Fantastic motives and images in the works of Russian literature. Science fiction - genres, subgenres, a brief description of them Definition of the word science fiction in literature

Fantastic- comes from the Greek concept "phantastike" (the art of imagining).

In the modern sense, fiction can be defined as one of the types of literature that is capable of creating a magical, wonderful picture of the world, opposing the existing reality and concepts familiar to all of us.

It is known that science fiction can be divided into different directions: fantasy and science fiction, hard science fiction, space fiction, combat and humorous, love and social, mysticism and horror.

Perhaps these genres, or as they are also called, the subspecies of science fiction, are by far the most famous in their circles.

Let's try to characterize each of them separately.

Science fiction (SF):

So, science fiction is a genre of literature and the film industry that describes events taking place in the real world and differs from historical reality in some significant respect.

These differences can be technological, scientific, social, historical and any other, but not magical, otherwise the whole idea of ​​the concept of "science fiction" is lost.

In other words, science fiction reflects the impact of scientific and technological progress on the everyday and familiar life of a person.

Among the popular plots of works of this genre are flights to unknown planets, the invention of robots, the discovery of new forms of life, the invention of the latest weapons, and so on.

Among fans of this genre, the following works are popular: "I, Robot" (Azeik Asimov), "Pandora's Star" (Peter Hamilton), "Escape" (Boris and Arkady Strugatsky), "Red Mars" (Kim Stanley Robinson) and many other great books.

The film industry has also produced many sci-fi films. Among the first foreign films, Georges Milles's film "A Journey to the Moon" was released.

It was filmed in 1902 and is truly considered the most popular film ever shown on the big screens.

You can also note other paintings in the genre of "science fiction": "District 9" (USA), "Matrix" (USA), the legendary "Aliens" (USA). However, there are also films that have become classics of the genre, so to speak.

Among them: "Metropolis" (Fritz Lang, Germany), filmed in 1925, amazed with its idea and vision of the future of mankind.

Another classic classic is 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, USA), released in 1968.

This picture tells about extraterrestrial civilizations and very much resembles rather scientific material about aliens and their lives - for the viewers of the distant 1968, this is really something new, fantastic, which they have never seen or heard before. Of course, you can't ignore Star Wars.

Episode 4: A New Hope "(George Lucas, USA), 1977.

This tape is probably watched by each of us and more than once. It is so addictive and attractive with its special effects, unusual costumes, gorgeous decorations and unseen heroes for us.

Although, if we talk about the genre in which this film was filmed, I would rather attribute it to space fiction than to science.

But, to justify the genre, we can say that, probably, not a single film is filmed in a particular genre in its purest form, there are always deviations.

Solid science fiction as a subgenre of SF

Science fiction has a subgenre or subspecies called hard science fiction.

Hard science fiction differs from traditional science fiction in that scientific facts and laws are not distorted during the narration.

That is, we can say that the basis of this subgenre is the natural scientific knowledge base and the whole plot is described around a certain scientific idea, even if it is fantastic.

The storyline in such works is always simple and logical, it is built on several scientific assumptions - a time machine, super-high-speed movement in space, extrasensory perception, and so on.

Space fiction, another subgenre of science fiction

Space fiction is a subgenre of science fiction. Its distinctive feature is that the main plot unfolds in outer space or on various planets in the Solar System or beyond.

Planetary romance, space opera, space odyssey.

Let's talk about each type in more detail.

A Space Odyssey:

So, a Space Odyssey is a storyline in which actions take place most often on space ships (ships) and the heroes need to complete a global mission, the outcome of which depends on the fate of a person.

Planetary romance:

Planetary romance is much simpler in terms of the type of development of events and the complexity of the plot. Basically, all action is limited to one specific planet, which is inhabited by exotic animals, people.

A lot of works in this type of genre are devoted to the distant future in which people move between worlds in a spaceship and this is a normal phenomenon, some early works of space fiction describe simpler stories with less realistic ways of movement.

However, the goal and main theme of the planetary novel is the same for all works - the adventures of heroes on a particular planet.

Space Opera:

Space opera is an equally interesting subtype of science fiction.

Its main idea is the maturing and growing conflict between the heroes with the use of powerful high-tech weapons of the future to conquer the Galaxy or free the planet from space aliens, humanoids and other space creatures.

The characters in this cosmic conflict are heroic. The main difference between space opera and science fiction is that there is an almost complete rejection of the scientific basis of the plot.

Among the works of space fiction that deserve attention are the following: "Paradise Lost", "Absolute Enemy" (Andrey Livadny), "Steel Rat Saves the World" (Harry Garrison), "Star Kings", "Return to the Stars" (Edmond Hamilton ), The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams) and other great books.

And now we would like to point out several striking films in the genre of "space fiction". Of course, one cannot ignore the well-known film Armageddon (Michael Bay, USA, 1998); “Avatar” that blew up the whole world (James Cameron, USA, 2009), which is distinguished by unusual special effects, vivid images, rich and unusual nature of an unknown planet; Starship Troopers (Paul Verhoeven, USA, 1997), also a popular film at the time, although many moviegoers today are ready to revisit this picture more than once; it is impossible not to mention all parts (episodes) of "Star Wars" by George Lucas, in my opinion, this masterpiece of fiction will be popular and interesting to the viewer at all times.

Combat fiction:

Combat fiction is a type (subgenre) of fiction that describes military actions taking place in the distant or not very distant future, and all actions take place using super-powerful robots and the latest weapons unknown to humans today.

This genre is quite young, its origin can be attributed to the mid-20th century during the height of the Vietnam War.

Moreover, I would like to note that battle fiction was becoming popular and the number of works and films increased, in direct proportion to the growth of conflicts in the world.

Among the popular authors-representatives of this genre stand out: Joe Haldeman "Infinity War"; Harry Garrison "Steel Rat", "Bill - Hero of the Galaxy"; Russian authors Alexander Zorich "Tomorrow is War", Oleg Markelov "Adequacy", Igor Paul "Guardian Angel 320" and other wonderful authors.

A lot of films have been filmed in the genre of "battle fiction" "Frozen Soldiers" (Canada, 2014), "Edge of the Future" (USA, 2014), Star Trek: Retribution "(USA, 2013).

Humorous fiction:

Humorous fiction is a genre in which the presentation of unusual and fantastic events takes place in a humorous form.

Humorous fiction has been known since antiquity and is developing in our time.

Among the representatives of humorous fiction in literature, the brightest are our beloved Strugatsky Brothers "Monday starts on Saturday", Kir Bulychev "Miracles in Guslyar", as well as foreign authors of humorous fiction Pradchett Terry David John "I'll wear midnight", Bester Alfred "Will you wait? ", Bisson Terry Ballantine" They're Made of Meat. "

Love fiction:

Love fiction, romantic adventure stories.

This type of fantasy can be attributed to love stories with fictional characters, magical countries that do not exist, the presence in the description of wonderful amulets with unusual properties, and, of course, all these stories have a happy ending.

Of course, films made in the genre cannot be ignored either. Here are a few of them: The Mysterious Story of Benjamin Button (USA, 2008), The Time Traveler's Wife (USA, 2009), She (USA, 2014).

Social fiction:

Social fiction is a type of science fiction literature where relationships between people in society play a major role.

The main focus is on creating fantastic motives in order to show the development of social relations in unrealistic conditions.

The following works were written in this genre: The Strugatsky Brothers "The Doomed City", "The Hour of the Bull" I. Efremov, H. Wells "The Time Machine", "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury.

Cinematography also has in its piggy bank films in the genre of social fiction: The Matrix (USA, Australia, 1999), Dark City (USA, Australia, 1998), Youth (USA, 2014).

Fantasy:

Fantasy is a genre of fiction, where a fictional world is described, most often the Middle Ages, and the storyline is built on the basis of myths and legends.

This genre is characterized by such heroes as gods, sorcerers, gnomes, trolls, ghosts and other creatures. Works in the “Fantasy” genre are very close to the ancient epic, in which heroes encounter magical creatures and supernatural events.

The fantasy genre is gaining momentum every year and it has more fans.

Probably, the whole secret is that our primitive world lacks some kind of fairy tale, magic, miracles.

The main representatives (authors) of this genre are Robert Jordan (fantasy cycle of books "The Wheel of Time", including 11 volumes, Ursula Le Guin (cycle of books about Earthsea - "The Wizard of Earthsea", "Wheel of Atuan", "On the Last Shore", "Tuhanu "), Margaret Weis (cycle of works" DragonLance ") and others.

Among the films filmed in the "Fantasy" genre, it is quite enough for a choice and will suit even the most capricious moviegoer.

Among foreign films, I will note such as: "The Lord of the Rings", "Harry Potter", beloved at all times "Highlander" and "Fantômas", "Kill the Dragon", many other wonderful films.

These films draw us in with magnificent graphics, acting, mysterious plots, and watching such pictures give emotions that you cannot get from watching films in other genres.

It is fantasy that adds additional colors to our life and delights again and again.

Mysticism and Horror:

Mystery and horror - this genre is probably one of the most popular and attractive for both the reader and the viewer.

He is able to give such unforgettable impressions, emotions and increase adrenaline, like no other genre of science fiction.

At one time, before films and books about travel to the future became popular, horror was the most unusual and favorite genre among fans and admirers of everything fantastic. And today interest in them has not disappeared.

The outstanding representatives of the book industry in this genre are: the legendary and beloved Stephen King "The Green Mile", "The Dead Zone", Oscar Wilde "The Portrait of Dorian Gray", our domestic author M. Bulgakov "The Master and Margarita".

And there are a great many films in this genre, and it is quite difficult to choose the best and brightest of them.

I will list just a few: everyone's favorite Nightmare on Elm Street (USA, 1984), Friday the 13th (USA 1980-1982), The Exorcist 1,2,3 (USA), Premonition (USA, 2007 ), "Destination" -1,2,3 (USA, 2000-2006), "Psychic" (UK, 2011).

As you can see, science fiction is such a versatile genre that anyone can choose what suits him in spirit, in nature, will give him the opportunity to plunge into the magical, unusual, terrible, tragic, high-tech world of the future and inexplicable for us - ordinary people.

Science fiction is one of the genres of modern literature that "grew" out of romanticism. Hoffmann, Swift and even Gogol are called the forerunners of this trend. We will talk about this amazing and magical type of literature in this article. And also consider the most famous writers of the direction and their works.

Genre definition

Science fiction is a term that has ancient Greek origins and literally translates as "the art of imagining." In literature, it is customary to call them a direction based on a fantastic assumption in the description of the artistic world and heroes. This genre tells about universes and creatures that do not exist in reality. Often these images are borrowed from folklore and mythology.

Science fiction is not only a literary genre. This is a whole separate direction in art, the main difference of which is the unreal assumption underlying the plot. Usually another world is depicted, which does not exist in our time, lives according to the laws of physics, different from the earthly ones.

Subspecies

Science fiction books on the bookshelves today can confuse any reader with a variety of topics and plots. Therefore, they have long been divided into types. There are many classifications, but we will try to reflect the most complete here.

Books of this genre can be divided according to the peculiarities of the plot:

• Science fiction, we'll talk about it in more detail below.
• Dystopian - these include "Fahrenheit 451" by R. Bradbury, "Corporation of Immortality" by R. Sheckley, "Doomed City" by the Strugatsky.
• Alternative: "The Transatlantic Tunnel" by G. Garrison, "May the Darkness Not Fall" by L.S. de Camp, "The Island of Crimea" by V. Aksenov.
• Fantasy is the most numerous subspecies. Writers working in the genre: J.R.R. Tolkien, A. Belyanin, A. Pekhov, O. Gromyko, R. Salvatore, etc.
• Thriller and Horror: H. Lovecraft, S. King, E. Rice.
• Steampunk, steampunk and cyberpunk: "War of the Worlds" by H. Wells, "The Golden Compass" by F. Pullman, "Mockingbird" by A. Pekhov, "Steampunk" by P.D. Filippo.

Often there is a mixture of genres and new varieties of works appear. For example, love fantasy, detective, adventure, etc. Note that science fiction, as one of the most popular types of literature, continues to develop, every year more and more of its directions appear, and somehow it is almost impossible to systematize them.

Foreign books of the genre of science fiction

The most popular and well-known series of this subtype of literature is The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. The work was written in the middle of the last century, but is still in great demand among fans of the genre. The story tells of the Great War against Evil, which lasted for centuries until the dark lord Sauron was defeated. Centuries of quiet life have passed, and the world is once again in danger. Only the hobbit Frodo can save Middle-earth from a new war, who will have to destroy the Ring of Omnipotence.

Another excellent example of science fiction is "A Song of Ice and Fire" by J. Martin. To date, the cycle includes 5 parts, but it is considered unfinished. The novels take place in the Seven Kingdoms, where the long summer gives way to the same winter. Several families are fighting for power in the state, trying to seize the throne. The series is far from the usual magical worlds, where good always triumphs over evil, and the knights are noble and just. Intrigue, betrayal and death reign here.

The cycle "The Hunger Games" by S. Collins is also worthy of mention. These books, which quickly became bestsellers, are related to teenage fiction. The plot tells about the struggle for freedom and the price that the heroes have to pay to get it.

Science fiction is (in literature) a separate world that lives by its own laws. And he appeared not at the end of the 20th century, as many think, but much earlier. It's just that in those years, such works were attributed to other genres. For example, these are the books by E. Hoffmann (The Sandman), Jules Verne (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Around the Moon, etc.), H. Wells, etc.

Russian writers

Russian science fiction authors have also written many books in recent years. Russian writers are slightly inferior to their foreign colleagues. We list here the most famous of them:

• Sergey Lukyanenko. A very popular cycle is "Patrols". Now, not only the creator of this series writes around the world, but also many others. He is also the author of the following excellent books and cycles: "The Boy and the Darkness", "No Time for Dragons", "Working on Bugs", "Deeptown", "Sky Seekers", etc.
• The Strugatsky brothers. They have novels of various kinds of fiction: The Ugly Swans, Monday Starts Saturday, Roadside Picnic, It's Hard to Be God, etc.
• Alexey Pekhov, whose books are popular today not only in his homeland, but also in Europe. Let's list the main cycles: "The Chronicles of Siala", "Spark and Wind", "Kindrat", "Guardian".
• Pavel Kornev: "Borderlands", "All-good electricity", "City Autumn", "Shining".

Foreign writers

Famous science fiction writers abroad:

• Isaac Asimov is a renowned American author who has written over 500 books.
• Ray Bradbury is a recognized classic not only of science fiction, but also of world literature.
• Stanislav Lem is a very famous Polish writer in our country.
• Clifford Simak - He is considered the founder of American fiction.
• Robert Heinlein is the author of books for teens.

What is Science Fiction?

Science fiction is a trend in science fiction that takes as its plot the rational assumption that unusual things happen due to the incredible development of technical and scientific thought. One of the most popular genres today. But it is often difficult to separate it from related ones, since the authors can combine several directions.

Science fiction is (in literature) a great opportunity to suggest what would happen to our civilization if technological progress accelerated or science chose a different path of development. Usually, such works do not violate the generally accepted laws of nature and physics.

The first books of this genre began to appear in the 18th century, when the formation of modern science was taking place. But science fiction emerged as an independent literary trend only in the 20th century. J. Verne is considered one of the first writers to work in this genre.

Science fiction: books

We list the most famous works of this direction:

• "Torture Master" (J. Wolfe);
• "Arise from the dust" (F. H. Farmer);
• Ender's Game (OS Card);
• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (D. Adams);
• Dune (F. Herbert);
• "Sirens of the Titan" (K. Vonnegut).

Science fiction is quite varied. The books presented here are only the most famous and popular examples of her. It is practically impossible to list all the writers of this type of literature, since several hundred of them have appeared in recent decades.

Introduction

The purpose of this work is to analyze the features of the use of scientific terminology in the novel "The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin" by A.N. Tolstoy.

The topic of the course project is extremely relevant, since in science fiction we often find the use of terminology of a different nature, which is the norm for this type of literature. This approach is especially characteristic of the genre of "hard" science fiction, to which the novel by A.N. Tolstoy's "Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin".

Object of work - terms in science fiction works

In the first chapter, we consider the features of science fiction and its types, as well as the specifics of the style of A.N. Tolstoy.

In the second chapter, we consider the specifics of terminology and features of the use of terminology in SF and the novel by A.N. Tolstoy's "Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin".

Chapter 1. Science fiction and its style

The uniqueness of the science fiction genre

Science fiction (SF) is a genre in literature, cinema and other forms of art, one of the varieties of fiction. Science fiction is based on fantastic assumptions in science and technology, including both the natural sciences and the humanities. Works based on unscientific assumptions belong to other genres. Themes of science fiction works are new discoveries, inventions, facts unknown to science, space exploration and time travel.

The author of the term "sci-fi" is Yakov Perelman, who introduced this concept in 1914. Prior to that, a similar term - "fantastic scientific travel" - in relation to Wells and other authors was used by Alexander Kuprin in his article "Rediard Kipling" (1908).

There is a lot of controversy among critics and literary scholars about what counts as science fiction. Nevertheless, most of them agree that science fiction is literature based on some assumption in the field of science: the emergence of a new invention, the discovery of new laws of nature, sometimes even the construction of new models of society (social fiction).

In a narrow sense, it is science fiction about technologies and scientific discoveries (only supposed or already completed), their exciting possibilities, their positive or negative impact, about paradoxes that may arise. SF in such a narrow sense awakens the scientific imagination, makes one think about the future and about the possibilities of science.

In a more general sense, SF is a fantasy without a fabulous and mystical, where hypotheses are built about worlds necessarily without otherworldly forces, the real world is imitated. Otherwise, it is fantasy or mysticism with a technical touch.

Often the action of SF takes place in the distant future, which makes SF similar to futurology, the science of predicting the world of the future. Many SF writers devote their creativity to literary futurology, trying to guess and describe the real future of the Earth, as did Arthur Clarke, Stanislav Lem, and others. Other writers use the future only as a setting that allows them to more fully reveal the idea of ​​their work.

However, future fiction and science fiction are not exactly the same thing. The action of many science fiction works takes place in the conditional present ("The Great Guslar" by K. Bulychev, most of the books by J. Verne, stories by H. Wells, R. Bradbury) or even in the past (books about time travel). At the same time, the action of works not related to science fiction is sometimes placed in the future. For example, the action of many fantasy works takes place on an Earth that has changed after a nuclear war (“Shannar” by T. Brooks, “The Awakening of the Stone God” by F. H. Farmer, “Sos-Rope” by P. Anthony). Therefore, a more reliable criterion is not the time of action, but the area of ​​the fantastic assumption.

G.L. Oldie conventionally divides science fiction assumptions into natural science and humanitarian science. The first includes the introduction of new inventions and laws of nature into a product, which is typical for solid SF. The second is the introduction of assumptions in sociology, history, psychology, ethics, religion, and even philology. Thus, works of social fiction, utopia and dystopia are created. At the same time, several types of assumptions can be combined in one work at the same time.

As Maria Galina writes in her article, “It is traditionally believed that science fiction (SF) is literature, the plot of which unfolds around some kind of fantastic, but still scientific idea. It would be more accurate to say that in science fiction, the initially given picture of the world is logical and internally consistent. The plot in SF is usually based on one or several, as it were, scientific assumptions (a time machine, movement in space faster than light, “supra-dimensional tunnels”, telepathy, etc. is possible). "

The advent of fiction was sparked by the industrial revolution in the 19th century. Originally, science fiction was a genre of literature describing the achievements of science and technology, the prospects for their development, etc. The world of the future was often described - usually in the form of a utopia. Jules Verne's works are a classic example of this type of fiction.

Later, the development of technology began to be viewed in a negative light and led to the emergence of dystopia. And in the 1980s, her cyberpunk subgenre began to gain popularity. In it, high technologies coexist with total social control and the power of almighty corporations. In the works of this genre, the basis of the plot is the life of marginal fighters against the oligarchic regime, as a rule, in conditions of total cybernetization of society and social decline. Notable examples: The Neuromancer by William Gibson.

In Russia, science fiction has become a popular and widely developed genre since the 20th century. Among the most famous authors are Ivan Efremov, the Strugatsky brothers, Alexander Belyaev, Kir Bulychev and others.

Even in pre-revolutionary Russia, some science fiction works were written by such authors as Thaddeus Bulgarin, V.F.Odoevsky, Valery Bryusov, K.E. But before the revolution, SF was not an established genre with its constant writers and admirers.

Science fiction was one of the most popular genres in the USSR. There were seminars for young science fiction writers, science fiction lovers' clubs. Almanacs with stories by novice authors, such as "World of Adventures", were published, fantastic stories were published in the journal "Technics for Youth". At the same time, Soviet science fiction was subject to severe censorship restrictions. She was required to maintain a positive outlook on the future, faith in communist development. Technical reliability was welcomed, mysticism and satire were condemned. In 1934, at the congress of the Writers' Union, Samuil Yakovlevich Marshak determined a place for the genre of fiction on a par with children's literature.

One of the first in the USSR to write science fiction was Alexei Nikolaevich Tolstoy ("The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin", "Aelita"). The adaptation of Tolstoy's novel Aelita was the first Soviet science fiction film. In the 1920s - 30s, dozens of books by Alexander Belyaev were published ("Struggle on the Air", "Ariel", "Amphibian Man", "The Head of Professor Dowell", etc.), "alternative-geographical" novels by V. A Obruchev ("Plutonium", "Sannikov's Land"), satirical-fantastic stories by MA Bulgakov ("Heart of a Dog", "Fatal Eggs"). They were distinguished by their technical reliability and interest in science and technology. The role model for early Soviet science fiction writers was H.G. Wells, who was himself a socialist and visited the USSR on several occasions.

In the 1950s, the rapid development of astronautics led to the flourishing of "close-range fiction" - solid science fiction about the exploration of the solar system, the exploits of astronauts, and the colonization of planets. The authors of this genre include G. Gurevich, A. Kazantsev, G. Martynov and others.

In the 1960s and later, Soviet science fiction began to move away from the rigid framework of science, despite the pressure of censorship. Many works of prominent science fiction writers of the late Soviet period are related to social fiction. During this period, the books of the Strugatsky brothers, Kir Bulychev, Ivan Efremov appear, which raise social and ethical issues, contain the views of the authors on humanity and the state. Fantastic works often contained hidden satire. The same tendency is reflected in science fiction, in particular, in the works of Andrei Tarkovsky (Solaris, Stalker). In parallel with this, in the late USSR, a lot of adventure fiction for children was filmed ("The Adventures of Electronics", "Moscow-Cassiopeia", "The Mystery of the Third Planet").

Science fiction has evolved and expanded throughout its history, spawning new directions and absorbing elements of older genres such as utopia and alternative history.

The genre of the novel by A.N. Tolstoy is "hard" science fiction, so we would like to dwell on him in more detail.

Hard science fiction is the oldest and earliest genre of science fiction. Its feature is strict adherence to the scientific laws known at the time of writing. The works of solid SF are based on a natural scientific assumption: for example, a scientific discovery, invention, novelty of science or technology. Before the advent of other types of SF, it was simply called "science fiction." The term hard science fiction was first used in a literary review by P. Miller, published in February 1957 in Astounding Science Fiction.

Some books by Jules Verne (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Robur the Conqueror, From Earth to the Moon) and Arthur Conan Doyle (The Lost World, The Poisoned Belt, Marakot's Abyss), the works of Herbert Wells, Alexander Belyaev are called classics of hard SF. A distinctive feature of these books was a detailed scientific and technical base, and the plot was, as a rule, a new discovery or invention. The authors of the solid NF made a lot of "predictions", correctly guessing the further development of science and technology. Thus, Verne describes a helicopter in the novel Robur the Conqueror, an airplane in Lord of the World, a space flight in From Earth to the Moon and Around the Moon. Wells predicted video communications, central heating, laser, atomic weapons. Belyaev in the 1920s described a space station, radio-controlled equipment.

Solid SF was especially developed in the USSR, where other genres of science fiction were not welcomed by the censorship. Particularly widespread was the "close-range fantasy", telling about the events of the supposed near future - first of all, the colonization of the planets of the solar system. The most famous examples of close-range fiction include the books by G. Gurevich, G. Martynov, A. Kazantsev, and the early books of the Strugatsky brothers (The Land of Crimson Clouds, Interns). Their books told about heroic expeditions of astronauts to the Moon, Venus, Mars, to the asteroid belt. In these books, technical reliability in the description of space flights was combined with a romantic fiction about the arrangement of neighboring planets - then there was still the hope of finding life on them.

Although the main works of hard SF were written in the 19th and first half of the 20th century, many authors turned to this genre in the second half of the 20th century. For example, Arthur Clarke in his series of books "A Space Odyssey" relied on a strictly scientific approach and described the development of astronautics, very close to reality. In recent years, according to Eduard Gevorgyan, the genre is experiencing a "second wind". An example of which is the astrophysicist Alastair Reynolds, who successfully combines hard science fiction with a space opera and cyberpunk (for example, all his spaceships are sublight).

Other genres of science fiction are:

1) Social fiction - works in which a fantastic element is another structure of society, completely different from the real one, or which is bringing it to extremes.

2) Chrono-fiction, temporal fiction, or chrono-opera - a genre that tells about time travel. Wells' Time Machine is considered a key work of this subgenre. Although time travel has been written about before (for example, "A Yankee from Connecticut at the Court of King Arthur" by Mark Twain), it was in "Time Machine" that time travel was first deliberate and scientifically substantiated, and thus this plot was introduced specifically in science fiction.

3) Alternative history - a genre in which the idea of ​​what happened in the past or did not happen any event, and what could come out of it, develops.

The first examples of this kind of assumption are found long before the advent of science fiction. Not all of them were works of art - sometimes they were serious works of historians. For example, the historian Titus Livy reasoned what would happen if Alexander the Great had gone to war on his native Rome. The famous historian Sir Arnold Toynbee also devoted several of his essays to Macedonian: what would have happened if Alexander had lived longer, and vice versa, if he had not existed at all. Sir John Squire has published an entire book of historical essays under the general title If It Went Wrong.

4) The popularity of post-apocalyptic fiction is one of the reasons for the popularity of "stalker tourism".

Closely related genres, the action of works in which takes place during or shortly after a catastrophe of a planetary scale (collision with a meteorite, nuclear war, environmental catastrophe, epidemic).

The real scope of the post-apocalyptic was in the era of the Cold War, when the real threat of a nuclear holocaust hung over humanity. During this period, such works as "The Song of Leibovitz" by V. Miller, "Dr. Bloodmoney "F. Dick," Dinner at the Palace of Perversions "by Tim Powers," Roadside Picnic "by the Strugatsky. Works in this genre continue to be created after the end of the Cold War (for example, Metro 2033 by D. Glukhovsky).

5) Utopias and dystopias - genres devoted to modeling the social structure of the future. In utopias, an ideal society is depicted, expressing the views of the author. In dystopias - the complete opposite of the ideal, a terrible, usually totalitarian, social order.

6) "Space Opera" was dubbed an entertaining adventure SF, published in pulp magazines popular in the 1920s and 1950s in the United States. The name was given in 1940 by Wilson Tucker and, at first, was a contemptuous epithet (similar to "soap opera"). However, over time, the term stuck and ceased to have a negative connotation.

The "cosmooper" action takes place in space and on other planets, usually in the conditional "future". The plot is based on the adventures of the heroes, and the scale of the events taking place is limited only by the imagination of the authors. Initially, the works of this genre were purely entertaining, but later the techniques of "space opera" were included in the arsenal of authors of significant artistic fiction.

7) Cyberpunk is a genre that examines the evolution of society under the influence of new technologies, a special place among which is given to telecommunications, computer, biological, and, last but not least, social. Cyborgs, androids, supercomputers serving technocratic, corrupt and immoral organizations / regimes often act as the background in the works of the genre. The name "cyberpunk" was invented by the writer Bruce Betke, and the literary critic Gardner Dozois picked it up and began to use it as the name of a new genre. He briefly and succinctly defined cyberpunk as “High tech, low life”.

8) Steampunk is a genre created, on the one hand, in imitation of such science fiction classics as Jules Verne and Albert Robida, and on the other, being a kind of post-cyberpunk. Sometimes dieselpunk is separately distinguished from it, corresponding to the fantasy of the first half of the 20th century. It can also be attributed to an alternative history, since the emphasis is on a more successful and perfect development of steam technology instead of the invention of the internal combustion engine.

Science fiction is one of the genres of literature, cinema and visual arts. It originates in the deep past. Even at the dawn of his appearance, man admitted the presence of mysterious and powerful forces in the world around him. The first fantasy is folklore, fairy tales, myths and legends. This genre is based on some incredible, supernatural assumption, an element of something unusual or impossible, a violation of the boundaries of a reality familiar to a person.

The beginning of the development of science fiction in cinematography

The genre moved from literature to cinema almost immediately after its inception. The first science fiction films appeared in France in the 19th century. In those years, Georges Melies was the best director in this genre. His fantastic film "Journey to the Moon" entered the golden fund of world masterpieces of cinema and became the first film about space travel. At this time, fiction is an opportunity to show on the screen the achievements of human progress: amazing mechanisms and machines, vehicles.

From the beginning of the 20th century, science fiction films began to gain more and more popularity, and the audience's interest in them increased.

Types of fiction

In cinematography, science fiction is a genre that is difficult to define. Usually it is a mixture of different styles and forms of cinema. There is a division into types of science fiction, but it is largely conditional.

Science fiction is a story about incredible technical and other discoveries to travel in time, cross space, use to create artificial intelligence.

The film "Prometheus" is an interesting picture with a philosophical meaning about a person's search for an answer to the main question: who are we and where did we come from? As a result, scientists have obtained evidence that humanity was created by a highly developed humanoid race. In search of its creators, a scientific expedition is sent to the edge of the solar system. Each team member has his own interest: someone wants to get an answer why humanity was created, someone is driven by curiosity, and some are pursuing selfish goals. But the creators are not at all what people imagined them to be.

Space fiction

This view is very closely intertwined with science fiction. A striking example is the recently released and critically acclaimed film "Interstellar" about the possibility of travel through black holes and the resulting space-time paradoxes. Like Prometheus, this picture is filled with deep philosophical meaning.

Fantasy is a fantasy that is closely related to mysticism and fairy tale. The most striking example of a fantasy film is the famous epic saga of Peter Jackson "The Lord of the Rings". The most recent interesting works in this genre are the trilogy "The Hobbit" and the last work of Sergei Bodrov "The Seventh Son".

Horror - oddly enough, this genre is also closely related to fantasy. A classic example is the Alien film series.

Science fiction: films that have become classics of cinema

In addition to the films already named, there are still a large number of magnificent paintings included in the list of the best works in the genre of science fiction:

• Space saga "Star Wars".
• A series of films "Terminator".
• Fantasy cycle "The Chronicles of Narnia".
• The Iron Man Trilogy.
• Series "Highlander".
• "Inception" with Leonardo DiCaprio.
• Fantastic comedy "Back to the Future".
• "Dune".
• The Matrix Trilogy with Keanu Reeves.
• Post-apocalyptic painting "I am a legend".
• Fantastic comedy "Men in Black".
• "War of the Worlds" with Tom Cruise.
• Combat space fantasy "Starship Troopers".
• The Fifth Element with Bruce Willis and Mila Jovovich.
• A series of films "Transformers".
• Cycle "Spiderman".
• Batman film series.

The development of the genre today

Contemporary science fiction - films and cartoons - continues to be of interest to the viewer today.

For 2015 alone, several large-scale and spectacular fantastic films have been announced. The most anticipated films include the final film from the Hunger Games series, the second part of The Maze Runner, Star Wars Episode 7 - The Force Awakens, Terminator 5, Tomorrowland, the sequel to Divergent, a new a motion picture from the series "The Avengers" and the long-awaited "Jurassic World".

Conclusion

Fiction is what gives a person the opportunity to dream. Here you can, as a superhero who saves the world, admit the possibility of the existence of other worlds and fly into the depths of space. For this, viewers love fantastic films - dreams come true in them.

A lot of people like to read books or watch films that are based on something fantastic, something that will never actually happen. It is this genre that is called science fiction. However, there is another way to answer the question of what fiction is. Science fiction is just a fairy tale. And this is actually the case. Why? You will find out now.

What is fiction in literature

It seems to us that science fiction stories and novels began to be written not so long ago. but in fact, people were fond of this genre even in those distant times, when they drew pictures on the rocks. Already, according to some of them, today it can be determined that what is painted there is something fantastic, which in fact simply cannot happen.

And then very, very many authors began to write fantastic books. Just what is "The Adventure of Gulliver" by D. Swift or "Time Machine" by H. Wells. But at all times, the attitude towards science fiction has always been different. Today we read fantastic books about how the war between the cosmic worlds takes place, and after all, just a couple of centuries ago, the fairy tales of the brothers Grim were considered fiction.

Types of fiction

• Futurological fiction. This genre includes all books and films that describe wars in outer space, aliens, incredible spaceships.
• Folk fiction, which is sometimes also called fantasy, allows the introduction into the human world of some phenomena or creatures that have never existed.
• Peacekeeping fiction. This type of fiction aims to create a non-existent world. An example is the films "Avatar" or "Narnia".
• Mystical fantasy, which is called horror, allows the introduction of some incomprehensible and mystical phenomena.
• Fasmatasmagoric fiction manifests itself in the fact that it simply has no logical basis or just an explanation.
• Science fiction cites in its works certain non-existent scientific achievements, such achievements that we can only dream of.

Now you know exactly what science fiction is, and you will never again confuse this attractive and very interesting genre with anything else.