Screenwriting : Futurism by Meriem Bouziani

Biblical ones, because we have already been told well in advance they will happen - they are both amazing and scary.

I think all the movies regarding futurism made in our presence predict our uncertain future, unfortunately.

For a while it was 1984 but these days it's more Brave New World.

Yes, I agree with you—environmental apocalypse feels especially frightening to me. David Taylor

I think this is one of the main reasons we write and enjoy sci-fi: we’re deeply uncertain about tomorrow, so we predict, search, and even develop possibilities and scenarios.

In a way, this helps calm the fear that comes from uncertainty. Aleksandar Lahtov

I don't know Brave new world—could you clarify the idea a bit more, please? Michael Dzurak

"Brave New World" is a 1932 dystopian novel by Aldous Huxley. In the story's world, people are genetically engineered, pharmaceutically kept complacent, and conditioned unconciously while sleeping at night to conform to their pre-ordained social roles. It's a calm and harmonious world on the surface, but terrifying in its details. The 1993 satirical sci-fi action movie "Demolition Man" presented, up to a point, a dystopia like this. One not based on fear, but rather on complacency.

Hi, Meriem Bouziani. Hope you’re having a great creative week so far and a strong start to February too! AI taking over is one of the most frightening things to me. It doesn't have the emotion and life experiences of people, so it might make decisions that "seem" right and do a lot of destruction.

Thank you for the clarification.

this is absolutely a world of bio-robots—you’re right, that is so frightening. People lose their identity and uniqueness: no art, no real choices, no truly human life. Michael Dzurak

I genuinely fear that this future may be closer than we think. Have you seen the AI-driven conversations on social media platform ‘Moltbook’? I truly hope this is just a joke. Maurice Vaughan

I haven't seen that, Meriem Bouziani. I'll check it out. Thanks.

read some conversations here Maurice Vaughan

https://www.instagram.com/p/DUNkhOgCRi1/?igsh=ODhucHc4OGtudzZy

MERIEM https://archive.org/details/brave-new-world-audio

Thank you very much David Taylor

Thanks, Meriem Bouziani. Something like that could get dangerous.

Meriem Bouziani, I love this topic, and I’m going to take it in a slightly different direction. Instead of focusing on what frightens me about the future, I’m much more drawn to the visionary side of sci‑fi.

For me, sci‑fi already exists somewhere, in another timeline, a parallel reality, and we’re simply tuning into it and bringing fragments back into our own. We’re not predicting the future; we’re remembering it.

That’s why I gravitate toward films like Cloud Atlas. They don’t scare me; they expand me. They make me think, they offer tools, and they prepare me for what future generations might navigate. They remind me that futurism can be a bridge to deeper understanding, not just a warning.

And reading your post felt warm in its own way, like an invitation to imagine boldly rather than fearfully. I love that energy. That’s why I live Sci-fi and Fantasy :))

Thank you very much Sandra Correia

I love how you analyze this, especially the idea of parallel universes and how what we call sci-fi here may already be happening elsewhere. It’s like imagining a timeline where AI already rules, another where Earth is uninhabitable, or a third where humans and aliens are at war. All of these may exist at once, while we know nothing about them in our own parallel universe. That idea is both exciting and frightening.

Meriem Bouziani, I love how you expanded on it. That’s exactly the beauty of parallel universes, they hold every possibility at once. Some timelines might be chaotic, others peaceful, others wildly advanced. For me, that mix isn’t frightening; it’s fascinating. It reminds me how much mystery there still is, and how much imagination we get to bring into this one.

Yes, absolutely—there are infinite ideas and scenarios to explore. Sandra Correia

For me, the most unsettling futuristic ideas aren’t the loud, dystopian ones, but the quiet shifts we slowly normalize — especially when technology starts reshaping identity rather than just society. That’s where sci-fi feels the most powerful to me.

Yes, we’re becoming deeply connected to technology, and the more the world develops, the more dependent we become—until we reach a point where we can no longer step back. Daniel Chivu

I completely agree — that point of no return is what fascinates me the most.

Once identity becomes intertwined with systems we can’t fully control, choice itself starts to blur.

Do you think sci-fi (or speculative fiction) works best when it explores that loss slowly and subtly, rather than through overt dystopia?

This is a good question. I think both approaches matter, because both scenarios are possible, and both explore the future of humanity—even the potential end of humankind. A collapse can happen slowly or arrive as a sudden disaster that disrupts everything at once.

The challenge with slow-burn scenarios is monotony: viewers may lose interest or miss the message if the story isn’t handled carefully. That’s why it’s essential to develop strong, emotionally engaging characters that audiences can easily connect with, even when the pacing is deliberately slow.

I think Her is a great example of this. The story can feel quiet and restrained, yet audiences deeply connect with the character and clearly understand the underlying message. Daniel Chivu

DANIEL, I do think sci-fi (or speculative fiction) works best when it explores that loss slowly and subtly - So much so, I have a five-book series of 70 thousand words each - unpublished because part five is incomplete and I now want to script it anyway - where a group of 'normal' young adults are living in far future scenarios where they experience adventures in realities which keep evolving/changing. But whilst they are battling and winning, and evolving, they are progressively and unwittingly losing - the puzzle for them and for the reader is to figure out what is really going on and what the reality of their circumstances actually is. Adapted for five movies or five TV series - which I have not yet done/scripted. It's rather an exciting series of tales and also comedic.

This looks great—thank you for sharing your experience with slow sci-fi storytelling. Good luck turning it into a script. David Taylor

I really like how you framed it — especially the risk of monotony in slow-burn narratives if the emotional core isn’t strong enough.

What resonates with me is the idea that identity erosion often feels invisible while it’s happening. Characters adapt, normalize, justify — and only later realize what they’ve lost. That delayed awareness can be more unsettling than an immediate collapse.

Her works so well because the conflict isn’t externalized as spectacle, but internalized as emotional displacement. The world doesn’t end — meaning quietly shifts.

I’m curious: when you’re developing stories like this, do you tend to anchor the tension more in relationships or in the character’s internal contradictions? Meriem Bouziani

That actually sounds like a fascinating concept — especially the idea that victory and loss are happening simultaneously, but on different layers of awareness. I like how the “puzzle” isn’t just external, but existential: what reality are they really inhabiting, and what is being quietly taken from them as they adapt.

The comedic element makes it even more interesting, because humor can disarm the audience while the deeper erosion is happening underneath. That contrast can be powerful if handled carefully.

What really resonates with me is the notion that evolution itself can be the trap — characters believe they’re becoming stronger or wiser, while something essential is slipping away unnoticed.

I’m curious — when you imagine adapting it for screen, do you see the mystery revealed gradually across installments, or do you think the ambiguity is part of what should remain unresolved? David Taylor

So good—when the story focuses on the internal world, the emotional attachment becomes much stronger. Daniel Chivu

In my case, I write about a sudden catastrophe on Earth, but what follows unfolds more slowly, leading to deep changes in the characters’ inner worlds and their relationships. You could say I’m writing something in the middle, it begins catastrophically and then develops at a slower, more introspective pace.

I really like that balance — starting with a rupture and then letting the real transformation happen internally. That middle ground often feels the most honest.

I’m currently developing an adult dark fantasy series that also begins with a catastrophic event, but the core of the story lives in how identity, power, and relationships slowly fracture and reshape afterward.

If you’d ever like to continue the conversation in more detail, I’d be happy to chat privately — but I’ve really enjoyed this exchange here as well.Meriem Bouziani

That sounds like great work—I hope you achieve your goals. Feel free to ask me anything. Daniel Chivu