I don't really think it's either. I think BOTH genres deal with dissatisfaction with the world, in different ways.
Fantasy is often described as escapist - to me, that says "I don't like the world I live in, so I want something that lets me live in another world for a while." Something where we can pretend to be mighty warriors and powerful wizards, somewhere where you don't go and work in a boring box sitting at a desk.
Science fiction, on the other hand, is "speculative" in all its many sub-genres. It's all about us and our world (even if the Earth doesn't figure into the story at all). So science fiction approached "I hate this world" with "and here's how we can make it better" or even "but at least we don't have THIS." I think sci-fi is also in a bit of a slump while people work out what IS science fiction. We've progressed so far so fast, that sci-fi now has to figure out how to get ahead again.
Of course, there's some grey area, where fantasy strays into science fiction, and where science fiction wanders into fantasy. My comments aren't really about that grey area in between. :)
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2008-05-19 02:53 pm (UTC)Fantasy is often described as escapist - to me, that says "I don't like the world I live in, so I want something that lets me live in another world for a while." Something where we can pretend to be mighty warriors and powerful wizards, somewhere where you don't go and work in a boring box sitting at a desk.
Science fiction, on the other hand, is "speculative" in all its many sub-genres. It's all about us and our world (even if the Earth doesn't figure into the story at all). So science fiction approached "I hate this world" with "and here's how we can make it better" or even "but at least we don't have THIS." I think sci-fi is also in a bit of a slump while people work out what IS science fiction. We've progressed so far so fast, that sci-fi now has to figure out how to get ahead again.
Of course, there's some grey area, where fantasy strays into science fiction, and where science fiction wanders into fantasy. My comments aren't really about that grey area in between. :)