Skip to main content

Difference between Fantasy and Science Fiction


“Science fiction is about what could happen but isn’t, fantasy is about what couldn’t be”.

This quote of Arthur C Clarke explains the basic point of difference between the two genres, fantasy and science fiction. Besides the elementary difference that you might pick up from a google search, it is imperative to understand how the story is structured and written in fantasy vs in science fiction. The possibility and the impossibility creates a difference between them. They are extremely similar in capacities but highly different by the possibilities of it happening.

The goal is one of the differences between ‘what if‘, which describes fantasy and divides our world against a world that could be. For instance, The Lord of the Rings, a world full of elves and trolls and hobbits is known as the middle earth. The races are far superior to humans but successfully engaged their readers in the story.

The characters also differ when it comes to these two. Sci-fi deals with characters that are mostly robots of futuristic technologies or biologically modified aliens. When you look at a sci-fi film by Nolan, you’ll see that the director showcasing technologies from the future that seem unreal. The people he creates are normal people like you and I, except they have one element, that sets them apart. Fantasy on the other hand deal with the creatures which are not futuristic or advanced but magical and full of surprises. They identify with the region, race, or a particular place they belong to.

The sci-fi setting is mostly in outer space or different planets and galaxies. It shows different species of aliens attacking earth and trying to conquer or take resources from it.  Whereas the fantasy world is mostly set in the past world or a world that doesn’t actually exist. It can be medieval or ancient. They deal with characters that often possess magical powers or even a tiny element that sets them apart from the rest of the world.

Many fantasies deal with alternate dimensions or worlds as well, known as parallel worlds or universes. Readers would be expecting magic, mythical creatures, and strange places from your work. When trying to understand the difference between science fiction and fantasy, the story’s place or setting will play a huge role in depicting the story.

Science fiction is broad and contains a lot of different elements that are held together with logic and true scientific nature. This makes it quite easy for writers and authors to form misconceptions about fantasy and sci-fi writing. There are levels in science fiction that makes up the story and would differentiate reality from fantasy. While science fiction and science fantasy both pertain to the science of something, in reality, they have different ideologies. 

As many differences as one can count between the two, both these genres belong to the parent genre of Speculative Fiction. 

About the Author

Sharon is the content head at Binge Mad, an entertainment media company. 

 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Indian Fantasy: Literature and Cinema

  In Indian literature, fantasy is often inspired by mythology. Generally, most fantasy novels are based on the rich Indian mythology. Take Amish Tripathi and his celebrated works as an example. Everything he has written falls under the category of fantasy and has been inspired by mythology. Thus it won’t be wrong to say that India has its own style of fantasy literature. Unlike dragons, witches and wizards, in Indian literature, we find war between different gods, Lok’s, and sometimes even different dimensions. As grand and expansive as the Indian mythology is, you’d think that the work Indian authors produce in the fantasy genre would be immense. Here I am to break that notion. Besides Amish Tripathi, there is no other author who has written fantasy novels and has received global recognition. To some extent, I find Midnight’s Children a fantasy as well, but this is where the quota ends. The lack of Indian fantasy novels is felt not just in the book stores filled with autobiograph
Post a Comment
Read more

Why Supernatural Is One Of The Best TV Shows

  If you don’t know what Supernatural is, you’re probably from another planet. Just kidding! But seriously though, the show aired back in 2005 and is now on its last, 15 th season. Someone who has been following them since the beginning, this year is turning out to be the worst one in a century. With Supernatural ending, oh, and the pandemic, it seems that an era is ending. The show, Supernatural began as a TV series in which two young men, who are brothers, did a few things like, and I quote, ‘Saving people, hunting things, the family business.’ A simple ghost here, a vampire’s nest there, that’s how things went for the first few seasons, and to be honest, it was fun to watch a pair of guys doing the shady yet brave work. But as the series progressed, there was a shift in the usual family business. When the show began, the two protagonists, Sam and Dean, got together to search for their father who did not come back from a hunt. Sam, in college and looking forward to a future in l
Post a Comment
Read more

Noir Through The Ages (or lack thereof)

If you’re hearing the word ‘noir’ for the first time, you are not alone. In the simplest of terms, noir is a style of writing. Whether it is a genre in itself is a topic of debate that is ongoing. Noir essentially comes from the German Expressionist cinematography. Its rise was seen during the Second World War years and came to be known as the ‘Classic Period’ of film-noir in America. Something that was seen commonly across noir cinema was a black-and-white style of visual, hardboiled crime fiction, and an influence of German cinematography. Films like ‘The Big Combo’, ‘Odd Man Out’, ‘The Third Man’ are some classic examples of noir during that age. - The Big Combo (1955) Noir through the ages After noir, which shone through the 1940s and 50s, came ‘neo-noir’. Movies like ‘Chinatown’ ‘Sin City’ ‘Blade Runner and ‘Memento’ fall in this category. The essential difference between noir and neo-noir is that neo-noir adopts the ques from the original noir style but is alte
Post a Comment
Read more