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| Why is Stranger Things sci-fi? |
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| pbj:
I fall along the lines of thinking that science fiction is a progression of the gothic novel, which seems to be a well represented viewpoint on the 'history of science fiction' wikipedia page. If you want to say "ray gun = scifi, wand = fantasy" then fine, knock yourself out. |
| dkersten:
--- Quote from: Howard_Casto on March 05, 2018, 10:15:43 pm ---It's clearly not fantasy, there is no debate. Fantastical things happen in all three genres, the explanation given for the fantastical things defines the genre. If science is used as an explanation, then it's sci-fi. If magic is explanation then it's fantasy. If the occult is the explanation and/or if there is a high body count and there is an emphasis on scary/bloody events then it's horror. Strangers things uses stuff like alternate dimensions and esp to explain away it's monsters, so it's sci-fi. There are plenty of deaths though and I suppose to children it might be scary, so you might argue that it is horror, but definitely not fantasy as no magic is used and there isn't an orc, elf or dragon in the whole thing. --- End quote --- Orc, elf, dragon, etc. is purely a Tolkien thing, not a Fantasy thing per se. They can't explain the girl's ability to use telekinesis with science, nor her ability to see into the other dimensions, so this straddles the line. Is Thor (or any Marvel movie) Fantasy or Sci-Fi? In the movie they state that Magic is just Science that people don't understand. The line is pretty blurry. In terms of marketing, everything Sci-fi is marketed alongside Fantasy, so even there the lines are blurred. My books are sci-fi even though 95% of the story is really about the people, relationships, morality, and survival in a post apocalyptic world. The only thing "science fiction" is the fact that some of the science doesn't exist (yet), which ends up defining the entire story as science fiction. Yet readers whose preferred genre is Romance rate my book an average of 4.5 stars, where readers who prefer Science Fiction rate it 4.2 stars. If it is most popular among Romance readers, has Action and Adventure as the primary attribute, and is set in a fictional future, what genre is it? Easy, it's science fiction because that's what you dump everything into that doesn't fit exactly into our current world following our exact history and current scientific capabilities. Everything else is a sub-genre from there. |
| Howard_Casto:
--- Quote from: dkersten on March 06, 2018, 02:46:41 pm --- --- Quote from: Howard_Casto on March 05, 2018, 10:15:43 pm ---It's clearly not fantasy, there is no debate. Fantastical things happen in all three genres, the explanation given for the fantastical things defines the genre. If science is used as an explanation, then it's sci-fi. If magic is explanation then it's fantasy. If the occult is the explanation and/or if there is a high body count and there is an emphasis on scary/bloody events then it's horror. Strangers things uses stuff like alternate dimensions and esp to explain away it's monsters, so it's sci-fi. There are plenty of deaths though and I suppose to children it might be scary, so you might argue that it is horror, but definitely not fantasy as no magic is used and there isn't an orc, elf or dragon in the whole thing. --- End quote --- Orc, elf, dragon, etc. is purely a Tolkien thing, not a Fantasy thing per se. They can't explain the girl's ability to use telekinesis with science, nor her ability to see into the other dimensions, so this straddles the line. Is Thor (or any Marvel movie) Fantasy or Sci-Fi? In the movie they state that Magic is just Science that people don't understand. The line is pretty blurry. --- End quote --- Of course Orcs, elves and Dragons are more of a Tolkien thing, but not exclusively. I was joking about that bit anyway. As for Stranger Things....Nope, wrong. It doesn't matter that ESP isn't real in our world, rather that it is real in the fiction and is explained away with science rather than magic. It's Science fiction after all, not science fact. Thor is neither sci-fi or fantasy, it's a super-hero movie.... different troupes and thematic rules, ect... Understand that what you, as the viewer, consider the character/film in terms of genre is completely and utterly irrelevant. Ditto in terms of how it is marketed. It's how the author, and as a consequence, the characters in the story, consider the story's events to be explained as that will introduce various plot structures and troupes into the story. In other words the way the story is told is effected and it's the story format that defines the genre. It's important to make these distinctions because as you point out, Sci-fi has become a dumping ground for any genre stories that don't easily fit into other categories. We can do better than that. But these are just tools used for critics and scholars to analyze stories so for us dumb schlubs it isn't relevant to the conversation anyway. I only brought it up because Stranger Things is clearly not a fantasy show. It doesn't follow the fantasy show format. There isn't a chosen one, or a prophecy. They don't go on a quest, ect. There's the self-sacrifice of the main heroine which is also present in fantasy shows, but that cliché is found in a lot of genres. |
| pbj:
Stranger Things got boring for me once it devolved into a run away from a screeching monster show. So about halfway through season 1, then I skimmed the final episode. Then, hey, season 2, it's time to give it another chance. And... after it's well established that super powers and interdimensional monsters that can barely be beaten exist, one of the kids takes home a violent alien snake and turns it into a pet. -CLICK!- |
| Le Chuck:
Reasons why I like the show: The cast. Hopper is fantastic. Decidedly so. It's nice to see Wynona out of the tabloids and back on the screen. Those kids are wonderful IMO, just a real joy to watch. Millie is half Deaf so as a Deafie family it's nice to have role models - even if she isn't signing. The music. I like what they've done there, great atmosphere and a good hook. Teen/Preteen angsty drama mixed with monsters. It's a niche but it's my niche. There are misses for sure, but it's worth my time. I'm a fan. If you had asked me before what genre it was I would have said fantasy. Just me but an invitro drug and a shady government experiment do not science fiction make but who am I. Sci-fi it is |
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