Travis, MJ (2011) Making Space: Law and Science Fiction. Law and Literature, 23 (2). pp. 241-261. ISSN 1535-685X
Abstract
In this article I argue for greater attention to be paid to science fiction within sociolegal scholarship. In the first half of this paper I highlight that science fiction and law are already intertwined, science fiction having been commented on in a number of judicial decisions and law having been the focus of a number of science fiction texts. I then move on to outline how the law and science fiction are further interrelated. I begin by noting how law draws upon popular culture, and discuss how, in some instances, the law can realize science fiction. I then highlight science fiction’s usefulness as critique and how this feeds into the way that law draws upon popular culture. In the second half of the article, I exemplify these processes using the case of the admixed embryo. I examine admixed embryos within science fiction, using the 1995 film Species as a starting point. I explore the reciprocal relationship between popular attitudes and science fiction, then question how these factors influenced the amendments to the U.K. Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008. To conclude, I reassert the interpenetration of law and science fiction, arguing that both disciplines are inextricably tied to one another as they try to, respectively, regulate and envisage the future.
Metadata
Authors/Creators: |
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Keywords: | science fiction; admixed embryo; Species; popular culture; HFEA 2008 |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Education, Social Sciences and Law (Leeds) > School of Law (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 12 Mar 2019 09:24 |
Last Modified: | 12 Mar 2019 09:24 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Taylor & Francis |
Identification Number: | https://doi.org/10.1525/lal.2011.23.2.241 |