Tom
An Old Friend
We are all familiar with the genre of Fantasy but I ask
"What is it about a Movie, TV Show, Book or Art Piece that classifies it as Fantasy?"
Is it the Magic?
My father was born in 1912. Imagine that as a child he saw someone put a chunk of food in a box and tap a sequence on the outside and in a few minutes out comes fully cooked food that is all hot & steamy?
To him that would be magic - to us that is a microwave oven.
We are on the way to the technology of exploiting nano-assemblers. Imagine for a moment that you see a pool of grey liquid inside a chamber. The door is closed and you start to see movement that quickens at a steady pace. Before long, there is a table where the liquid once was. Is that magic?
I believe that Magic is relative to intelligence. Just because we don't understand how something can be doesn't prohibit the fact that it can be. Magic cannot be the classifying mark of a work of Fantasy.
Is it the Creatures?
Dragons, gnomes, elves, orks, fairies, pixies and the like. Surely those are the defining marks of a work of Fantasy? Well, We all know about gene manipulation. Who is to say that those creatures don't exist or cannot be created to exist? Look at the Dumbo Octopus, the Armadillo or any large insect. Again I use Nano-Technology to unlock the improbable. Combining Gene Manipulation and Nano-Tech might someday yield a fire-breathing dragon or a elven princess. Who knows what the future holds? Technology can blur the lines between Fantasy, Science Fiction & Science Fact.
Is it the Storyline?
In my opinion this is one of the most defining aspects of Fantasy. This works in all media except the pictures. Fantasy artworks have to maintain the Fantasy aspect without relying on a back story to maintain it. Sure the artworks are often based on well-known Fantasy stories but to introduce a piece with no known back story can still be done.
I've converted all of my media to electronic format. I am constantly challenged by genre classification. Fantasy is one of the hardest to classify because just about any work of fiction or theory can be classed there. Think about what we classify as religion or science theory.
Religion
No matter what religion you are referring to it is technically all Fantasy. Belief is a foundation of Fantasy. Being able to believe in dragons is the same as being able to believe in a God. It's our ability as humans to look past reality and believe that a Fantasy concept is fact. This is not about your belief or disbelief in God - that is your decision. I am looking at this as a classification element of Fantasy. There are many other things in the religion category. Look at The Ten Commandments for example. Sure it is an inspiring work of art that is well-done and carries a message. Looking at it as a genre tho, I can't help but to put it in Fantasy.
Science Theory
Warp Corridors, Sub-Space, Dark Matter, Black Holes, Alternate Universes and the list goes on & on. To me it all falls in the Fantasy genre because no matter what scientist is saying it could exist - until it can be proven - it is still a Fantasy. It's really not Science Fiction because Science Fiction is based on known Science Fact that is taken to its extremes or its tangents. There cannot be a Warp/Jump Corridor using a black hole. Neil DeGrass Tyson explains it with his term "Spaghetification" Gravity exists. Thus a mass that could create a Black Hole would also tear anything that enters it to pieces. Any theory no mater how much science you wrap it up in, is still just Fantasy.
I'll leave this to you now. I would really love to read what you all have on this subject.
"What is it about a Movie, TV Show, Book or Art Piece that classifies it as Fantasy?"
Is it the Magic?
My father was born in 1912. Imagine that as a child he saw someone put a chunk of food in a box and tap a sequence on the outside and in a few minutes out comes fully cooked food that is all hot & steamy?
To him that would be magic - to us that is a microwave oven.
We are on the way to the technology of exploiting nano-assemblers. Imagine for a moment that you see a pool of grey liquid inside a chamber. The door is closed and you start to see movement that quickens at a steady pace. Before long, there is a table where the liquid once was. Is that magic?
I believe that Magic is relative to intelligence. Just because we don't understand how something can be doesn't prohibit the fact that it can be. Magic cannot be the classifying mark of a work of Fantasy.
Is it the Creatures?
Dragons, gnomes, elves, orks, fairies, pixies and the like. Surely those are the defining marks of a work of Fantasy? Well, We all know about gene manipulation. Who is to say that those creatures don't exist or cannot be created to exist? Look at the Dumbo Octopus, the Armadillo or any large insect. Again I use Nano-Technology to unlock the improbable. Combining Gene Manipulation and Nano-Tech might someday yield a fire-breathing dragon or a elven princess. Who knows what the future holds? Technology can blur the lines between Fantasy, Science Fiction & Science Fact.
Is it the Storyline?
In my opinion this is one of the most defining aspects of Fantasy. This works in all media except the pictures. Fantasy artworks have to maintain the Fantasy aspect without relying on a back story to maintain it. Sure the artworks are often based on well-known Fantasy stories but to introduce a piece with no known back story can still be done.
I've converted all of my media to electronic format. I am constantly challenged by genre classification. Fantasy is one of the hardest to classify because just about any work of fiction or theory can be classed there. Think about what we classify as religion or science theory.
Religion
No matter what religion you are referring to it is technically all Fantasy. Belief is a foundation of Fantasy. Being able to believe in dragons is the same as being able to believe in a God. It's our ability as humans to look past reality and believe that a Fantasy concept is fact. This is not about your belief or disbelief in God - that is your decision. I am looking at this as a classification element of Fantasy. There are many other things in the religion category. Look at The Ten Commandments for example. Sure it is an inspiring work of art that is well-done and carries a message. Looking at it as a genre tho, I can't help but to put it in Fantasy.
Science Theory
Warp Corridors, Sub-Space, Dark Matter, Black Holes, Alternate Universes and the list goes on & on. To me it all falls in the Fantasy genre because no matter what scientist is saying it could exist - until it can be proven - it is still a Fantasy. It's really not Science Fiction because Science Fiction is based on known Science Fact that is taken to its extremes or its tangents. There cannot be a Warp/Jump Corridor using a black hole. Neil DeGrass Tyson explains it with his term "Spaghetification" Gravity exists. Thus a mass that could create a Black Hole would also tear anything that enters it to pieces. Any theory no mater how much science you wrap it up in, is still just Fantasy.
I'll leave this to you now. I would really love to read what you all have on this subject.
