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m0l0t0v

Fantasy versus Science Fiction

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What`s better; SciFi or Fantasy?

Why do I ask?
1. Scifi and fantasy are often found on the same shelves in stores
2. I have friends (no, really!) who prefer fantasy over sf;
3. People often get them mixed up

I prefer SF over Fantasy. Why?
Because in (good) SF the writer tries to explain how and why things work/are the way they work/are. SF offers a possible; though not always plausible future. Readers/ viewers are asked to be critical and think about the possibilities presented.
In fantasy the audience is expected to believe to unbelievable out of entertainment. "Don`t ask why a ship can fly; it just does." "Don`t ask how magic works; it`s magic..."

A good example: the Planet of the Apes (the original movie).
At first it seems incredible that apes became superior to man, but in the end of the movie you see the possibility. The movie affects the viewer and changes the way he/ she looks at things in real life.
If this were to be a Fantasy movie the Apes would be smarter than men simply because they are; no questions asked. The viewer would have been entertained for 2 hours and moves on.


Just curious to your thoughts...

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You're right, and it depends on my mood wether I play/watch something (heroic) fantasy or something Science Fiction. Lazy moods bring me closer to fantasy than to scifi, but since I'm sort of a Trekkie (no huge one), I also like scifi a lot... I don't think I could ever choose between the two... But a combination of the two would be perfect! And I think the game DooM is a very good example for that, since the demons (fantasy, for most ppl anyway) have built-in armor and weapons (revenant, arachnatron to name a few)...

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Sci-fi. Doesn't mean I don't highly enjoy fantasy though. Star Wars, for example, is more fantasy than science fiction, and awesome ^___^.

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I general I prefer sci-fi (and I mean real sci-fi, as opposed to merely space adventure). However, fantasy can be entertaining too - it gives the writer or film-maker far greater freedom, and if this is used to its maximum potential, the result can be marvellous.

BTW, I'd define science fiction as "a genre of fictional works based on a speculative extension of current science".

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Both are highly abused gernes that have some good authors and works. I really prefer what we could call weird fiction, which takes from the qualities of one of the two, or both, but can't be so clearly classified as either of them.

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The perfect definition for both fantasy and science fiction is really simple though: Geek fiction.

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I generally like Sci-Fi more than Fantasy. I want to know why something happens, damn it. Except when it comes to some aspects of anime (like, the reasons the EVAs work the way they do).

Glad someone pointed out the differences. While I knew those differences existed, I never labled them as "Sci-Fi" and "Fantasy". I always generalized (and I knew this was wrong to do) as sci-fi being futuristic, and fantasy being medievil. Probably because I don't like medieval/feudal/Fantasy/Slayers-type anime and needed a way to distinguish it from the rest.

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I like Sci-fi better than fantasy, but only if it isn't too cheesy. Doom and Aliens are perfect examples of the kind of Sci-fi settings I like, especially because it leaves a few holes for you to try and explain on your own.

But I also like fantasy a lot, dunno why, maybe because it's mysterious in a good, interesting way. Damn, I should try and explain how things work in a fantasy setting when I start writing my HeXen story - could be interesting to see how far I could get... :-)

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When I made this thread I expected a small flamewar between SciFi and Fantasy supporters, like the ones I`ve witnessed in real life. Instead everyone here seems to agree...

Where are all the die hard fantasy hooligans?! :-)

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m0l0t0v said:

Where are all the die hard fantasy hooligans?! :-)


In my pants.

I like Sci-Fi and Fantasy equally, it just really depends on what kind of mood I'm in. After I watch LOTR or another fantasy movie I'm in a fantasy mood, but after I watch Blade Runner or a sci-fi movie, I'm in a sci-fi mood.

Please forgive my inconsistent capitalisation.

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When it comes to books and tv I prefer SF, because of all the reasons stated by m0l0t0v.
But when it comes to art work I usually prefer fantasy. But I do think dragons are lame :-P

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Both, but I kinda prefer Sci-Fi moreso though. And here I go plugging Cherryh's books again. Heh, what can I say? Great work...

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fantasy freak over here. I like mainly because its not possible. I have always been fascinated by monsters and swords and crap like that. when I was a kid I used to pretend to be a knight with a magic (aluminum foil & cardboard) sword.

don't get me wrong, I like sci-fi also. it's just a different feeling. I feel that sci-fi is a little bit mundane. fantasy gets my vote.

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VileSlay said:

fantasy freak over here. I like mainly because its not possible. I have always been fascinated by monsters and swords and crap like that. when I was a kid I used to pretend to be a knight with a magic (aluminum foil & cardboard) sword.

Heh, you should see my HF axe collection! ;-)

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I prefer fantasy over sci fi, mainly cause fantasy is so cool IMO, plus, there's only so much you can do with sci fi stuff before it becomes stupid.

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...there's only so much you can do with sci fi stuff before it becomes stupid.

The same goes for Fantasy...

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fantasy can be cool sometimes, but most of the time i find it lame. many of those movies are either for kids or are so damn nerdy u dont understand a thing. same with many scinece fiction, it has to be done good. i like alot of the classic ones, but some newer ones seemed to be a mix of fantasy/science fiction(for the dumber crowd)

plus when they start coping what has been done 1000 times it gets old.

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