF writing. For me, the light at the end of the wormhole is that you need to have something real, and not stay in the place where you say that this world is fake but nothing is real--you can only replace one fantasy with another.

On the religion issue, it's a bit tough to work out, especially if you set your writing in the current or near future.


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## Dave (Jul 29, 2013)

Neon Genesis said:


> If I recall correctly, the Matrix trilogy was influenced a lot by Gnosticism and Plato.


Plato's 'Analogy of the Cave' certainly is an influence on _The Matrix, Dark City, The Village_ and maybe also _Vanilla Sky, Total Recall_.


JoanDrake said:


> I think, OTOH, you might also be seeing the influence of just one man, (and the several he's influenced.) Philip K. Dick was almost obsessed with Gnosticism and the question of reality, pretty much to the exclusion of writing about anything else, but rather just examining the problem from several angles. He's very popular now, particularly in movies, as he wrote very cinematically and the overall concept works well with movie's and even computer game's immersive aspects.


That could well be the reason. Even before SO many of his books were adapted into films, I'm fairly sure that all SF script-writers and film directors would have read and understood his work.


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## BetaWolf (Jul 30, 2013)

There is a good episode of Prophets of Science Fiction (available on Netflix) on Dick. I choose to believe that his visions were genuine, wherever they came from. Ridley Scott talks about his influence in particular and puts him in the context of the counterculture movement and so on.


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