Fantasy vs. Science Fiction
Many people think of fantasy literature and science fiction as basically the same thing. Even many bookstores group these two genres together. From the perspective of someone who hasn’t actually read these sorts of works, it is, perhaps, understandable. After all, they are both types of stories that are not realistic, right? They are the sorts of things nerds read who want to escape from the real world, after all. In truth, fantasy and science fiction are polar opposites, with diametrically opposed outlooks inherent to their worldviews. While both of them do look outside of the present, “realistic” view of the world, they are rather incompatible in some ways. That isn’t to say that a person can’t enjoy both genres. But, in my opinion, it would be impossible to have a work that is both fantasy and science fiction at the same time. Let’s talk about why.
What is Science Fiction?
Science fiction has been around for longer than some people think. I like to mark the beginning with Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, which was published in 1818. In it, Shelley imagines what would happen if a person could stitch together some dead body parts and bring it to life. It was during a time when science was becoming more prominent in society, and people were both amazed and fearful of what it could do. And therein is the key to the genre.
Science fiction is about scientific possibilities, and it is, at heart, rooted in science. Mary Shelley set her story in her present time, but introduced a new development in science. A science fiction story can be set in the present day and explore the outcome of some scientific undertaking. Or it could be set in the far, far future, with science that is nowhere near possible to us. But even if we are looking at a fictional world like Star Trek, the science in there is theoretically possible.
All of science fiction is future-facing. It is considering the ramifications of technology. But all of this technology still obeys the laws of science. Which is precisely the opposite of what fantasy does.
What is Fantasy Literature?
By contrast, fantasy often looks to a past either partially real or imaginary. The stereotypical fantasy work involves a pseudo-medieval setting, with brave warriors and wizards, with perhaps a dash of some goblins or elves or other monsters. All of these genre tropes come from J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel, The Lord of the Rings, which was really the first entry proper in modern fantasy. In Tolkien’s mind, his world was the mythical past of Europe, set in a vague time way before recorded history.
But more important than chronology is fantasy’s relationship with science. Fantasy explicitly includes things that are completely outside the realm of science. For example, Tolkien included wizards, such as Gandalf, who are essentially angelic-like immortal figures who had been sent by the gods to help mankind in their struggle against evil. Angels are not the sort of thing that science can deal with. In short, fantasy has magic. It has things that cannot be fully understood. Even if the author says that certain magical words and a pinch of spiderweb makes a spell happen, this is not an explanation that is compatible with science. And this is because fantasy doesn’t really care about science.
Star Wars?
One example I love to use with students is Star Wars. Because to an uninformed observer, it looks like science fiction. I mean, it is set in the future, with laser guns and space ships, right? Well…if you read the slow-scrolling text that appears at the beginning of each movie, it states “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away....” And while the Star Wars universe does contain some technology that looks futuristic to us, it is also important to note that the most powerful heroes and villains walk around with swords. They might be glowy swords, but they are still swords.
In truth, Star Wars really never stops to consider the ramifications of any of its technology and intentionally has no direct connection to the world we live in. The space ships and laser guns fall into the background. What the story really focuses on is the Jedi, and what makes the Jedi special is that they can use The Force. In other words, they are sword-fighting space wizards. And what is key to the story is how good they are at sword fighting, and how good they are at their magic. And even when they are faced with literal hoards of enemies with advanced armor and laser guns, or even planet-destroying death stars, the magic that these space wizards have is stronger than all of it. And when a powerful space wizard dies, he just continues on in spirit form. And while there were some later movies that tried to come up with a pseudo-scientific reason for why these wizards had their power, everyone knows that at the heart of things, there is no scientific explanation. It is all magic and mysticism.
“Realistic” Fiction vs. Sci-Fi and Fantasy
When Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings, there were many who ridiculed his work as childish and escapist. I have also heard people say that those who read more imaginative works should instead focus on the real world. But one must realize that works with realistic settings can be entirely untrue to life, and an imaginative setting can contain a great deal of truth. For example, the most ironically-named genre ever created is “reality television.” This type of programming, which claims to present us with reality, is in truth an entirely scripted and acted genre, and one that contains the most implausible series of events and drama imaginable. The characters in these shows often act and think in ways that are ridiculous and unbelievable to anyone but the most credulous. In other words, they do not, in fact, present us with an accurate portrayal of reality. Likewise, most movies that are “based on true events” have only the thinnest of connections with anything that actually happened.
By contrast, no one thinks that the events in The Lord of the Rings actually happened. But what that novel shows us is how a person might behave and react in extraordinary circumstances. And because it is far removed from our own world, it allows the work to function more universally and resonate with people of various backgrounds.
And the possibilities and concerns of yesterday’s science fiction are today’s realities. When Aldous Huxley wrote Brave New World in 1932, he included a number of “wild” and “imaginative” ideas, such as: using drugs to control behavior, mass surveillance and loss of privacy, information control, test tube babies, and genetic engineering, all of which are just reality in the twenty-first century.
Sci-Fi and Fantasy’s Relationship with the Present
Both imaginative genres take us out of our present day and ask us to imagine a world different from our own. But they do this in different ways.
Science fiction is often connected with our world in various ways. For example, in the old Star Trek episode, “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield,” the crew encounter two alien species committed to destroying each other. The two species are both half-white and half-black, but on opposite sides of their bodies. On one hand, this is a story set in the very distant future with space ships and alien beings. On the other hand, it aired in 1969 and was a not-very-subtle commentary on race relations in the United States.
Star Trek had a very liberal and socialistic premise behind it. There is a reason, for example, that humans have replicator technology. Because it enables the story to imagine a world in which there is no money, and people do jobs just because they want to. It is a socialist utopia, and it considers how technology could solve humanities problems.
But Science Fiction can also imagine how technology will make humanity much worse. A great example of this is the animated film WALL-E, where humans have grown obese and complacent by allowing machines to do everything for them, to the point that they are disconnected from everything, including each other. The film makes a social commentary on how humans use and become enslaved by their own technology.
By contrast, fantasy works more-or-less dump the contemporary world out the window and imagine a completely new world. It is, at heart, often antagonistic towards the world we live in. Those critics who say that fantasy is escapism are partially correct. Tolkien had this to say on the subject:
“I have claimed that Escape is one of the main functions of fairy-stories, and since I do not disapprove of them, it is plain that I do not accept the tone of scorn or pity with which 'Escape' is now so often used. Why should a man be scorned if, finding himself in prison, he tries to get out and go home? Or if he cannot do so, he thinks and talks about other topics than jailers and prison-walls?”
For Tolkien, this “home” was not to be found in the advancements of science, but in the mythic dreams of humanity. For Tolkien, technology was often a tool used by the goblins and evil creatures of his imagined world, and the machine was regarded as an evil invention that did more harm than good to humanity. He believed that what was best in humans was not our capacity to invent devices, but rather our ability to love, dream, create, and be forces of good for one another.
Conclusion
Both science fiction and fantasy allow authors to expand their vision beyond the present and imagine what could be. Science fiction generally maintains a thread to the present day and often contains social commentary on our contemporary life. It imagines either the repercussions of our current technological path, or how certain technologies could alleviate our current ills. By contrast, fantasy often draws on very old myth and legend, and operates in a world seemingly disconnected with our world. Fantasy incorporates magic and other elements that are beyond the scope of science. And yet, the inner struggles of fantasy characters and their moral dimensions often parallel struggles that we face daily. So, paradoxically, fantasy is both more distant and closer to us at the same time. While both genres are quite distinct from each other, what they both share is the ability to gain distance and perspective on the human condition.
