Star Wars is either Science Fiction or Space Opera or speculative fiction but NOT fantasy

Fantasy is elves, orcs, wizards, fairies, stuff to that ordeal stuff that is WAY out there that can never ever happen. Fantasy can be argued of stuff like Greek Mythology, the tales of slaying the one 4 eyed dragons with the power of zeus on the man's side or going to the planet of gilgamesh and taking a powerful crystal orb and blowing away the witches of kattaara. Stuff like that is fantasy...

Space Opera is adventures and romance in space i.e. flash gordon/buck rogers/ stuff like that with it having a lot of aspect of science fiction tied in. Even though Star Wars is pretty out there, it's not TOO far out there. It is still based on revolutionary things we have here in our galaxy. i.e. droids, lightsabers, ships, flying cars, memory ports it has all aspects of science fiction WITH aspects of space opera.

You see, Star Wars is mistaken by some people as fantasy because they twist it the way THEY want to see it. If they see it as fantasy, then it's fantasy. Even there there is proof it is science fiction, space opera.

Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot theme or setting. Aha! you say! "see? fantasy! because of the force!" No..not quite. By that definition we could call anything and everything within Star Trek or Stargate fantasy..and cmon..we all know it's not. Usually, the genre of fantasy is dominated by the "medieval" form, stuff like Lord of the Rings, or games like World of Warcraft or AION. Fantasy also includes fairy tales, wizards, sorcerers, and witchcraft at every turning point in the story.

The force. This is exactly what people have been pouting about. It is science fiction here, not mythology or fantasy. Why? Midichlorians. This is how it is. The "force" is a background energy in the universe. Midichlorians just happen to be present to tap into that certain ..field..of the energy to give them the power. Hence, the more midichlorians your body has the more energy you feed off of, energy in this sense being "the force". No, that does NOT mean midichlorians are the force. Midichlorians just live inside all cells, and Jedi just learn to communicate with them and manipulate them. That is pure science fiction right there. Also, lasers, starships, energy generators, repulsor lifts, moisture evaporators, a lot of things that are science fiction.

No matter if you agree with midichlorians or the story of star wars at all, it is how it was written. It has a lot of science fiction chuggin in there that appears to be fantasy to. But it's not strict fantasy no matter how you want to spin it. Remember, just because YOU say and believe it's fantasy or write an article online that it's pure fantasy, does not mean it is fantasy. But these are the facts I am writing. I have done my research on Star Wars and people agree on one thing:

It falls within category of Science Fiction

HOWEVER, I believe it is Space Opera. Which many agree on that to. Fantasy, with sci fi, with politcal aspects.

sorry haters...it does. No matter how much you want to spin it. It's sci fi with fantasy. That's just what I believe

Remember, forums are for OPINIONS hehehe

So what do you think it is?

star trek is science fiction. its technical and nerdy and they talk about the warp core a lot, and use made up words like "tachyon impulse beam" and "photon torpedo" because the emphasis is on science and technology. it investigates the human condition against a backdrop of alien culture and radically different technology and ways of life. it talks about the future in a specific sense, and sometimes they will ruin everything by travelling back in time.

star wars is science fantasy. its a classic hero tale masquerading in a "future" space setting. there are space ships and laser guns but literally 0% of that is investigated or talked about with any sort of technical aspect. midichlorians do not invalidate 6 movies worth of fantasy.

there is very little science fiction in star wars. the story is about mysticism and heroism, good vs. evil, redemption. those are not really Science Fiction themes. star wars doesnt talk about how many watts of space-energy the death star uses to blow up a planet, or why jar-jar (an aquatic bunny) can survive for 5 minutes on a planet made of desert.

or why there ARE planets made of desert, or snow, or trees, or whatever. because its fantasy. fantasy does not need to be medieval. fantasy is an ideal and guiding principle, not an aesthetic.

star trek is science fiction. its technical and nerdy and they talk about the warp core a lot, and use made up words like "tachyon impulse beam" and "photon torpedo" because the emphasis is on science and technology. it investigates the human condition against a backdrop of alien culture and radically different technology and ways of life. it talks about the future in a specific sense, and sometimes they will ruin everything by travelling back in time.

 

star wars is science fantasy. its a classic hero tale masquerading in a "future" space setting. there are space ships and laser guns but literally 0% of that is investigated or talked about with any sort of technical aspect. midichlorians do not invalidate 6 movies worth of fantasy.

 

there is very little science fiction in star wars. the story is about mysticism and heroism, good vs. evil, redemption. those are not really Science Fiction themes. star wars doesnt talk about how many watts of space-energy the death star uses to blow up a planet, or why jar-jar (an aquatic bunny) can survive for 5 minutes on a planet made of desert.

 

or why there ARE planets made of desert, or snow, or trees, or whatever. because its fantasy. fantasy does not need to be medieval. fantasy is an ideal and guiding principle, not an aesthetic.

Finally a good answer. Most immature people here debate with me and go "i like boooobies" i mean..really?

Finally a good answer. Most immature people here debate with me and go "i like boooobies" i mean..really?

Star Wars is an intellectual property that's been milked to death by its owner.

/thread

star trek is science fiction. its technical and nerdy and they talk about the warp core a lot, and use made up words like "tachyon impulse beam" and "photon torpedo" because the emphasis is on science and technology. it investigates the human condition against a backdrop of alien culture and radically different technology and ways of life. it talks about the future in a specific sense, and sometimes they will ruin everything by travelling back in time.

 

star wars is science fantasy. its a classic hero tale masquerading in a "future" space setting. there are space ships and laser guns but literally 0% of that is investigated or talked about with any sort of technical aspect. midichlorians do not invalidate 6 movies worth of fantasy.

 

there is very little science fiction in star wars. the story is about mysticism and heroism, good vs. evil, redemption. those are not really Science Fiction themes. star wars doesnt talk about how many watts of space-energy the death star uses to blow up a planet, or why jar-jar (an aquatic bunny) can survive for 5 minutes on a planet made of desert.

 

or why there ARE planets made of desert, or snow, or trees, or whatever. because its fantasy. fantasy does not need to be medieval. fantasy is an ideal and guiding principle, not an aesthetic.

Technobabble does not define science fiction. The sci fi elements don't have to be a critical part of the story, even though some of them are, like Deathstars and space battles. The only real fantasy element in Star Wars was the Force until GL tried to eplain that away with midichlorians. Star Trek has plenty of outlandish phenomena that they explain away in a similar fashion (technobabble).

Technobabble does not define science fiction. The sci fi elements don't have to be a critical part of the story, even though some of them are, like Deathstars and space battles. The only real fantasy element in Star Wars was the Force until GL tried to eplain that away with midichlorians. Star Trek has plenty of outlandish phenomena that they explain away in a similar fashion (technobabble).

Star Wars has

Magic, Knights, swords, a princess, and of course monsters.

Yeah... it's fantasy.

edit: oooh I forgot it also has Witches like in the Ewok movies and ogres.

Star Wars is an intellectual property that's been milked to death by its owner.

 

/thread

And yet here you are sucking on the teet......

And yet here you are sucking on the teet......

Come on, I was sure you'd be above using the tired old, "If you don't like the PT films, what are you doing in this forum?" argument. Disappointing.

Come on, I was sure you'd be above using the tired old, "If you don't like the PT films, what are you doing in this forum?" argument. Disappointing.

Im skipping the 4000000000 IHATETHEPREQUALS****!!!!!!!!DERPDERPDERP!!!!!!!!!!IMCOOLONTHEINTERNETNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! threads tonight as im on my way out the door with my fellow 501st troops to attend the midnight showing of TPM in 3-D.

Im skipping the 4000000000 IHATETHEPREQUALS****!!!!!!!!DERPDERPDERP!!!!!!!!!!IMCOOLONTHEINTERNETNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! threads tonight as im on my way out the door with my fellow 501st troops to attend the midnight showing of TPM in 3-D.

Gotta love the imagination of a child- "4000000000", huh? Enjoy the movie while you still have the ability to.

Gotta love the imagination of a child- "4000000000", huh? Enjoy the movie while you still have the ability to.

/yawn.

More tough e-thugging behind a computer monitor.

/yawn.

 

More tough e-thugging behind a computer monitor.

You missed the point of my post completely, but keep on replying like this, as I'm bored at work. Feel free to send me more PM's like your last one too, as I'm sure the mods will find them really interesting to read before they ban you.

Im skipping the 4000000000 IHATETHEPREQUALS****!!!!!!!!DERPDERPDERP!!!!!!!!!!IMCOOLONTHEINTERNETNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! threads tonight as im on my way out the door with my fellow 501st troops to attend the midnight showing of TPM in 3-D.

Why not just hit yourself in the head with a hammer for two hours? It's no worse than watching the prequels.

It's not fantasy, it's "science fantasy" or "space fantasy", which is basically science fiction without the science part.

Fantasy plus spaceships is not at all the same thing as science fiction.

Star Wars has

 

Magic, Knights, swords, a princess, and of course monsters.

 

Yeah... it's fantasy.

 

 

edit: oooh I forgot it also has Witches like in the Ewok movies and ogres.

You obviously like to get under peoples' skin and have NO idea what true fantasy is..do you..

oh..btw Star Trek has princesses...

oh..btw so does babylon 5, and...and stargate...and...and just about every single thing in a known universe made for enjoyment.

There are a ton of swords in Stargate and Star Trek WITH magic powers to. Does that make it fantasy because there aspects of fantasy? no.

Don't know what fantasy you are in.

Star Wars is either Science Fiction or Space Opera or speculative fiction but NOT fantasy

 

Fantasy is elves, orcs, wizards, fairies, stuff to that ordeal stuff that is WAY out there that can never ever happen. Fantasy can be argued of stuff like Greek Mythology, the tales of slaying the one 4 eyed dragons with the power of zeus on the man's side or going to the planet of gilgamesh and taking a powerful crystal orb and blowing away the witches of kattaara. Stuff like that is fantasy...

 

Space Opera is adventures and romance in space i.e. flash gordon/buck rogers/ stuff like that with it having a lot of aspect of science fiction tied in. Even though Star Wars is pretty out there, it's not TOO far out there. It is still based on revolutionary things we have here in our galaxy. i.e. droids, lightsabers, ships, flying cars, memory ports it has all aspects of science fiction WITH aspects of space opera.

 

You see, Star Wars is mistaken by some people as fantasy because they twist it the way THEY want to see it. If they see it as fantasy, then it's fantasy. Even there there is proof it is science fiction, space opera.

 

Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot theme or setting. Aha! you say! "see? fantasy! because of the force!" No..not quite. By that definition we could call anything and everything within Star Trek or Stargate fantasy..and cmon..we all know it's not. Usually, the genre of fantasy is dominated by the "medieval" form, stuff like Lord of the Rings, or games like World of Warcraft or AION. Fantasy also includes fairy tales, wizards, sorcerers, and witchcraft at every turning point in the story.

 

The force. This is exactly what people have been pouting about. It is science fiction here, not mythology or fantasy. Why? Midichlorians. This is how it is. The "force" is a background energy in the universe. Midichlorians just happen to be present to tap into that certain ..field..of the energy to give them the power. Hence, the more midichlorians your body has the more energy you feed off of, energy in this sense being "the force". That is pure science fiction right there. Also, lasers, starships, energy generators, repulsor lifts, moisture evaporators, a lot of things that are science fiction.

 

No matter if you agree with midichlorians or the story of star wars at all, it is how it was written. It has a lot of science fiction chuggin in there that appears to be fantasy to. But it's not strict fantasy no matter how you want to spin it. Remember, just because YOU say and believe it's fantasy or write an article online that it's pure fantasy, does not mean it is fantasy. But these are the facts I am writing. I have done my research on Star Wars and people agree on one thing:

 

Science Speculative Fiction Space Opera

 

So what do you think it is?

While I definitely respect the thought and effort you put into this post, I'm afraid I disagree. Star Wars is fantasy. Sure, it's skinned with a futuristic style and look, but every single aspect of the original Star Wars story is fantasy. The best way I can illustrate this is by describing the plot of Episode IV (the first Star Wars movie). I've done this once before, so my apologies to anyone that's read me say this already.

Star Wars:

A farm boy finds a message in a bottle. The message is from a princess, asking an old wizard for help because she has been attacked by an evil wizard.

The farm boy ends up meeting the good wizard (who was once a knight) and shows him the message. The wizard explains to the boy that he, too, is a wizard. Together, they hire a pirate to take them to the evil wizard's fortress. There, they rescue the princess, but during the rescue, the evil wizard kills the good wizard in a sword fight.

After the rescue, they decide to go back to the fortress to destroy it, but their weapons can't do it. The farm boy then summons up the magic that was in him and uses that to destroy the evil wizard's fortress.

That's the plot of Star Wars. Knights, monsters, wizards, pirates, and even a princess in distress.

Even George Lucas has stated numerous times that the entire reason he wanted to make Star Wars was to make myths and heroes accessible to a younger audience, so he decided to set his fantasy in a futuristic setting.

Truly, this puts star wars in its own genre (I've always called it space fantasy). But if you put Star Wars into an existing genre, it fits fantasy better than any other.

While I definitely respect the thought and effort you put into this post, I'm afraid I disagree. Star Wars is fantasy. Sure, it's skinned with a futuristic style and look, but every single aspect of the original Star Wars story is fantasy. The best way I can illustrate this is by describing the plot of Episode IV (the first Star Wars movie). I've done this once before, so my apologies to anyone that's read me say this already.

 

Star Wars:

 

A farm boy finds a message in a bottle. The message is from a princess, asking an old wizard for help because she has been attacked by an evil wizard.

 

The farm boy ends up meeting the good wizard (who was once a knight) and shows him the message. The wizard explains to the boy that he, too, is a wizard. Together, they hire a pirate to take them to the evil wizard's fortress. There, they rescue the princess, but during the rescue, the evil wizard kills the good wizard in a sword fight.

 

After the rescue, they decide to go back to the fortress to destroy it, but their weapons can't do it. The farm boy then summons up the magic that was in him and uses that to destroy the evil wizard's fortress.

 

That's the plot of Star Wars. Knights, monsters, wizards, pirates, and even a princess in distress.

 

Even George Lucas has stated numerous times that the entire reason he wanted to make Star Wars was to make myths and heroes accessible to a younger audience, so he decided to set his fantasy in a futuristic setting.

 

Truly, this puts star wars in its own genre (I've always called it space fantasy). But if you put Star Wars into an existing genre, it fits fantasy better than any other.

You just put the whole movie into what YOU wanted to make it into...that's exactly how you spun it and called it fantasy when in fact it is not fantasy in reality. You can spin anything the way you want it to call it w/e you want...the fact is....it falls under sci fi..

It's 'science fantasy'. What's the difference?

"A definition, offered by Rod Serling, is that "science fiction the improbable made possible; fantasy, the impossible made probable".[1] The meaning is that science fiction describes unlikely things that could possibly take place in the real world under certain conditions, while science fantasy gives a scientific veneer of realism to things that simply could not happen in the real world under any circumstances. Another interpretation is that science fiction does not permit the existence of fantasy or supernatural elements; science fantasy does."

Source.

The Force isn't something that's remotely probable in any setting but Star Wars. It has more involved with 'magic' then even standard psionics do (which the above article does highlight can be the stickiest of wickets insofar as where the line is) by even being explained in terms generally used in fantasy to describe magic (willing things to happen).

I don't see why it's so hard to accept that any writing genre in the fictional category is not a hard/fast rule, and that there can be significant blending between individual genres to create mutant flipper baby genres that we can still love and enjoy.

Get over it, ese.

EDIT: I'd also like to point out Stargate has a significant number of 'mystical' elements that not only can be easily mistaken for magic, but it's canon that they were for an incredibly long time before 'debunked' as super-science. The setting itself has some significant elements of science fantasy baked into it, and I'd be willing to grant that it could be easily labelled as such.

If Gamma World can be labelled as 'Science Fantasy' (and correctly - while being developed by TSR, there was literally no mention anywhere, at all, of 'magic' other then psionics and mutations occasionally being mistaken for it and otherwise explicitly stating it was not magic by that strict definition), then a lot of settings can be open game, or have shades of it.

I'd question Star Trek being labelled 'science fantasy', though I will grant that it does tend to get more then a little crazy with the super-science (especially in the Original Series) that it has enough fantasy elements to be considered 'mostly science fiction with a small helping of fantasy'.

Babylon 5 does, too. The only series I can think of off the top of my head that don't play hard/loose with these definitions are the reboot of Battlestar Galactica (the original got pretty sci-fantasy) and Firefly.

You just put the whole movie into what YOU wanted to make it into...that's exactly how you spun it and called it fantasy when in fact it is not fantasy in reality. You can spin anything the way you want it to call it w/e you want...the fact is....it falls under sci fi..

That was the plot of the movie. I just removed the aesthetics.

And I'm just relaying what the creator of the movie established. He called Star Wars a "Modern Myth." He has actually stated that it was largely inspired by Joseph Campbell's writings about heroism and myth. George Lucas stated, time and again, that he created Star Wars so the classic themes of myths can be accessible to modern audiences.

That's not my opinion. It's the opinion of the person that created it. Take that with a grain of salt if you like, but the bottom line is, Star Wars (thematically) has much more in common with myth and fantasy than it has in common with sci fi.

Any attempt to classify novels, movies and TV shows tends to give some "leeway". The categories are broad.

I think Star Wars is leaning more into fantasy, as the "science fiction" part of it doesn't really affect the plot that much.

It's not that it's important to have "technobabble" to have Sci Fi. That's more a trap that particularly Star Trek often fell. But it is that you actually explore what it means to live in a world where this fictional science exists. What does it mean to deal with an alien culture that kills off everyone at the age of 50 so they don't put a strain on society? How do we deal with a new sapient species being formed more or less accidentally in the lab? How to deal with time travel?

But, staying with Star Trek for a moment - Star Trek is not just yet. The Dominion Wars in DS9 do not really focus much on the scientific fiction behind it- many are simply war stories. In that regard, they are more or less "dramatic" stories (don't know if there's a better term for it, dramatic sounds a little to general).

The particular Star Wars - at least the original trilogy - told was a heroic journy - a farmboy grows to become a powerful hero that changes the fate of the world. This is more something found in fantasy.