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Old 04-30-2008, 03:31 PM   #5
Disillusionist
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Re: Comparing Science Fiction, Science Fantasy, and Fantasy

I once read something by Robin Cook, author of "Coma" and many other novels, in which he opined that true science fiction, in his view, is based on the cutting edge hard science of the time, and extrapolates a story from that. The fact that he's a medical doctor, and writes what I would call suspence or even horror novels based on current medical advances, lends credence to the 'science fiction as ethics commentary" label.

I guess the line blurs for me the further into the future such tales get. Star Trek? I'd call it science fantasy typically, except that we now have crude 'communicators' only 40 years after "Kirk out" and "Beam me up, Scotty" became mainstream. Classis Star Trek and ST:TNG prided themselves on using NASA consultants for the basis of their science exposition, so I tend to view it as Sci-Fi, rather than SF.

For no other arbitrary reason than my own personal criteria for which is which:
Starship Troopers, The Fifth Element, Total Recall, Event Horizon, Demolition Man, Star Wars, The Terminator and Dune strike me as Science Fantasy, although each and every one of them contains elements to fit Rod Serling's definition of Sci-Fi. I think it's mostly because they contain portrayals of science hardware, extrapolation of human behavior, or divine-ish alien powers that I just don't think are ever going to be possible. It even makes me cringe a little to lump Dune in with them.

Movies like "Armageddon", "Deep Impact", "Contact", "Dune", "The Postman", "I, Robot", "The Matrix" (barely), "Batman Begins" (yeah, based on a comic book, but much of American sci-fi is thus sourced), "Suspect Zero", "Aliens" and "Pitch Black" strike me as science fiction, although the sequel to Pitch Black leaps headlong into science fantasy. I guess my dividing line is very very subjective, because it really comes down to "Do I think this could ever happen?" And some of these examples will shift over time as science reveals that they either could or could not happen.

Oftentimes, that blurring of distinction is merely a function of the type of tale told. Any of these could easily be recategorized. Alien, Aliens and Event Horizon as horror movies, Demolition Man, I, Robot and The Matrix as social commentary (although Aliens' Bishop practically quotes the "Three Laws Safe" protocols of Asimov fame), and Starship Troopers and The Fifth Element as action films, and "Armageddon", "The Core" and "Deep Impact" as disaster films. So many storytellers are well aware of Serling's (and others') distinctions in the dividing line, and I believe they intentionally blur it in the tale to set their stories apart.

Oddly enough, the further one travels into the future, out into the cosmos or beyond whatever boundary that categorizes a book/movie as science fantasy, the more likely at some point in the future we're to see it become science fiction, since the further you go into space, time, etc, the more likely it will be that current science will have leapt the next hurdle and brought the possible ever nearer to the borders of probable.

Having said that here is my completely subjective list of movies that will =always= be science fantasy:

The Last Starfighter: For no other reason than because the defenders of the universe are NOT watching our dorky video-game players for someone with the "skillz 2 save teh universe", nor would they ever. Not in my universe.

Timeline: The science for time-travel in it is -whack- and of all the reasons in the world to travel back in time, the absolute last one in the world would be to go back and rescue a historian.

Jurassic Park: Simply because all the interesting dinosaurs in that movie were Cretaceous Period denizens, velociraptors were only six feet long from head to tail (and would get pwned by a Rottweiller) and had feathers, and because a whole lot of bacteriological issues. Not to mention that when T-Rex attacks San Diego, he'd be in for a huge surprise at the prevalence of gun-toting food sources.

Any movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger: Since we all know he's going to be president someday, any movie that shows him as anything else is fantasy. With that in mind, ONLY Demolition Man has the right of it, predicting accurately this political development.

Demolition Man: Yeah, yeah, it bounces around. I put it on this list because anyone who thinks people are going to give up traditional sex EVER, especially with Sandra Bullock, needs to get out more, or just step in front of a bus. Never happen.

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow: There are no words for why this should never ever happen. In an extremely cruel world, there will be a sequel.

The Matrix, and that movie with Tim Allen and Sigourney Weaver: Again, the following people are not being sought to save the universe: Aging TV actors, Sci-Fi convention attendees, computer shut-ins, or anyone who thinks Missi Pyle would still be hot even if she had tentacles coming from....somewhere.
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