Science fiction genres. What is fantasy? Add your price to the database Comment

In general, I am a big fan of science fiction and science fiction as well. At one time I read a lot, now much less due to the invention of the Internet and lack of time. While preparing my next post, I came across this rating. Well, I think I’ll go for a run now, I probably know everything here! Yeah! No matter how it is. I haven’t read half the books, but that’s okay. I’m hearing some authors almost for the first time! Look what it's like! And they are CULT! How are you doing with this list?

Check...

1. Time machine

A novel by H.G. Wells, his first major work of science fiction. Adapted from the 1888 story "The Argonauts of Time" and published in 1895. “The Time Machine” introduced into science fiction the idea of time travel and the time machine used for this, which were later used by many writers and created the direction of chrono-fiction. Moreover, as Yu. I. Kagarlitsky noted, both in scientific and in general worldview terms, Wells “... in in a certain sense anticipated Einstein,” who formulated the special theory of relativity ten years after the novel’s publication

The book describes the journey of the inventor of a time machine into the future. The basis of the plot is the fascinating adventures of the main character in a world located 800 thousand years later, in describing which the author proceeded from the negative trends in the development of his contemporary capitalist society, which allowed many critics to call the book a warning novel. In addition, the novel describes for the first time many ideas related to time travel, which will not lose their attractiveness for readers and authors of new works for a long time.

2. Stranger in a strange land

A fantastic philosophical novel by Robert Heinlein, awarded the Hugo Award in 1962. In the West it has a “cult” status, being considered the most famous of fantasy novels ever written. One of the few works of science fiction included by the Library of Congress in its list of books that shaped America.

The first expedition to Mars disappeared without a trace. Third World War pushed back the second, successful expedition for a long twenty-five years. New researchers established contact with the original Martians and found out that not all of the first expedition perished. And the “Mowgli of the space age” is brought to earth - Michael Valentine Smith, raised by local intelligent creatures. A man by birth and a Martian by upbringing, Michael bursts like a bright star into the familiar everyday life of the Earth. Endowed with the knowledge and skills of an ancient civilization, Smith becomes the messiah, the founder of a new religion and the first martyr for his faith...

3. Lensman Saga

The Lensman saga is the story of a million-year confrontation between two ancient and powerful races: the evil and cruel Eddorians, who are trying to create a giant empire in space, and the inhabitants of Arrisia, the wise patrons of young civilizations emerging in the galaxy. Over time, the Earth with its mighty space fleet and the Galactic Lensman Patrol will also enter this battle.

The novel instantly became incredibly popular among science fiction fans - it was one of the first major works, the authors of which risked taking the action beyond the Solar System, and since then Smith, along with Edmond Hamilton, has been considered the founder of the “space opera” genre.

4. 2001: A Space Odyssey

2001: A Space Odyssey - adapted into a novel literary script the film of the same name (which, in turn, is based on Clark’s early story “The Sentinel”), which became a classic of science fiction and dedicated to the contact of mankind with an extraterrestrial civilization.
The film "2001: A Space Odyssey" is regularly included in the " greatest films in the history of cinema." It and its sequel, 2010: Odyssey Two, won Hugo Awards in 1969 and 1985 for best science fiction films.
The influence of the film and book on modern culture is enormous, as is the number of their fans. And although 2001 has already arrived, A Space Odyssey is unlikely to be forgotten. She continues to be our future.

5. 451 degrees Fahrenheit

The dystopian novel by the famous American science fiction writer Ray Bradbury “Fahrenheit 451” has become, in a sense, an icon and guiding star genre. It was created on a typewriter, which the writer rented from public library and was first published in parts in the first issues of Playboy magazine.

The epigraph of the novel states that the ignition temperature of paper is 451 °F. The novel describes a society that relies on popular culture and consumer thinking, in which all books that make you think about life are to be burned; possession of books is a crime; and people who are capable of critical thinking find themselves outside the law. The novel's protagonist, Guy Montag, works as a "fireman" (which in the book implies burning books), confident that he is doing his job "for the benefit of mankind." But soon he becomes disillusioned with the ideals of the society of which he is a part, becomes an outcast and joins a small underground group of marginalized people, whose supporters memorize the texts of books in order to save them for posterity.

6. “Foundation” (other names - Academy, Foundation, Foundation, Foundation)

A science fiction classic, it tells the story of the collapse of a great galactic empire and its revival through the Seldon Plan.

In his later novels, Asimov connected the world of Foundation with his other series of works about the Empire and about positronic robots. The combined series, which is also called "Foundation", covers the history of mankind for more than 20,000 years and includes 14 novels and several dozen short stories.

According to rumors, Asimov's novel made a huge impression on Osama bin Laden and even influenced his decision to create the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda. Bin Laden likened himself to Gary Seldon, who controls the future society through pre-planned crises. Moreover, the title of the novel when translated into Arabic sounds like Al Qaida and, thus, could be the reason for the name of bin Laden's organization.

7. Slaughterhouse-Five, or Crusade children (1969)

Autobiographical novel by Kurt Vonnegut about the bombing of Dresden during World War II.

The novel was dedicated to Mary O'Hair (and Dresden taxi driver Gerhard Müller) and was written in a “telegraphic-schizophrenic style,” as Vonnegut himself puts it. The book closely intertwines realism, grotesque, fantasy, elements of madness, cruel satire and bitter irony.
The main character is the American soldier Billy Pilgrim, an absurd, timid, apathetic man. The book describes his adventures in the war and the bombing of Dresden, which left an indelible imprint on Pilgrim’s mental state, which had not been very stable since childhood. Vonnegut introduced into the story fantastic element: the events of the main character's life are viewed through the prism of post-traumatic stress disorder - a syndrome characteristic of war veterans, which crippled the hero's perception of reality. As a result, the comical “story about aliens” grows into some harmonious philosophical system.
Aliens from the planet Tralfamadore take Billy Pilgrim to their planet and tell him that time does not actually “flow”, there is no gradual random transition from one event to another - the world and time are given once and for all, everything that has happened and will happen is known . About the death of someone, the Trafalmadorians simply say: “That’s how it is.” It was impossible to say why or why anything happened - that was the “structure of the moment.”

8. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Guide to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The legendary ironic science fiction saga of Douglas Adams.
The novel tells the story of the adventures of the unlucky Englishman Arthur Dent, who, with his friend Ford Prefect (a native of a small planet somewhere near Betelgeuse, who works in the editorial office of the Hitchhiker's Guide) avoids death when the Earth is destroyed by a race of Vogon bureaucrats. Zaphod Beeblebrox, Ford's relative and President of the Galaxy, accidentally saves Dent and Ford from death in outer space. Also on board Zaphod's improbability-powered ship, the Heart of Gold, are the depressed robot Marvin and Trillian, aka Trisha McMillan, whom Arthur once met at a party. She, as Arthur soon realizes, is the only surviving Earthling besides himself. The heroes are looking for the legendary planet Magrathea and trying to find a question that matches the Final Answer.

9. Dune (1965)

Frank Herbert's first novel in the Dune Chronicles saga about the sand planet Arrakis. It was this book that made him famous. Dune won the Hugo and Nebula Awards. Dune is one of the most famous science fiction novels of the 20th century.
This book raises many political, environmental and other important issues. The writer managed to create a full-fledged fantasy world and cross it with a philosophical novel. In this world, the most important substance is spice, which is needed for interstellar travel and on which the existence of civilization depends. This substance is found only on one planet called Arrakis. Arrakis is a desert inhabited by huge sandworms. On this planet live the Fremen tribes, in whose life the main and unconditional value is water.

10. Neuromancer (1984)

A novel by William Gibson, a canonical piece of cyberpunk that won the Nebula Award (1984), the Hugo Award (1985), and the Philip K. K. Prize. This is Gibson's first novel and opens the Cyberspace trilogy. Published in 1984.
This work discusses such concepts as artificial intelligence, a virtual reality, genetic engineering, transnational corporations, cyberspace (computer network, matrix) long before these concepts became popular in popular culture.

11. Do androids dream of electric sheep? (1968)

Science fiction novel by Philip K. Dick, written in 1968. Tells the story of "bounty hunter" Rick Deckard, who pursues androids - creatures almost indistinguishable from humans that have been outlawed on Earth. The action takes place in a radiation poisoned and partially abandoned future San Francisco.
Along with The Man in the High Castle, this novel is the most famous work Dick. This is one of the classic science fiction works that explores the ethical issues of creating androids - artificial people.
In 1982, based on the novel, Ridley Scott made the film Blade Runner with Harrison Ford in the title role. The script, which was created by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, is quite different from the book.

12. Gate (1977)

Science fiction novel American writer Frederik Pohl, published in 1977 and received all three major American awards of the genre - Nebula (1977), Hugo (1978) and Locus (1978). The novel opens the Khichi series.
Near Venus, people found an artificial asteroid built by an alien race called the Heechee. Spaceships were discovered on the asteroid. People figured out how to control ships, but they couldn't change their destination. Many volunteers have tested them. Some returned with discoveries that made them rich. But most returned with nothing. And some did not return at all. Flying on a ship was like Russian roulette - you could get lucky, but you could also die.
The main character is a researcher who got lucky. He is tormented by remorse - from the crew that was lucky, he was the only one who returned. And he tries to figure out his life by confessing to a robot psychoanalyst.

13. Ender's Game (1985)

Ender's Game won the Nebula and Hugo Awards for Best Novel in 1985 and 1986, some of the most prestigious literary prizes in the field of science fiction.
The novel takes place in 2135. Humanity has survived two invasions by the alien race of buggers, only miraculously surviving, and is preparing for the next invasion. To search for pilots and military leaders capable of bringing victory to the Earth, a military school is created, to which the most talented children are sent early age. Among these children is the title character of the book - Andrew (Ender) Wiggin, the future commander of the International Earth Fleet and humanity's only hope for salvation.

14. 1984 (1949)

In 2009, The Times included 1984 in its list of 60 best books published over the past 60 years, and Newsweek magazine ranked the novel second in its list of the hundred best books of all time.
The title of the novel, its terminology, and even the name of the author subsequently became common nouns and are used to denote a social structure reminiscent of the totalitarian regime described in “1984.” He repeatedly became both a victim of censorship in socialist countries and an object of criticism from left-wing circles in the West.
George Orwell's science fiction novel 1984 tells the story of Winston Smith as he rewrites history to suit partisan interests during the reign of a totalitarian junta. Smith's mutiny leads to dire consequences. As the author predicts, nothing can be more terrible than total lack of freedom...

This work, which was banned in our country until 1991, is called a dystopia of the twentieth century. (hatred, fears, hunger and blood), a warning about totalitarianism. The novel was boycotted in the West due to the similarity between the ruler of the country, Big Brother, and the real heads of state.

15. Oh wonderful new world (1932)

One of the most famous dystopian novels. A kind of antipode to Orwell's 1984. No torture chambers - everyone is happy and satisfied. The pages of the novel describe a world of the distant future (the action takes place in London), in which people are grown in special embryonic factories and are divided in advance (by influencing the embryo at various stages of development) into five castes of different mental and physical abilities, which perform different jobs. From “alphas” – strong and beautiful mental workers to “epsilons” – semi-cretins who can only access the simplest physical labor. Depending on the caste, babies are raised differently. Thus, with the help of hypnopaedia, each caste develops reverence for more high caste and contempt for lower castes. Each caste has a specific color of costume. For example, alphas wear gray, gammas wear green, deltas wear khaki, and epsilons wear black.
In this society there is no place for feelings, and it is considered indecent not to have regular sexual intercourse with different partners (the main slogan is “everyone belongs to everyone else”), but pregnancy is considered a terrible shame. People in this "World State" do not age, although average duration life - 60 years. Regularly to always have good mood, they use the drug “soma”, which has no negative effects (“soma gram – and no drama”). God in this world is Henry Ford, they call him “Our Lord Ford,” and the chronology starts from the creation of the Ford T car, that is, from 1908 AD. e. (in the novel the action takes place in 632 of the “era of stability”, that is, in 2540 AD).
The writer shows the life of people in this world. The main characters are people who cannot fit into society - Bernard Marx (a representative of the upper class, alpha plus), his friend the successful dissident Helmholtz and the savage John from the Indian reservation, who all his life dreamed of getting into beautiful world where everyone is happy.

source http://t0p-10.ru

And according to literary theme, let me remind you what I was like and what I was like The original article is on the website InfoGlaz.rf Link to the article from which this copy was made -

Fantasy (from ancient Greek φανταστική - the art of imagination, fantasy) - genre and creative method in fiction, cinema, fine art and other forms of art, characterized by the use of a fantastic assumption, an “element of the extraordinary,” a violation of the boundaries of reality and accepted conventions. Modern fiction includes such genres as Science fiction, fantasy, horror, magical realism and many others.

Origins of fiction

The origins of fantasy lie in the post-myth-creating folklore consciousness, primarily in fairy tales.

Fiction stands out as special kind artistic creativity as you move away folklore forms from the practical tasks of mythological comprehension of reality (the most ancient cosmogonic myths are essentially non-fantastic). The primitive worldview collides with new ideas about reality, the mythical and real plans are mixed, and this mixture is purely fantastic. Science fiction, as Olga Freidenberg puts it, is “the first generation of realism”: characteristic feature The invasion of realism into myth is served by the appearance of “fantastic creatures” (deities combining animal and human traits, centaurs, etc.). The primary genres of fantasy, utopia and fantastic travel, were also the oldest forms of storytelling as such, most notably in Homer's Odyssey. The plot, images and incidents of the Odyssey are the beginning of all literary Western European fiction.

However, the collision of mimesis with myth, which produces the effect of fantasy, has so far been involuntary. The first one to deliberately bring them together, and therefore the first conscious fantasist, is Aristophanes.

Fantasy in ancient literature

In the Hellenistic era, Hecataeus of Abdera, Euhemerus, and Yambulus combined the genres of fantastic travel and utopia in their works.

In Roman times, the moment of socio-political utopia characteristic of Hellenistic pseudo-travels had already evaporated; all that remains is a series of fantastic adventures in different parts of the globe and beyond - on the moon, connected to the theme love story. This type includes " Incredible adventures on the other side of Thule" by Anthony Diogenes.

In many ways, a continuation of the tradition of a fantastic journey is Pseudo-Callisthenes’ novel “The History of Alexander the Great,” where the hero finds himself in the realm of giants, dwarfs, cannibals, freaks, in an area with strange nature, with unusual animals and plants. Much space is devoted to the wonders of India and its “naked sages”, the Brahmins. The mythological prototype of all these fabulous wanderings, a visit to the land of the blessed, has not been forgotten.

Fantasy in medieval literature

During the early Middle Ages, from approximately the 5th to the 11th centuries, there occurred, if not rejection, then at least suppression of the miraculous, the basis of the fantastic. In the 12th and 13th centuries, according to Jacques Le Goff, “there is a genuine invasion of the miraculous into scientific culture.” At this time, the so-called “books of miracles” appeared one after another (Gervasius of Tilbury, Marco Polo, Raymond Lull, John Mandeville, etc.), reviving the genre of paradoxography.

Fantasy in the Renaissance

The development of fantasy during the Renaissance is completed by M. Cervantes’ “Don Quixote” - a parody of the fantasy of knightly adventures and at the same time the beginning realistic novel, and “Gargantua and Pantagruel” by F. Rabelais, which uses the profane language of the chivalric romance to develop a humanistic utopia and humanistic satire. In Rabelais we find (the chapters on the Abbey of Theleme) one of the first examples of the fantastic development of the utopian genre, although originally uncharacteristic: after all, among the founders of the genre, T. More (1516) and T. Campanella (1602), utopia gravitates towards a didactic treatise and only in “ New Atlantis" by F. Bacon is a science-fiction game of imagination. An example of a more traditional combination of fantasy with the dream of a fairy-tale kingdom of justice is “The Tempest” by W. Shakespeare.

Fantasy in the 17th and 18th centuries

By the end of the 17th century, mannerism and baroque, for which fantasy was a constant background, additional artistic plan(at the same time there was an aestheticization of the perception of fantasy, a loss of a living sense of the miraculous), replaced by classicism, which is inherently alien to fantasy: its appeal to myth is completely rationalistic.

French " tragic stories“The 17th century draws material from chronicles and depicts fatal passions, murders and cruelties, possession by the devil, etc. These are distant predecessors of the works of the Marquis de Sade as a novelist and the “black novel” in general, combining the paradoxographic tradition with narrative fiction. Infernal themes in a pious frame (the story of the struggle with terrible passions on the path of serving God) appear in the novels of Bishop Jean-Pierre Camus.

Fantasy in Romanticism

For the romantics, duality turns into a split personality, leading to a poetically beneficial “sacred madness.” “Refuge in the realm of fantasy” was sought by all the romantics: among the “Jenians” fantasy, that is, the aspiration of the imagination into the transcendental world of myths and legends, was put forward as an introduction to higher insight, as a life program - relatively prosperous (due to romantic irony) in L. Tieck , pathetic and tragic in Novalis, whose “Heinrich von Ofterdingen” is an example of an updated fantastic allegory, comprehended in the spirit of the search for an unattainable and incomprehensible ideal-spiritual world.

Romantic fiction was synthesized by the work of E. T. A. Hoffmann: here is both the Gothic novel (“The Devil’s Elixir”) and literary fairy tale("Lord of the Fleas", "The Nutcracker and mouse king"), and enchanting phantasmagoria ("Princess Brambilla"), and realistic story with a fantastic background (“The Bride’s Choice”, “The Pot of Gold”).

Fantasy in realism

In the era of realism, fiction again found itself on the periphery of literature, although it was often used for satirical and utopian purposes (as in Dostoevsky’s stories “Bobok” and “Dream”) funny man"). At the same time, science fiction proper was born, which in the works of the epigone of romanticism J. Verne (“Five Weeks in hot-air balloon", "Journey to the Center of the Earth", "From the Earth to the Moon", "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea", "The Mysterious Island", "Robur the Conqueror") and the outstanding realist H. Wells is fundamentally isolated from the general fantasy tradition; it depicts the real world, transformed by science (for better or worse) and opening up to the researcher’s gaze in a new way. (True, the development of space science fiction leads to the discovery of new worlds, inevitably somehow related to the traditional fairy-tale world, but this is a coming moment.)

More about the genre

The question of isolating fantasy as an independent concept arose as a result of developments in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries. literature firmly connected with scientific and technological progress. The plot basis of science fiction works was scientific discoveries, inventions, technical foresights... The recognized authorities of science fiction of those decades were H.G. Wells and Jules Verne. Until the middle of the 20th century. science fiction stood somewhat apart from the rest of literature: it was too closely connected with science. For theorists literary process this gave grounds to assert that fantasy is completely special kind literature, existing according to rules unique to it and setting itself special tasks.

Subsequently, this opinion was shaken. The statement of the famous American science fiction writer Ray Bradbury is typical: “Fiction is literature.” In other words, there are no significant partitions. In the second half of the 20th century. previous theories gradually retreated under the onslaught of changes taking place in science fiction.

Firstly, the concept of “fantasy” began to include not only “science fiction” itself, i.e. works that basically go back to the examples of Juulverne and Wells production. Under the same roof were texts related to “horror” (horror literature), mysticism and fantasy (magical, magical fiction).

Secondly, significant changes have occurred in science fiction: “ new wave“American science fiction writers and the “fourth wave” in the USSR (1950–1980s of the 20th century) led an active struggle to destroy the boundaries of the “ghetto” of fantasy, its merging with the literature of the “mainstream”, the destruction of the unspoken taboos that dominated the classical science fiction of the old sample. A number of trends in “non-fantastic” literature have in one way or another acquired a pro-fantasy sound and borrowed the ambiance of science fiction. Romantic literature, literary fairy tale (E. Schwartz), phantasmagoria (A. Green), esoteric novel (P. Coelho, V. Pelevin), many texts lying in the tradition of postmodernism (for example, Mantissa Fowles), are recognized among science fiction writers as “theirs” or “almost our own”, i.e. borderline, lying in a wide zone, which is covered by the spheres of influence of both “mainstream” literature and fantasy.

At the end of the 20th and the first years of the 21st centuries. The destruction of the concepts of “fantasy” and “science fiction”, which are familiar to fantastic literature, is growing. Many theories were created that in one way or another assigned strictly defined boundaries to these types of fiction. But for mass reader everything was clear from the surroundings: fantasy is where witchcraft, swords and elves are; Science fiction is where robots, starships and blasters are.

Gradually “science fantasy” appeared, i.e. “scientific fantasy” that perfectly combined witchcraft with starships, and swords with robots. A special type of fiction was born - “alternative history”, which was later supplemented by “cryptohistory”. In both cases, science fiction writers use both the usual ambience of science fiction and fantasy, and even combine them into an indissoluble whole. Directions have emerged in which belonging to science fiction or fantasy is not particularly important at all. In Anglo-American literature this is primarily cyberpunk, and in Russian literature it is turborealism and “sacred fantasy”.

As a result, a situation has arisen where the concepts of science fiction and fantasy, which previously firmly divided fantastic literature into two, have blurred to the limit.

Fantasy - genres and subgenres

It is known that science fiction can be divided into different directions: fantasy and science fiction, hard science fiction, space fiction, combat and humorous, love and social, mysticism and horror.

Perhaps these genres, or subtypes of science fiction as they are also called, are by far the most famous in their circles. Let's try to characterize each of them separately.

Science fiction (SF)

So, science fiction is a genre of literature and film industry that describes events taking place in real world, and differ from historical reality in any significant respect.

These differences can be technological, scientific, social, historical and any other, but not magical, otherwise the whole intent of the concept of “science fiction” is lost. In other words, science fiction reflects the influence of scientific and technological progress on the everyday and familiar life of a person. Among the popular plots of works of this genre are flights to uncharted planets, the invention of robots, the discovery of new forms of life, the invention of new weapons, etc.

The following works are popular among fans of this genre: “I, Robot” (Azeik Asimov), “Pandora’s Star” (Peter Hamilton), “Attempt to Escape” (Boris and Arkady Strugatsky), “Red Mars” (Kim Stanley Robinson) and many other wonderful books.

The film industry has also produced many films in the science fiction genre. Among the first foreign paintings Georges Millies' film A Trip to the Moon was released. It was filmed in 1902 and is truly considered the most popular movie, which was shown on big screens.

You can also note other films in the science fiction genre: “District No. 9” (USA), “The Matrix” (USA), the legendary “Aliens” (USA). However, there are also films that have become classics of the genre, so to speak.

Among them: “Metropolis” (Fritz Lang, Germany), filmed in 1925, amazed with its idea and representation of the future of humanity.

Another film masterpiece that has become a classic is “2001: A Space Odyssey” (Stanley Kubrick, USA), released in 1968. This picture tells about extraterrestrial civilizations and very much resembles scientific material about aliens and their lives - for viewers back in 1968, this is truly something new, fantastic, something they have never seen or heard before. Of course, we can’t ignore “ star Wars.

Hard science fiction as a subgenre of SF

Science fiction has a so-called subgenre or subtype called “hard science fiction.” Hard science fiction differs from traditional science fiction in that it does not distort the narrative. scientific facts, laws.

That is, we can say that the basis of this subgenre is a natural scientific knowledge base and the entire plot is described around a certain scientific idea, even a fantastic one. The storyline in such works is always simple and logical, based on several scientific assumptions - a time machine, super-high-speed movement in space, extrasensory perception, etc.

Space fiction, another subgenre of SF

Space fiction is a subgenre of science fiction. Her distinctive feature is that the main plot takes place in outer space either on various planets in the Solar System or beyond.

There is a division of space fiction into types: Planetary novel, space opera, space odyssey. Let's talk about each type in more detail.

A space odyssey. So, A Space Odyssey is storyline, in which the actions most often take place on space vessels (ships) and the heroes need to complete a global mission, the outcome of which determines the fate of a person.
Planetary novel. A planetary novel is much simpler in terms of the type of development of events and the complexity of the plot. Basically, all the action is limited to one specific planet, which is inhabited by exotic animals and people. A lot of works in this type of genre are dedicated to the distant future in which people move between worlds on a spaceship and this is a normal phenomenon, some early works space fiction are described more simple stories with not so realistic modes of movement. However, the goal and main theme of a planetary novel is the same for all works - the adventures of the heroes on a specific planet.
Space opera. Space opera is an equally interesting subtype of science fiction. Its main idea is the maturation and growth of a conflict between heroes with the use of powerful high-tech weapons of the future to conquer the Galaxy or liberate the planet from space aliens, humanoids and other space creatures. Characters of this cosmic conflict are distinguished by their heroism. The main difference between space opera and science fiction is that there is an almost complete rejection of the scientific basis of the plot.

Among the works of space science fiction that deserve attention are the following: “ Lost heaven", "The Absolute Enemy" (Andrey Livadny), "The Steel Rat Saves the World" (Harry Garrison), "The Star Kings", "Return to the Stars" (Edmond Hamilton), "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" (Douglas Adams) and other wonderful books .

And now let’s note several bright films in the “space science fiction” genre. Of course, you can’t bypass everyone famous movie"Armageddon" (Michael Bay, USA, 1998); "Avatar" (James Cameron, USA, 2009), which blew up the whole world, which is distinguished by unusual special effects, bright images, the rich and unusual nature of an unknown planet; “Starship Troopers” (Paul Verhoeven, USA, 1997), also a popular film in its time, although many film fans today are ready to watch this picture more than once; It’s impossible not to mention all the parts (episodes) of “Star Wars” by George Lucas; in my opinion, this masterpiece of science fiction will be popular and interesting to viewers at all times.

Combat fantasy

Combat fiction is a type (subgenre) of fiction that describes military actions taking place in the distant or not very distant future, and all actions take place using super-powerful robots and the latest weapons unknown to man today.

This genre is quite young; its origins can be dated back to the mid-20th century during the height of the Vietnam War. Moreover, I note that combat science fiction became popular and the number of works and films increased, in direct proportion to the increase in conflicts in the world.

Among the popular authors-representatives of this genre stand out: Joe Haldeman "Infinity War"; Harry Harrison "Steel Rat", "Bill - Hero of the Galaxy"; domestic authors Alexander Zorich “Tomorrow War”, Oleg Markelov “Adequacy”, Igor Pol “Guardian Angel 320” and other wonderful authors.

A lot of films have been made in the genre of “combat science fiction”: “Frozen Soldiers” (Canada, 2014), “Edge of Tomorrow” (USA, 2014), Star Trek: Into Darkness (USA, 2013).

Humorous fiction

Humorous fiction is a genre in which unusual and fantastic events are presented in a humorous form.

Humorous fiction has been known since antiquity and is developing in our time. Among the representatives of humorous fiction in literature, the brightest are our beloved Strugatsky Brothers “Monday Begins on Saturday”, Kir Bulychev “Miracles in Guslyar”, as well as foreign authors humorous fiction Prudchett Terry David John "I'll Wear Midnight", Bester Alfred "Will You Wait?", Bisson Terry Ballantine "They're Made of Meat."

Romance fiction

Romance fiction, romantic adventure works.

This type of fiction includes love stories with fictional characters, magical lands, which do not exist, the presence in the description of wonderful amulets that have unusual properties, and, of course, all these stories have a happy ending.

Of course, we cannot ignore films made in the genre. Here are a few of them: " Misterious story Benjamin Button" (USA, 2008), "The Time Traveler's Wife (USA, 2009), "She" (USA, 2014).

Social fiction

Social fiction is a type of science fiction literature where the main role is played by relationships between people in society.

The main emphasis is on creating fantastic motifs in order to show the development of social relations in unrealistic conditions.

The following works were written in this genre: The Strugatsky Brothers “The Doomed City”, “The Hour of the Bull” by I. Efremov, H. Wells “The Time Machine”, “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury. Cinematography also has films in the genre social fiction: “The Matrix” (USA, Australia, 1999), “Dark City” (USA, Australia, 1998), “Youth” (USA, 2014).

As you can see, science fiction is such a versatile genre that anyone can choose what suits them in spirit, by nature, and will give them the opportunity to plunge into the magical, unusual, terrible, tragic, high-tech world of the future and inexplicable for us - ordinary people.

What is the difference between fantasy and science fiction?

The word “fantasy” comes to us from the Greek language, where “phantastike” means “the art of imagining.” “Fantasy” comes from the English “phantasy” (calque from the Greek “phantasia”). The literal translation is “idea, imagination.” The key words here are art and imagination. Art implies certain patterns and rules for constructing a genre, and imagination is limitless, flights of fancy are not subject to laws.

Science fiction is a form of reflection of the surrounding world in which a picture of the Universe that is logically incompatible with reality is created on the basis of real ideas about it. Fantasy is a type of science fiction, a type of fantastic art in which works depict fictional events in worlds whose existence is logically impossible to explain. The basis of fantasy is a mystical, irrational principle.

The fantasy world is a certain assumption. The author takes his reader on a journey through time and space. After all, the genre is based on a free flight of fantasy. The location of this world is not specified in any way. Its physical laws cannot be explained by the realities of our world. Magic and magic are the norm of the described world. The “miracles” of fantasy operate according to their own system, like the laws of nature.

The heroes of modern science fiction works, as a rule, oppose an entire society. They may be fighting a mega-corporation or a totalitarian state that rules society. Fantasy is built on the antithesis of good and evil, harmony and chaos. The hero goes on a long journey, seeking truth and justice. Often the plot begins with some incident that awakens the forces of evil. The hero is opposed or helped by mythical fictional creatures, which can be conditionally united into certain “races” (elves, orcs, gnomes, trolls, etc.). A classic example of the fantasy genre is “The Lord of the Rings” by J. R. R. Tolkien.

conclusions

The word “fantasy” is translated as “the art of imagining”, and “fantasy” is “representation”, “imagination”.
A characteristic feature of works of fiction is the presence of a fantastic assumption: what the world would become under certain conditions. A fantasy author describes an alternative reality that is not connected with existing reality. The laws of the fantasy world are presented as a given, without any explanation. The existence of magic and mythical races is the norm.
In science fiction works, as a rule, there is a conflict between the norms imposed on society and the protagonist’s desire for freedom. That is, the heroes defend their difference. In fantasy works, the main conflict is associated with the confrontation between light and dark forces.

Film fiction

Cinematography is a direction and genre of artistic cinematography that can be characterized increased level conventions. The images, events and surroundings of science fiction films are often deliberately removed from everyday reality - this can be done both to achieve specific artistic tasks, which it is more convenient for film creators to achieve through the means of fantasy than through the means of realistic cinema, and simply for the entertainment of the viewer (the latter is characteristic primarily of genre cinema).

The nature of the convention depends on the particular movement or genre - science fiction, fantasy, horror, phantasmagoria - but all can be broadly understood as film fiction. There is also a narrower view of cinematic fiction as a mass purely commercial genre of cinema; According to this view, 2001: A Space Odyssey is not science fiction. This article uses a broad understanding of film fiction to provide a more complete understanding of the subject.

The evolution of film fiction has largely followed the evolution of the much more dynamically developing science fiction literature. However, cinema from the very beginning possessed a quality of visuality, which written literature is practically devoid of. The moving image is perceived by the viewer as authentic, existing here and now, and the feeling of authenticity does not depend on how fantastic the action unfolding on the screen is. This property of the viewer’s perception of cinema has acquired special meaning after the special effects appear.

Cinematic fiction actively uses the mythology of the technical era. Mythology is part of science fiction films.

Science fiction is one of the genres of literature, cinema and visual arts. It originates in the deep past. Even at the dawn of his appearance, man assumed the presence of mysterious and powerful forces in the world around him. The first science fiction is folklore, fairy tales, myths and legends. This genre is based on some incredible, supernatural assumption, an element of something unusual or impossible, a violation of the boundaries of human reality.

The beginning of the development of fantasy in cinema

From literature, the genre moved to cinema almost immediately after its inception. The first science fiction films appeared in France in the 19th century. In those years, the best director in this genre was Georges Méliès. His fantastic film “A Trip to the Moon” was included in the golden fund of world cinema masterpieces and became the first film about space travel. At this time, science fiction is an opportunity to show on the screen the achievements of human progress: amazing mechanisms and machines, vehicles.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, science fiction films have begun to gain increasing popularity, and audience interest in them is growing.

Types of fiction

In cinema, science fiction is a genre whose boundaries are difficult to define. Usually it's a mixture different styles and forms of cinema. There is a division into types of film fiction, but it is largely arbitrary.

Science fiction is a story about incredible technical and other discoveries, traveling through time, crossing outer space, use to create artificial intelligence.

Film "Prometheus" - interesting picture with a philosophical meaning about a person’s search for an answer to main question: who are we and where did we come from? As a result, scientists received evidence that humanity was created by a highly developed humanoid race. In search of their creators to the edge solar system heading off scientific expedition. Each team member has his own interest: some want an answer to why humanity was created, some are driven by curiosity, and some pursue selfish goals. But the creators also turn out to be not at all what people imagined them to be.

Space fiction

This view is very closely intertwined with science fiction. A striking example is the recently released film Interstellar, which received rave reviews from critics, about the possibility of traveling through black holes and the space-time paradoxes that arise from this. Like Prometheus, this picture is filled with deep philosophical meaning.

Fantasy is science fiction that is closely related to mysticism and fairy tales. Most shining example fantasy film - the famous epic saga of Peter Jackson "The Lord of the Rings". From the most recent interesting works in this genre we can note the “Hobbit” trilogy and last job Sergei Bodrov "The Seventh Son".

Horror - oddly enough, this genre is also closely related to fantasy. A classic example is the Alien film series.

Science fiction: films that have become classics of cinema

In addition to the films already mentioned, there are also a large number of magnificent paintings included in the list best works in the fantasy genre:

Space saga "Star Wars".
The Terminator film series.
Fantasy series "The Chronicles of Narnia".
The Iron Man trilogy.
Series "Highlander".
"Inception" with Leonardo DiCaprio.
Fantastic comedy "Back to the Future".
"Dune".
The Matrix trilogy with Keanu Reeves.
Post-apocalyptic film “I am Legend.”
Fantastic comedy "Men in Black".
"War of the Worlds" with Tom Cruise.
Combat space science fiction "Starship Troopers".
"The Fifth Element" with Bruce Willis and Milla Jovovich.
The Transformers film series.
The Spider-Man series.
Batman film series.

Development of the genre today

Modern science fiction - films and animated films - continues to be interesting to viewers today.

Several large-scale and spectacular science fiction films have been announced for 2015 alone. Among the most anticipated films are the final film from the Hunger Games series, the second part of The Maze Runner, Star Wars Episode 7 - The Force Awakens, Terminator 5, Tomorrowland, the sequel to Divergent, a new a film from the Avengers series and the long-awaited Jurassic World.

Conclusion

Science fiction is what gives a person the opportunity to dream. Here you can be a superhero saving the world, admit the possibility of the existence of other worlds and fly into the depths of space. This is why audiences love science fiction films - they make dreams come true.

Greek phantastike - the art of imagining) is a form of reflection of the world in which, based on real ideas, a logically incompatible picture of the Universe is created. Widespread in mythology, folklore, art, social utopia. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Science fiction is developing.

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FANTASTIC

Greek phantastike - the art of imagining), a type of fiction where fiction receives the greatest freedom: the boundaries of fiction extend from the depiction of strange, unusual, fictional phenomena to the creation of their own world with special patterns and possibilities. Fiction has a special type of imagery, which is characterized by a violation of real connections and proportions: for example, the severed nose of Major Kovalev in N.V. Gogol’s story “The Nose” itself moves around St. Petersburg, has a rank higher than its owner, and then miraculously finds itself back on its own place. Wherein fantastic picture the world is not pure fiction: events are transformed in it, raised to a symbolic level reality. Science fiction in a grotesque, exaggerated, transformed form reveals to the reader the problems of reality and reflects on their solution. Fantastic imagery is inherent in fairy tales, epics, allegories, legends, utopias, and satire. A special subtype of fantasy is science fiction, in which imagery is created by depicting fictitious or actual scientific and technological achievements of man. The artistic originality of fiction lies in the opposition of the fantastic and real worlds, therefore each work of fiction exists, as it were, on two levels: the world created by the author’s imagination is somehow correlated with reality. The real world is either taken outside the text (“Gulliver’s Travels” by J. Swift) or present in it (in “Faust” by J. V. Goethe, the events in which Faust and Mephistopheles participate are contrasted with the lives of the rest of the townspeople).

Initially, fantasy was associated with the embodiment of mythological images in literature: thus, ancient fantasy with the participation of gods seemed to authors and readers to be quite reliable (“Iliad”, “Odyssey” by Homer, “Works and Days” by Hesiod, plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles, Aristophanes, Euripides and etc.). Examples of ancient fiction can be considered Homer's "Odyssey", which describes many amazing and fantastic adventures of Odysseus, and Ovid's "Metamorphoses" - the story of the transformation of living beings into trees, stones, people into animals, etc. In the works of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, this trend lasted: in knightly epic(from Beowulf, written in the 8th century, to the novels of Chrétien de Troyes in the 14th century) featured images of dragons and wizards, fairies, trolls, elves and other fantastic creatures. A separate tradition in the Middle Ages was Christian fiction, describing miracles of saints, visions, etc. Christianity recognizes evidence of this kind as authentic, but this does not prevent them from remaining part of the fantastic literary tradition, since extraordinary phenomena are described that are not typical for the usual course of events. The richest fantasy is also represented in Eastern culture: tales of the Arabian Nights, Indian and Chinese literature. Fantasy during the Renaissance chivalric novels parodied in “Gargantua and Pantagruel” by F. Rabelais and in “Don Quixote” by M. Cervantes: Rabelais presents a fantastic epic that rethinks the traditional cliches of science fiction, while Cervantes parodies the passion for science fiction, his hero sees fantastic creatures everywhere that are not there, and falls into for this into absurd situations. Christian fiction in the Renaissance is expressed in the poems of J. Milton "Paradise Lost" and "Paradise Regained".

The literature of the Enlightenment and classicism is alien to fantasy, and its images are used only to give an exotic flavor to the action. A new flowering of science fiction began in the 19th century, during the era of romanticism. Genres based entirely on fantasy emerge, such as the Gothic novel. The forms of fantasy in German romanticism are diverse; in particular, E. T. A. Hoffmann wrote fairy tales (“The Lord of the Fleas”, “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King”), Gothic novels (“The Devil’s Elixir”), enchanting phantasmagoria (“Princess Brambilla”), realistic stories with a fantastic background (“ The Golden Pot”, “The Bride’s Choice”), philosophical fairy tales-parables (“Little Tsakhes”, “The Sandman”). Fantasy in the literature of realism is also common: “ Queen of Spades"A. S. Pushkin, "Shtoss" by M. Yu. Lermontov, "Mirgorod" and "Petersburg stories" by N. V. Gogol, "The Dream of a Funny Man" by F. M. Dostoevsky, etc. The problem arises of combining science fiction with the real world in the text, often the introduction of fantastic images requires motivation (Tatyana's dream in Eugene Onegin). However, the establishment of realism pushed fantasy to the periphery of literature. They turned to it to give a symbolic character to images (“The Picture of Dorian Gray” by O. Wilde, “ Shagreen leather"O. de Balzac). The Gothic tradition of fiction is developed by E. Poe, whose stories present unmotivated fantastic images and collisions. Synthesis various types fiction is represented by M. A. Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita”.

Great definition

Incomplete definition ↓

Main hallmark A fantastic work is a fantastic assumption that completely determines the development of the plot. This may be another world, existing according to different laws of physics or in another time; a level of technological development that is absent in reality; special, superhuman properties of the characters; the presence of magic or creatures that do not exist in reality. Modern includes many genres, the two main ones being scientific fantastic. Scientific fantastic(science fiction, SCI-FI) describes events occurring in the real world, but from modern or historical reality, at least one significant difference. It can be technical, social, historical or physical, but never magical. Most works of science fiction consider the impact of scientific and technical inventions on the life of society. The action can take place both in the distant future and in other (parallel) worlds, but these worlds are never supernatural. The most common subjects in science fiction are flights to other planets, socio-political ones in a technogenic world, robotics, unexpected scientific discoveries. Fantasy, as a rule, assumes the existence of magic and supernatural phenomena in the described world and the absence of technological civilization in it. In its spirit, the fantasy style is close to the traditional epic with its heroes of “might and magic”, the global scale of events and a chain of numerous exploits and adventures. The basis of the plot and its main thread usually becomes the special mission of the protagonist and his friends, which continues throughout the entire book, and often a whole series of volumes. Modern fantastic includes many subgenres related to science or fantasy. SCI-FI literature can be divided into such genres as hard scientific fantastic(hard SF), post-apocalyptic fantastic, dystopia, space opera, cyberpunk, post-cyberpunk, spacepunk, social, alternative history. The fantasy style is characterized by genres: fantasy epic, heroic fantasy, lyrical fantasy, humorous fantasy, techno-fantasy, fantasy - Darkness and much more.

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Surely you have already heard about test tube meat, which is grown in laboratory conditions. Scientists are constantly offering new ideas and technologies for cultivating meat. Wherein we're talking about on the production of chicken, beef and pork on a large scale, without the participation of the animals and birds themselves. Do you still think this is science fiction?

Leaders of Western countries and representatives of the United Nations (UN) are seriously concerned about what humanity will eat in twenty years, because the state environment and the economic situation around the world leaves much to be desired. In the next few years, meat may become a real expensive delicacy, available only to wealthy people. So researchers began looking for a cheaper replacement.

According to scientists, cultured meat obtained artificially is much more environmentally friendly and much cheaper, so it will be available to many citizens. Meat is a fundamentally new and additional source of protein that can prevent human infections and ensure the safety of animals.

Scientists remove stem cells and place them in a special nutrient, where they begin to quickly grow and develop. The largest size of grown meat is the size of a contact lens, and it contains millions of stem cells. The first hamburger with meat from . is expected to appear by the end of 2012. According to scientific researchers, such a product is in no way inferior in properties to natural meat. And the production is absolutely harmless to the environment than traditional livestock breeding.

The new artificial meat is not initially of the traditional red color. To give it a familiar shade, you can use an appropriate and safe one, so this problem quite solvable. Due to the conditions of rapid population growth on our planet, the emerging technology of growing meat from a test tube is more relevant than ever, and it may be able to meet the growing needs of people for food.

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Definition genre changed in different times. Nowadays this word is commonly used to call unification works of art into groups based on common characteristics or correlating it with other works based on the same characteristics. In every kind of art there are various genres.

Instructions

Genres of literature, especially popular: fantasy, science fiction, detective, drama, tragedy, comedy.
Fantasy and science fiction are related