Most things in sci-fi scenarios happen around planets or at least around some star system so it's quite natural that the ships are visible. What cinema shows usually wrong is the contrast. In movies you see most ships in sort of an ambient lightning with soft shadows where you can pick up all the details. We are used that on Earth sunlight reflects from the floor, walls atmosphere and you never see pitch black shadows even in the low sun. In space you will likely see only illuminated areas of the spaceship while the rest will be just nothing, only a shadow against the stary sky.