R2D2 Go; 3D2 Stay?

Will 3-D revolutionize the canvas of science fiction movies?

A bullet whizzes toward you with blinding speed. You dodge to the right, just in time to avoid the huge horse-like creature that has just crashed through the brush with its six legs. Startled, you jerk back and knock over some of your popcorn. The movement jolts your glasses and skews the image just enough to remind you that "it's just a movie."

Perhaps your response to James Cameron's Avatar wasn't quite as pronounced. Nevertheless, while glancing around the IMAX theater, I saw a few audience members grabbing at air as if expecting the teenagers seated in front of them to have transformed into an army of blue-skinned Na'vi. The return of the 3-D movie experience in the last decade highlights how developments in science are pushing into the world of film. Yet can we expect this 3-D craze to last? If so, what kind of effect will it have on science fiction movies as a genre?

For one, polarized 3-D film technology has been around since the 1950s, first seen in movies such as House of Wax. Extremely popular in both the 1950s and 1980s, the 3-D craze ultimately died out within a few years of its revival. What makes the current revolution different and perhaps more permanent, however, is the introduction of ever-finer computer-generated imagery (CGI) and stereoscopic cameras. In a nutshell, 3-D movies gain their dimensionality by superimposing two images on top of one another. When the composite is viewed through a polarizing lens that filters certain orientations of light, the right eye and the left eye perceive different images and the illusion generated is a panoramic perspective. You see the same thing from different angles and thus perceive it as 3-D. In the past, the cost and exactness required to produce two synchronized images rendered full-length features impractical. But with Cameron's invention of a new camera and CGI experts' finessing, 3-D movies have become not only easier to shoot but also more enjoyable to watch.

Given that technology has overcome the barriers of the past, it is possible that the modern 3-D craze will draw all audience members — from the most avid trekkies to adamant chick flick lovers — to the silver screen. Not only are more and more production companies buying into the 3-D market (this spring alone boasts an impressive lineup of Alice in Wonderland, Toy Story 3, and Shrek Forever After) but the realism that accompanies immersing yourself in a 3-D world has the potential to entice even the most uninspired of moviegoers. For viewers who complain of science fiction and fantasy being just "tall tales" and "children's stories," they may find themselves surprised by how genuine technology can make make-believe feel.

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