Cammille Go: "The Definition of a Name"

The Definition of a Name

By: Cammille Go

The boundary between science fiction and fantasy is not a line, but rather this fairly blurry region that many books fall into. There are some that can be clearly defined as one or the other. Dune  appears to be science fiction, and I don’t think anyone would disagree that Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is fantasy. How about Lord of Light? Is that science fiction or fantasy? Our course classified it under science fiction, which was something that always confused me, because much of the plot seems to revolve around magic and the Hindu Pantheon. Of course, the magic is in reality technology so advanced it initially seems magical. In that way, a case can be made the distinction lies in whether technology or magic is used. Using this definition, it is clear which books fall into science fiction and which into fantasy. But since “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic,” how do you tell if it’s technology or magic at play?

For me, the distinction lies in a much more subjective criteria. If the focus of the novel is on individual people, it’s fantasy. According to Martin, fantasy is inward looking. As a result, the hero’s journey plays a major role. If it concerns society as a whole, it’s science fiction. Neverwhere focuses on Richard’s growth over time. The ordeal of the key in particular shapes Richard and forces him to conquer his fear. As such, it falls under fantasy. The Black Company focuses on Croaker’s and Raven’s growing distaste with the atrocities committed by the Lady (Highly recommended series, because the Black Company is fighting on the evil side, *spoiler* so everyone on the good side dies. There’s quite a lot of moral ambiguity). Science fiction short story “The Machine Stops” focuses more on the pitfalls of human dependence on technology. And yet, there’s a big problem with this definition, because short stories like “Fondly Fahrenheit,” which examines insanity, would fall under fantasy despite being originally classified as science fiction.

Why are we so obsessed with genre distinctions? Now that’s an interesting question. To name something is to define it. That’s why I find websites such as the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows so compelling (If you haven’t already seen them, I highly recommend this video and this one). It is not that the emotions described don’t exist, but rather the act of defining makes them seem real. I think that’s also why the idea of true names is such a popular theme with fantasy. They play a large role in Wizard of Earthsea and in Eragon. They’re so incredibly powerful that they can be used to control people and dragons. It’s the same as assigning an identity to someone that they must instinctively try to follow. And, the same idea is true of naming a genre. It’s not something to be done lightly despite my fumbled attempts above at doing so.

Now the better question is whether there should be genre distinctions. Compartmentalizing stuff and sticking it in boxes is something innate to humans, I think, for the reason listed above. Humans have the urge to define, the urge to control. It’s simpler and faster and makes our lives quite a bit easier when we automatically know what something is. That’s why stereotypes are so popular, because it takes effort to find out the someone’s true nature. Genre distinctions are useful, because they allow people to quickly decide whether they like a topic or not. If looking at how society changes over time, then it’s much easier to find that in science fiction novels than in fantasy. For this reason, Ursula Le Guin called dubbing something fantasy use(d?) the kiss of death because the material covered in fantasy wasn’t considered popular. While genre distinctions make life easier, they also have the negative effect of restricting our choices. Through the course of their reading career, most people change from omnivores to specialists and thus limit themselves to only one category. Authors occaisonally do the same subconsciously. Brian Sanderson bemoans that most high fantasy authors write very similar species in their world, essentially “tolkenizing” the genre. There are, of course, some benefits to this, including an increased familiarity with the world. At the same time, it has the disadvantage of being repetitive. So in the end, the question still remains of whether genre distinctions should exist with fans advocating one way or another.