Monday, February 9, 2009

Film versus literature

In science fiction novels and short stories the narrative world typically differs from our own present or historical reality in least one significant way. This difference may be technological, physical, historical, sociological, philosophical, metaphysical, etc, but usually not magical (see Fantasy). Exploring the consequences of such differences (asking "What if...?") is the traditional purpose of science fiction. Science fiction literature often relies upon story development, reader knowledge, and the discussion of abstract concepts that may not be easy to transpose to film.

When compared to science fiction literature, science fiction films often rely less on the human imagination and more upon action scenes and special effect-created alien creatures and exotic backgrounds. Since the 1970s, film audiences have come to expect a high standard for special effects in science fiction films. In some cases, science fiction-themed films superimpose an exotic, futuristic setting onto what would not otherwise be a science-fiction tale. Nevertheless, some critically-acclaimed science fiction movies have followed in the path of science fiction literature, using story development to explore abstract concepts.


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