[05]

Pearl's comment on science fiction/fantasy inspired this entry, hahah. Happy reading!
(Do note that all research was done on wikipedia, so take what I say with a pinch of salt.)

Fantasy, science fiction and horror fiction are all classified under speculative fiction, which generally deals with events or entities that are unproven or have yet to occur. (Thus speculative fiction, duh.)

The main purpose of horror fiction is to scare/freak out the audience. In my opinion, it's pointless. I've never really understood why people would want to scare themselves; there're many more worthwhile ways to get the adrenaline flowing.
There isn't much to horror fiction anyway, so I'm not going to elaborate. We see enough examples in the cinema as it is, don't we?

Fantasy is a genre that involves magic and other elements of the supernatural, and is usually associated with themes of the European Middle Ages. Technological and morbid themes are avoided in fantasy, unlike the other two subgenres mentioned.
In fantasy stories, fantastic elements usually appear in an internally consistent setting, and restrictions are placed on the characters' powers to ensure structure in the story.

Science fiction, on the other hand, involves speculations based on current or future science and technology. The difference between sci-fi and fantasy lies in how most of the imaginary elements are scientifically possible, i.e. not "magic".
Most works of science fiction are meant to entertain, though at the same time, they are also written with a certain amount of um, intelligent postulations (I couldn't find any better word) about alternate possibilities. Settings in science fiction usually contradict known reality; the characters can be placed anywhere/anytime from the past to the future, from earth to outer space to other worlds (that's where aliens come in). Some stories involve technology or scientific that are complete opposite from the laws of nature that have been discovered as of now, while others involve the discovery or application of new scientific principles or of new and different political/social systems.

I know "new and different political/social systems" doesn't seem related to science fiction, but I guess when science comes into play, like genetic engineering/eugenics/social "brainwashing" etc., the new technology changes society and so connecting science to the alteration of political/social systems. Aldous Huxley's Brave New World is a great example. So are most books of Scott Westerfeld's, but I won't harp on that. Heh.

Science fiction is thus also a "literature of ideas", as it explores the consequences of such changes implemented in society.

Oh this is something that I didn't know: Science fiction is divided into hard and soft sci-fi.
Hard sci-fi novels includes a lot of accurate details from the quantitative sciences (especially physics, astrophysics and chemistry). E.g. 2001: A Space Odyssey (and subsequent sequels) by Arthur C. Clarke.
Soft science fiction/social sci-fi are mostly based on the social sciences, i.e. psychology, economics, political science, sociology and anthropology. (I remember this huge debate in my GP class about whether social sciences are true sciences or not, but let's just assume that they are, even if they're not traditional sciences. Man has progressed, so let's not get stuck in old mindsets, yes?)

It's not that I don't like fantasy; I love the entire The Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis. What I dislike are stories that aren't thought-provoking, that are written for the sake of producing something. Everything is so commercialized nowadays that a lot of stuff exist just to make money, and where's the point in that?
I think every piece of work has to serve its purpose. Pure entertainment is a valid enough reason to produce something, but it can entertain and educate (or at least, induce some brain activity) at the same time.
This, is why I don't like senseless horror flicks.

Interestingly, the site also included a section on fanfiction, of which there're five different types: chaptered fic, drabble (commonly known as one-shot), songfic and alternative universe.
A chaptered fic is the traditional kind, kind of like a novel.
Drabbles/One-shots (or two-shots or many-shots depending on how many the author writes, hahah) reflect a moment in time and is usually about the thoughts of the character(s).
Songfics are based on songs, with the writer getting inspiration from the song(s)' lyrics.
Authors of alternative universe fanfics change the settings but keep the same characters, creating potential what-if situations.

Just thought I should include fanfic simply for interest's sake. Hahah.

Alright, the entry was rather dry, but I had fun with it, so much that it doesn't really matter if people hated reading it. Hahah.

Tata till the next entry!