Exploration et aventure

The notion of "Frontier" is at the core of the American culture. The US philosophy is based on the Manifest Destiny that is to say the belief or doctrine, held chiefly in the middle and later part of the 19th century, that it was the destiny of the U.S. to expand its territory over the whole of North America and to extend and enhance its political, social, and economic influences. This is well depicted in the painting by John Gast, American Progress, where a woman, an allegory, symbolizes this westward expansion and the introduction of modernity and civilization. This painting shows a real contrast between the Native populations who are running away from the colons while the latter are walking peacefully, taming Nature and animals, bringing civilization to replace wilderness.

This concept of territory is also fundamental in the construction of a national history and a particular identity as shown with the development of the British Empire on which the "sun never sets". The will to explore is anchored in the genes of the British people certainly because of their insularity that makes them feel special and unique, as if they were different from the rest of the world.
Many authors, through their writings, described these new territories and put forward the idea of an intricate but tense relationship between the Empire and the other countries whose inhabitants suffer from the oppression which prevents them from expressing their roots. Thus, Rudyard Kipling told stories about people living in India and the difficulty to maintain a balance in the populations subjected to white willpower. Chinua Achebe, and more recently Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie explore the way the Nigerians feel and the way they are considered in the UK.

The manifest Destiny and the spirit of adventure constitute a basis for science-fiction writers who transpose them onto other places or periods, of time creating supernatural worlds or uchronia in order to echo real societies and criticize what is going on in their countries. This is what Frank Herbert did when he published Dune. This saga is a way to tackle important issues that we on our Earth are enduring, that is to say environmental issues, gender and other civil rights movements that were in keeping with the decade in which the book was written (the sixties). James Cameron also directed a parable to inform people about the emergency of the global warming with Avatar. His criticism and his alarm call to save the planet is also a way to make people realize the importance of protecting our world at a time when our leaders seem to deny or minimize the dangerous effects of global warming.
This enables people to feel inspired and to connect themselves to the problems surrounding them. This is what JFK did when he uttered his speech about the New Frontier, when he urged his population to dream bigger and to expand civilization in a higher way. The new territory is no longer on Earth, it is now in space to show that human beings should feel the necessity to conquer new lands and to discover new virgin places where they can plant their flag.

Many movies explore this theme by showing space exploration as a way to connect ourselves to our origins and roots: Interstellar by Christopher Nolan, 2001, Space Odyssey by Stanley Kubrick or Ad Astra by James Mangold all relate the cosmos to more intimate explorations. Going into space, traveling across the universe is a way to explore our inner self, our intimacy and the immensity of space enables the characters to think about themselves and to discover new parts of their identity. It is also a way to relativize and focus on the quintessential facts of life, in other words, our relationship with others and especially within our family. For instance, In Ad Astra, the character played by Brad Pitt goes to the other side of the universe to literally meet his father. It is a metaphor to express the fact that he discovers the truth concerning his father and it enables him to complete himself and to reach a certain level of self-awareness.