Huajie Huang: "Science Fiction or Fantasy? That Is the Question"

Science Fiction or Fantasy? That Is the Question

By

Huajie Huang

            Speculative fiction, by definition, is weird, yet outsiders are hardly able to delineate the boundary between science fiction and fantasy. These two distinctly different subgenres embody different themes and ideals and require different mindsets to make the correct interpretations. Science fiction epitomizes an extension into a faraway world in which the laws of physics still hold. On the other hand, fantasy serves as a reminder of our childhood longing for a hero’s journey in a fantastical world. 

Science fiction preoccupies the trained reader with the effects of change brought about by scientific advances currently beyond our reach but theoretically attainable on humans. Wait. Hold on. Does this remind you of androids, robots, or aliens? If that is the case, you are on the right track. Even though robot technology and extraterrestrial travel remain largely scientific frontiers, there is nothing in the laws of physics that prohibits the existence of androids, robots, and aliens. In Phillip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, we find ourselves immersed in this post-apocalyptic world where technology is at such an advanced state that little separate androids apart from their human overlords save their empathy, or lack thereof. Then, the question an intelligent reader should ask is not how we get there in the first place since it is physically possible to start with but how the existence of the androids, rogue and complacent alike, affect the human beings and civilization as we know it. Human society has degraded to a state where they rely on news delivered by an android as well as an artificial mood organ. This is precisely what distinguishes science fiction from its brethren according to James Gunn—that science fiction is a branch of literature that concerns itself with technological changes, and usually involves matters whose importance is greater than the individual or the community. 

                                       

Rick Deckard, an android bounty hunter, is trying to use a laser tube to annihilate the android that he is pursuing. Source: http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/Androids-Dream-1.jpg

            In contrast, fantasy carries a hint of irrationality and requires the casual reader, that is, me, to simply take the plot on faith. For instance, you will never understand Johnson’s “26 Monkeys” if you keep looking for a reason why Aimee’s monkey-bathtub trick works. That will be missing the point in reading fantasy. The value of reading fantasy stories such as Neverwhere and The Hobbit is for you to expose yourself to the truth of how human character reaches beyond our physical world and allows for interactions between wonder, belief, and that which we all yearn for, nonconformity to reality. This sounds awfully familiar. Isn’t this just a return to a childlike mode of thinking—immerse in the fantastical and the incredulous aspects of the hero without rationally analyzing and killing the gist of the story, so to speak? Yes, indeed. These are the qualities that distinguish fantasy readers—the ability to suspend disbelief, the ability to reevaluate internal assumptions, and the ability to dissociate oneself from the idea that everything has to be allegorical as Le Guin has pointed out in her “The Critics, The Monsters, and The Fantasists.”

            Moreover, the gist of fantasy stories can be basically captured by the monomyth model as described by American psychologist Joseph Campbell in his “The Hero’s Journey.” The story basically runs like this-a hero will be called to a world of adventure, undergoes multiple ordeals with supernatural aid, and then return with a renewed self and enhanced positive traits. Sounds like an awful lot like The Wizard of Oz and The Hobbit to me. So let’s analyze The Hobbit in the new light of this monomyth mold. With the help of Gandalf and the dwarves, Bilbo Baggins, the protagonist, stumble into this seemingly magical world of elves, ogres, and Wargs. As the quest progresses, Bilbo relinquishes his Baggins character and acquires leadership skills in order to meet the challenges of the quest. Eventually, after the slaying of Smaug and the battle over the treasures, Bilbo returns to his Bag-End home with a renewed sense of what he can accomplish not only for himself, but for his friends as well. Now, here is the ordeal you the reader have to undergo as a hero. Is The Lord of Light science fiction or fantasy?

                                         

Bilbo Baggins is taking his stab in killing spiders to save his dwarf friends. Source: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/12/22/arts/spiders-video-image/spiders-video-image-articleLarge-v2.jpg