Are science fiction and fantasy the same thing?

1. 82

   larryfreemanposted 14 years ago

   Are science fiction and fantasy the same thing?

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2. 82

   Kosmoposted 14 years ago

   Science fiction has at least some basis in fact, while fantasy has little if any. Therefore the "Star Wars" movies are fantasy, not sci-fi. There's no scientific mechanism behind the Force, as in "May the Force be with you." Later!

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3. 61

   Rui Miguelposted 14 years ago

   Well you can have for ex:
   -a science fiction fantasy film
   -a fantasy science fiction film
   - a fantasy film
   -a science fiction film
   and so on.
   so i can realy say that it can be pretty relative, depends on ones point of view..

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4. 77

   Wesman Todd Shawposted 14 years ago

   Absolutely NOT.  The Lord of The Rings is fantasy, but the setting for that is in some prehistoric make believe realm. " Dune "is fantasy, AND science fiction.

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5. 0

   3 Finger Readerposted 14 years ago

   All great answers...
   
   To add the discussion I would further clarify that sci-fi has, at the heart of the story, situations and circumstances that are reflective of some form of scientific fact, taken to theoretical extremes; ultimately the cause is physical and rooted in physical reality, whereas fantasy is often rooted in *magic*... that is, the causes of things, the logic of things, is rooted in the unknown or supernatural so to speak.
   
   Of course, some fiction and some series blend the two. The X-Files had episodes that had both elements present at times.

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6. 61

   wingedcentaurposted 14 years ago

   I would say not but I think I understand the reason for the question. There are points even in a single novel or movie in which the those two aspects seem to converge and overlap.
   
   But my rule of thumb is this: From what source are the effects derived? If the phenomena is clearly derived from science (the fictionally enhanced understanding of science internal to the story of film) then it is science fiction.
   
   if the effects in a story are clearly derived from magic (the fictionally enhanced understanding of magic internal to the story, be it a novel, short story, or film) then the story is fantasy.
   
   The Lord of the Rings is fantasy. All of the effects are derived from magic -- the fictionally enhanced understanding of magic internal to the story.
   
   Star Wars, though some people like to say that it is a combination of science fiction and fantasy, it is not. Star Wars is clearly science fiction. All of the effects (every last one of them) comes from the fictionally enhanced understanding of science internal to the story.
   
   Some people may be confused a bit by The Force. But that effect also comes from the fictionally enhanced understanding of science internal to the story. The novels make it clear that one's aptitude and power in The Force has a lot to do with the concentrations of chloridions in the blood.
   
   Take it easy.

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7. 69

   glenn wallaceposted 14 years ago

   The simplest explanation I've ever heard for differentiating between the two would be this - "Science Fiction explores the furthest reaches of possibility, Fantasy explores what never was."

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8. 59

   My SciFi Lifeposted 14 years ago

   Science Fiction (when its good) is supposed to be taking the limits of our current knowledge and extrapolating on them to their "logical" conclusion (in answer to the point about the "force" in Star Wars being Fantasy ... I think its fairly well known that we only use a very small percentage of our available brainpower ... if we could utilize more of it, what would we perhaps be capable of?).  There is of course bad scifi which doesn't always follow this maxim!
   
   Fantasy however is the total dismissal of science in its entirety - in fantasy, anything can (& often does) happen.

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9. 68

   Ren Chinposted 14 years ago

   no. they are not.  Science Fiction tends to deal with futuristic and "space age" technologies, while Fantasy is more about magic and deities.

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