Hello readers. In honor of May the Fourth, the posts for today and the rest of the month will be my take on the Sci-Fi genre and several of its aspects.

To start, we need a definition of science fiction. Lexico (a dictionary site from Oxford) defines it as “fiction based on imagined future scientific or technological advances and major social or environmental changes, frequently portraying space or time travel and life on other planets.” This is the definition I will use for the sake of my discussion.

I thought of new terms today (May 4th, 2020) to help categorize different genres: fore-genre and back-genre. It references the foreground and background of a picture.

A fore-genre is one that lays the parameters for the work’s plot, whereas a back-genre is one related to a story’s setting and world-building. A literary work has at least one fore-genre and one back-genre, and can have multiple in each category.

Fore-genres include mystery, romance, action, and horror. They relate to the events that will take place. Back-genres include fantasy, historical fiction, modern-era, and science fiction. They relate to where/when things take place.

Going back to Oxford’s definition, we see that Sci-Fi sets up much of the backdrop – but not the specific types of stories.

Hence, its status as a back-genre, and why it needs others in the foreground. Combine it with mystery, and the result is Altered Carbon. Mix it with action and you get superhero movies, and a pinch of dystopian added to that cooks up The Hunger Games. Baking with adventure yields Star Trek. Hybridize some horror for Alien and Predator. Throw some adventure and fantasy in there, and Star Wars comes out.

I bring up that final combo not just because it is the series’ special day, but also to highlight the similarities. Years ago, I always wondered why Sci-Fi and fantasy were put together in libraries and bookstores.

But then I realized, they are essentially the same genre, albeit different angles. They are both speculative about altered versions of the world (technology and magic), have a variety of strange beings (aliens and mythical creatures), and require more suspension of disbelief. The grand epic nature is also commonly shared, as well as the use of allegory and philosophy.

I would go far enough to say that Sci-Fi is fantasy for writers who do not want to use magic. Though many works combine the two aspects, as in Star Wars, World of Warcraft, and my own book, Cases of Inspector Marshall, Vol I.

And all of this builds into the appeal of the Sci-Fi genre: it speaks to the human desire to improve our lives and explore new things. It allows us to evaluate where we are going, by showing a possible future. And, since many dystopian and war stories exist in science fiction settings, it oftentimes shows that human nature does not change because technology changes.

Its ability to give us works beloved and haunting points to its versatility, a strong trait that has made it iconic in the cultural mindset.

What are some of your favorite Sci-Fi stories? What genre-combos with science fiction have you enjoyed, or would like to see more of?

Note: all works and characters are the property of their respective owners. Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for fair use for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, research, commentary, and or parody. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.