Science Fiction: Week 7 & 8

What is the difference in emphasis between the terms science fiction and speculative fiction? Which is the The Man In The High Castle?

Speculative fiction is when a story is told from a "What if?" condition. The creation of speculative fiction is the general sense of "general sense of hypothetical history, explanation, or historical storytelling. The Man In The High Castle is speculative fiction because we are presented with a world in which America, Great Britain and their allies lost World War II to the Japanese and Germans. As a result of this, Japan has occupied the West Coast of America while The Germans occupy the East Coast of the country. The only free states that are left in America are the Rocky Mountain states that are in the middle of the country.

But then again, The Man In The High Castle delves deeper into that by introducing the novel within the novel called "The Grasshopper Lies Heavy" which portrays "our" actually reality of World War II where America, Great Britain and all of the other countries defeated Japan and Germany and we have the world we live in today. America is its own country not occupied by either Japan or Germany. Obviously, the Japanese and Germans in the book have banned "The Grasshopper Lies Heavy" on sale but it's on sale in the free States of America that those two sides haven't occupied.

As you read further into the novel, The Man In The High Castle becomes a "what if scenario with a twist" (Brown, 2001). Once Juliana Frink meets up with "The Grasshopper Lies Heavy's" author Hawthorn Abendsen, that there are actually multiple realities that exist and some characters in the book choose to believe that the reality they are living right now is fake.

Other pieces of work that might fall into the category of Speculative Fiction is the Terminator series. This is looks into a dystopian future where machines have become smart and dangerous enough to eradicate humans from Earth. Although the first three films in the series looks at the characters trying to prevent this from happening, the fourth film explains that it was inevitable.

Science Fiction is more fantasy based and does not take the "what if" scenario into account. According to science fiction writer Angie Lofthouse (2012), science fiction can be described as a story "set on another planet, deals with aliens or takes place in space".

Science Fiction can include Star Wars which is a story set in a "Galaxy Far Far Away". There's no "what if" scenario presented in Star Wars nor is it based in a reality where humans on Earth could travel to. All it presents to us is a fictional story about the evil Sith wanting to take over the galaxy while Luke Skywalker is the last Jedi alive and has to defeat his own father to restore balance and peace.

Some other aspects I forgot to mention about the two genres is they way both are presented. Speculative fiction is usually set in an alternate world or reality based upon current technologies or technology that could be feasible to create. Science Fiction is a bit more far-fetched as the technology and worlds that are presented here are all made up. Much like the whole Star Wars universe where every planet, alien and even piece of technology was created all in the mind of George Lucas.