An illustration by illustratorFrank R. Paul, of inventorNikola Tesla's speculative vision of a future war.
The followingoutline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to science fiction:
Science fiction – agenre offiction dealing with the impact of imagined innovations in science or technology, often in a futuristic setting.[1][2][3] Exploring the consequences of such innovations is the traditional purpose of science fiction, making it a "literature of ideas".[4]
Definitions of science fiction: Science fiction includes such a wide range of themes and subgenres that it is notoriously difficult to define.[5] Accordingly, there have been many definitions offered. Another challenge is that there is disagreement over where to draw the boundaries between science fiction and related genres.
Science fiction is a type of:
Fiction – form of narrative which deals, in part or in whole, with events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary and invented by its author(s). Although fiction often describes a major branch of literary work, it is also applied to theatrical, cinematic, and musical work.
Genre fiction – fictional works (novels, short stories) written with the intent of fitting into a specific literary genre in order to appeal to readers and fans already familiar with that genre. Also known as popular fiction.
Science fiction genre – while science fiction is a genre of fiction, a science fiction genre is a subgenre within science fiction. Science fiction may be divided along any number of overlapping axes. Gary K. Wolfe'sCritical Terms for Science Fiction and Fantasy identifies over 30 subdivisions of science fiction, not includingscience fantasy (which is amixed genre).
Genres concerning the emphasis, accuracy, and type ofscience described include:
Hard science fiction—a particular emphasis on scientific detail and/or accuracy.
Mundane science fiction—a subgenre of hard sci-fi which sets stories on Earth or the Solar System using current or plausible technology.
Soft science fiction—often exploring psychology, sociology, anthropology, and political science, focus on human characters and their relations and feelings. Emphasizes social sciences while de-emphasizing the details of technological hardware and physical laws. In some cases, science and technology are depicted without much concern for accuracy.
Cyberpunk — Dystopian futures with a focus on technology, hacking, and cybernetics, often exploring the impact of these technologies on society. Uses elements from thehard-boiled detective novel,film noir, Japaneseanime, and post-modernist prose to describe the nihilistic, underground side of acybernetic society
Utopian and dystopian fiction — Utopian set in societies that have agreeable features exploring themes of freedom. Dystopian set in oppressive, controlled societies, often exploring themes of totalitarianism or societal collapse.
Military science fiction — focuses on armed conflicts, space warfare, and military themes in futuristic or interstellar settings
Steampunk — denotes works set in (or strongly inspired by) an era when steam power was still widely used — usually the 19th century, and often set in Victorian England — though with otherwiseretro-futuristic inventions, advanced technology or other science fiction elements
Time travel — involving traveling to the past or future, often focusing on the paradoxes and consequences.
Space opera — Adventures set in space, emphasizes romantic adventure, exotic settings, and larger-than-life characters, may involve large-scale conflict or galaxy-spanning narratives
Social science fiction — concerned less with technology and more with sociological speculation about human society
Genres concerning the historical era of creation and publication include:
Scientific romance — an archaic name for what is now known as the science fiction genre, mostly associated with the early science fiction of the United Kingdom.
Golden Age of Science Fiction — a period of the 1940s during which the science fiction genre gained wide public attention and many classic science fiction stories were published.
New Wave science fiction — characterised by a high degree of experimentation, both in form and in content.
Cyberpunk — noted for its focus on "high tech, low life" and taking its name from the combination of cybernetics and punk.
The setting is the environment in which the story takes place. Alien settings require authors to doworldbuilding to create a fictional planet and geography. Elements of setting may include culture (and its technologies), period (including the future), place (geography/astronomy), nature (physical laws, etc.), and hour. Setting elements characteristic of science fiction include:
Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim (SWCA) - From Droid Builder's Club Room
There are a number of science fictionmedia franchises of this type, typically encompassing media such as cinema films, TV shows, toys, and even theme parks related to the content. Thehighest-grossing science fiction franchise isStar Wars.
Space science fiction franchises:
Alien (6 films since 1979 and 2 Alien vs Predator films since 2004)
Babylon 5 (2 television series, 7 TV movies since 1993)
Divergent (4 novel series since 2011, 3 movies since 2014)
Doctor Who (TV series since 1963, 2Dr. Who films since 1965, and1 1996 television film, five spinoff TV shows (K-9 and Company, The Sarah Jane Adventures, Torchwood, K-9 and Class), video games and hundreds of books)
Dune (23 novels since 1965, 1 film in 1984, 3 comics since 1984, 2 TV series since 2000, 1 film in 2021 and its sequel in 2024)
Godzilla (36 films since 1954 and 3 TV series since 1978)
Star Trek (7 live-action TV series since 1966, 3 animated TV series, 13 Theatrical films: 6 Original Series films since 1979, 4 Next Generation films since 1994 and 3 reboot films since 2009)
Star Wars (9 episodic "Saga" films since 1977,1 1978 TV film, 2Ewok films since 1985,1 2008The Clone Wars film, 2 "Anthology" films since 2016, 5 canon animated TV series since 2008, 6 canon live-action TV series since 2019, 3Legends TV series since 1985)
Stargate (3 theater films since 1994, 4 live-action TV series since 1997 and 1 animated TV series from 2003)
Transformers (28 TV series since 1984, 4 animated films since 1986, 7live action films since 2007, started from toy line)
Ultra Series (34 TV series since 1966 and 29 films since 1967)
The Matrix
The War of the Worlds (half a dozen feature films, radio dramas, a record album, various comic book adaptations, a number of television series, and sequels or parallel stories by other authors since 1897)
Warhammer 40,000 (family of tabletop wargames first published in 1987 byGames Workshop, hundreds of novels by Games Workshop's in-house publishing companyBlack Library, dozens of video games, and several short films and web series officially published by GW. Games Workshop recently signed a development deal withAmazon Studios to develop aWarhammer 40,000 TV series, withMan of Steel andThe Witcher starHenry Cavill as both producer and playing a starring role.)
^For example, Patrick Parrinder comments that "[d]efinitions of science fiction are not so much a series of logical approximations to an elusive ideal, as a small, parasitic subgenre in themselves."Parrinder, Patrick (1980).Science Fiction: Its Criticism and Teaching. London: New Accents.
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