"Message from space" is a type of "
first contact
First contact may refer to:
*First contact (astronomy), the moment in astronomical transit when the apparent positions of the two bodies first touch
*First contact (anthropology), the first meeting of two cultures previously unaware of one another
...
"
theme in
science fiction . Stories of this type involve receiving an interstellar message which reveals the existence of other intelligent life in the universe.
History
An early short story, ''A Message from Space'' (
Joseph Schlossel, ''
Weird Tales'', March 1926) tells of an amateur who builds a
ham TV set and suddenly sees an alien on the screen. The alien realises it is being watched and tells its
soap opera story. The verdict of
Everett Franklin Bleiler: "original ideas, but clumsy handling".
["Science-fiction, the early years'' by Everett Franklin Bleiler, ]
section "Schlosser, J."
/ref>
While the use of this trope does predate[David Langford and Brian M Stableford]
"Themes: SETI"
in John Clute, David Langford, Peter Nicholls and Graham Sleight (eds.). ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction,'' Third edition (accessed 24 November 2016) the scientific Search for extraterrestrial intelligence
The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) is a collective term for scientific searches for intelligent extraterrestrial life, for example, monitoring electromagnetic radiation for signs of transmissions from civilizations on other pl ...
("SETI"), initiated with Project Ozma in 1960, the use of this as a plot element in science fiction greatly increased with the publicity given by various the SETI projects. Classic examples of this trope include the 1961 television script and a novel ''A for Andromeda
''A for Andromeda'' is a British television science fiction drama serial first made and broadcast by the BBC in seven parts in 1961. Written by cosmologist Fred Hoyle, in conjunction with author and television producer John Elliot, it concern ...
'' by Fred Hoyle and John Elliot, the 1968 novel '' His Master's Voice'' by Stanislaw Lem, '' The Listeners'' by James E. Gunn and Carl Sagan
Carl Edward Sagan (; ; November 9, 1934December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, planetary scientist, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, and science communicator. His best known scientific contribution is research on ext ...
's novel and subsequent film '' Contact''.[''Science Fiction After 1900: From the Steam Man to the Stars'', by Brooks Landon]
p. 81
/ref>
See also
* Communication with extraterrestrial intelligence
References
{{Science fiction
Science fiction themes
Extraterrestrial life in popular culture