Spy-Fi
| Synonyms: | |
| See also: | Spy, Future, Science Fiction |
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Spy-Fi is a subgenre of spy fiction that includes futuristic technology, elements of science fiction being often associated with the Cold War. Most used for the campy style, common in the US and UK during the 1960s or other works in this same style.[1][2][3][4][5]
Definition and Characteristics
Features of spy-fi include the effects of technology on the espionage trade and the technological gadgets used by the characters, even though the technologies and gadgets portrayed are well beyond current scientific reality.[6]
The name is sometimes also applied to more recent spy series with highly improbable technology, but never to more realistic spy fiction like that by Graham Greene.[citation needed]
Spy-fi can be defined as media that centers around the adventures of a protagonist (or protagonists) working as a secret agent or a spy. Usually, these adventures will revolve around defeating a rival superpower or singular enemy from achieving a nefarious aim. Content may include themes such as world domination, world destruction, futuristic weapons, and gadgets. Settings vary from outright fantasy, such as outer space or under the sea, to real but exotic locations.
Spy-fi does not necessarily present espionage as it is practiced in reality but rather glamorizes spy-craft through its focus on high-tech equipment, agencies, and organizations with nearly limitless resources and incredibly high-stakes adventures.
The spy protagonist may discover in his or her investigation that a mad scientist or evil demon|evil genius and his secret organization are using futuristic technology to further their schemes.[7][8][9]
Examples
Examples of these include the James Bond film series, the use of advanced scientific technologies for global influence or domination in The Baroness spy novels, using spaceflight/space travel technology to destroy the world, weather control, using a sonic weapon, a death ray, or replacing world leaders with evil twins.
Some franchises, series, and works commonly labeled as 'spy-fi' include:
1960s-70s
- The Avengers
- The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.
- Get Smart (a parody of MFU in particular as well as the genre in general)
- Mission Impossible
- The Prisoner
- The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman
- Jonny Quest franchise
More recent
- Jake 2.0
- Alias
- Archer
- Austin Powers
- Chuck
- Kim Possible
- Kingsman
- La Femme Nikita (1997—2001 TV series)
- Nikita (2010–2013 TV series)
- Modesty Blaise
- Spy Kids
- Deus Ex
Notes and References
Notes
- See also Spy-fi (subgenre) on Wikipedia for more informations
References
- ^ "Spy Fi Shelf". Goodreads.com. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
- ^ Danesi, Marcel (2012). Popular Culture: Introductory Perspectives (2nd ed.). Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Incorporated. p. 76. ISBN 9781442217836.
- ^ "Relive decades of spy-fi with an epic retrospective on James Bonds' sci-fi gadgets". Blastr. 2015-11-06. Retrieved 2016-03-13.
- ^ "Spy-fi is just around the corner". Tor.com. 2009-11-06. Retrieved 2016-03-13.
- ^ Sexton, Max. "Celluloid Television: The Action Adventure Genre of the 1960s". Dandelion. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
- ^ "Spyfi". BestScienceFictionBooks.com. Retrieved 2016-03-24.
- ^ MI6-HQ Copyright 2016. "Spies + Spoofs :: MI6 :: The Home Of James Bond 007". Mi6-hq.com. Retrieved 2016-03-13.
- ^ Weiner, Robert G.; Whitfield, B. Lynn; Becker, Jack (2010). James Bond in World and Popular Culture: The Films are Not Enough (1. publ. ed.). Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars. p. 100. ISBN 978-1443822893.
- ^ Packer, Jeremy (2009). Secret Agents: Popular Icons Beyond James Bond. New York: Peter Lang. p. xi. ISBN 978-0820486697. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
