The Problem with Defining Science Fiction

Since I just transferred into this class also, this post is only based on my interaction with science fiction so far, which is honestly very limited. The first movies and television shows that came to mind immediately when I signed up for this class were movies such as War of the Worlds, Transformers, Inception, and Star Wars. However, when I searched for science fiction movies online, the first five that came up were Alien, Blade Runner, Aliens, The Matrix, and Avatar. Out of these five films, I have only watched one from start to finish. Then I realized that the definition for a genre as broad as this one will undoubtedly be different for everyone based on his or her past experiences and preferences. Still, I started thinking about what kind of themes these films have in common. All of the previous films mentioned attempt to explore unknown aspects of human life in terms and examples that the average person can relate to. I understand that the majority of science fiction deals with time travel and futuristic technology, but I do not think that these are set in stone criteria for the genre. Some of the more recent stories deal with presenting problems with the government and society as a whole, and inform the audience of an impending danger (Hunger Games, The Purge, etc.). I am much more familiar with these kind of films, and the realistic nature they present.

Unlike some of the previous posts, I do not agree that science fiction is a type of fantasy or vise versa. Fantasy presents mystical elements such as magic and creatures that we, as the audience, simply accept, including those in the worlds of Lord of the Rings or Narnia. Fantasy and the whimsical aspects within them are simply part of a larger story, not the story themselves. Science fiction aims to explain why certain things happen or possibly prove that they can happen in the future. I do not think that everything must be described scientifically, but there is definitely more logical based reasoning involved than there is in fantasy. I wish I had been in class the first day to get an introduction to the material, and I understand that my restrained views are much more narrow and one sided than the majority of my classmates. Nonetheless, I am both anxious and excited to become more familiar with the genre as the semester progresses.