Defining Science Fiction, Sort Of

While I don’t believe there is one formula for science fiction that applies equally and honestly to all films, books, etc. classified as such, there are a few elements that can be found in most works of science fiction. The first of these defining characteristics is the idea of change. David Brin calls science fiction “the literature of exploration and change”, and Nalo Hopkinson also comments on this theme, noting how “science fiction...[is] the literature that explores the fact that we...are always changing our environment”. Because the topic of change is so vague, it’s hard to argue that there exists a science fiction film that doesn’t discuss a change of some sort, whether it’s to human DNA, to the technological structure of a civilization, or to the order between two warring planets.

Both authors also use the word “explore” in their definitions of science fiction, and that’s something that distinguishes this genre from fantasy and horror. Also, science fiction is grounded in real concepts and technologies that could possibly exist, while horror films are generally about supernatural/mythical/religious entities and fantasy films about an imaginary/magical/impossible world.

Another defining characteristic of science fiction is the theme of humanity’s struggle. Rarely are science fiction films about one or two people—they usually focus on the fate of entire races or species. As Brian Aldiss says, “science fiction is the search for a definition of mankind”, and Theodore Sturgeon writes that “a science fiction story is a story built around human beings, with a human problem and a human solution”. Science fiction films are about us challenging the universe and its preconceived notions about who we are and what we can do. Farah Mendelsohn sums this up by writing that “science fiction is an argument with the universe”. The identification of this theme as a commonality between most science fiction films is fascinating, because on the surface it seems like the purpose of a science fiction film is to explore new technology, wild scientific ideas, intergalactic worlds and creatures. But those topics are really just the framework for a story about a human crisis, or a rumination on the human condition—stories we can relate to here and now, despite the fact that these stories are set in a time and place far, far away.