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<blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 7763030" data-attributes="member: 22779">First off, there's the problem with how we're trying to define genre.&nbsp; Some genres can be defined by trope - American Old West Westerns, for example, are generally defined by trope - guns, horses, cowboys, that sort of thing.&nbsp; It would be difficult to set a Western (not impossible, but, difficult) in 3rd century Rome.&nbsp; That's because, by and large, Westerns are defined by their tropes.Murder Mystery is also largely defined by trope.&nbsp; You've got a murderer, a victim(s) and someone trying to unravel the mystery.&nbsp; Remove any of these three tropes and it's kinda uphill climbing to sell this as a murder mystery.OTOH, fantasy and SF are not defined by tropes.&nbsp; Yes, tropes exist in the genre, but, they don't really define the genre.&nbsp; You can have lightsabers, as [MENTION=30518]lewpuls[/MENTION] mentions, in both SF and Fantasy.&nbsp; And having dragons doesn't necessarily make a work fantasy - as in the Pern series by Anne McCaffery.&nbsp; No.&nbsp; Fantasy and SF are defined by theme, not trope.The difference between SF and Fantasy is the difference between ethics and morality.&nbsp; SF is, by its themes, political.&nbsp; The central question of SF is &quot;What does it mean to be human in the face of X?&quot;&nbsp; Whether we're talking about Frankenstein or Spock or Wall-E, or Flowers for Algernon,&nbsp; that's the primary theme of virtually all SF.Fantasy, OTOH, deals with morality.&nbsp; What does it mean to be good?&nbsp; What does it mean to be evil?&nbsp; And various shades of grey in between.&nbsp; So, we get Jedi, Sauron, and whatnot.&nbsp; Fantasy is based on the earlier morality tales of oral traditions and it shows through in modern fantasy.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Hussar, post: 7763030, member: 22779"] First off, there's the problem with how we're trying to define genre. Some genres can be defined by trope - American Old West Westerns, for example, are generally defined by trope - guns, horses, cowboys, that sort of thing. It would be difficult to set a Western (not impossible, but, difficult) in 3rd century Rome. That's because, by and large, Westerns are defined by their tropes. Murder Mystery is also largely defined by trope. You've got a murderer, a victim(s) and someone trying to unravel the mystery. Remove any of these three tropes and it's kinda uphill climbing to sell this as a murder mystery. OTOH, fantasy and SF are not defined by tropes. Yes, tropes exist in the genre, but, they don't really define the genre. You can have lightsabers, as [MENTION=30518]lewpuls[/MENTION] mentions, in both SF and Fantasy. And having dragons doesn't necessarily make a work fantasy - as in the Pern series by Anne McCaffery. No. Fantasy and SF are defined by theme, not trope. The difference between SF and Fantasy is the difference between ethics and morality. SF is, by its themes, political. The central question of SF is "What does it mean to be human in the face of X?" Whether we're talking about Frankenstein or Spock or Wall-E, or Flowers for Algernon, that's the primary theme of virtually all SF. Fantasy, OTOH, deals with morality. What does it mean to be good? What does it mean to be evil? And various shades of grey in between. So, we get Jedi, Sauron, and whatnot. Fantasy is based on the earlier morality tales of oral traditions and it shows through in modern fantasy. [/QUOTE]

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