Genres: Your Opinion

I have a quick opinion question about genres to throw out to you all. I’m thinking of genres of writing in books, but it pertains to tv and movies as well. I haven’t come to a satisfactory conclusion yet, so I decided gather others’ thoughts on the matter. Sadly, this is the sort of thing that keeps me awake at night…

In your opinion are fantasy and horror genres, or are they sub-genres of science-fiction? Why?

  • if a mod wants to send this to IMHO I’ll just sort of pout but not protest. *

Actually I’d say that science-fiction and horror are specialized types of fantasy.

You probably are thinking of fantasy as “sword and sorcery”, but that’s just another sub-type (along with alternate history, talking animal, etc.).

Other terms have been bandied about, like speculative fiction. IMO fantasy is a good enough catch-all term.

I’d say that fantasy and science fiction are both sub-genres of speculative fiction. Horror can be a subgenre of fantasy (Dracula), science-fiction (Watchers), or mainstream fiction (Silence of the Lambs).

I’ve always considered fantasy to be and sci-fi to be two separate parts of a single genre. Not so much that fantasy is a sub-set of sci-fi, but more like they have a symbiotic thing going on.

Horror, on the other hand, stands alone. While much of the genre deals with fantastical or supernatural themes, by no means does all of it. Take something like Poe’s Tell-Tale Heart, which is horror through and through, but contains not a shred of other-worldly interference. Even things like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, (which is more repulsive than horrifying IMHO) get to the screams without bringing in ghoulies or ghosts.

However, if you absolutely had to group the three into one genre, than I’d say fantasy would be the dominant one, with sci-fi and horror building on its foundation of impossibilities.

I’d say they are different. You can have a horror novel without sci-fi/fantasy elements. Give a madman an axe and start killing characters one-by-one, there’s a horror novel that’s not outside the realm of possibility.

Sci-fi and fantasy (assuming you mean “sword and sorcery” as bourbonstew said) would be separate to me, because “sorcery” by definition, is not science. To SF fans, SF has elements of science that is believable. Fantasy is the opposite of this. The works of Tolkien have no basis in science.

Fantasy is too broad a term I think because it can encompass so many ideas. Any work of ficiton, by broadening the definition and arguing semantics (which is never fun), can fall under the heading of fantasy.

We would need your definition of the fantasy genre, I think, to answer your question more completely.

Horror stands on its own- maybe I’m biased since it’s my favorite, but well…

Anyway it DOES encompass a lot. Realistic stuff (i.e., Thomas Harris), the slasher/thriller type things, suspense, supernatural…so many things can fit under it. It’s just too important not to be a genre in and on its own.

I’ve often thought about this. My opinion is that science fiction is a sub-genre of fantasy. Putting it as simply (or simplistically, if you prefer) as possible, fantasies are those narratives in which impossible events are said to occur. Science fiction consists of those fantasies in which the impossible events are rationalized using the rhetoric of science. Not necessarily correct scientific theory, mind you. Just the rhetoric of science. That is, if you get to Mars by wishing real hard, it’s fantasy. If you get there by building a rocket out of discarded sheet metal, it’s science fiction. Even though the latter is no more plausible than the former.

I am aware that this is a somewhat controversial view, and many SF purists would disagree with it.

Horror is tough to place. It may have fantastic elements, science fictional elements, or none of the above. But you usually see it grouped with the other two, if only because there’s a lot of crossover among the fan bases.

But then, I’ve never been a very big fan of rigid genre classification. I remember reading (on the Sci Fi Channel’s BBS, I believe) a fierce and vehement debate about whether Alien was a science fiction movie or a horror movie. What seemed to me the obvious answer–that it’s both–never even occurred to anyone. It just had to be one or the other. I find that view a bit limiting.

More than you wanted to know, I bet.

This should be an easy question, but…While I would include sword and sorcery, I’d also include some elements of super heros (especially ones like the tick who is really a person,) stories of crossing over into other words (think: the golden compass) and probably any story involving transformations (into say, a giant cockroach) that can’t be explained away by logic or horror lore. Maybe I can come up with a more coherent answer tomorrow…