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6 points

What genre are superhero films? Fantasy? Sci-fi? E.g. what is Superman or X-Men?

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5 points

Both. Maybe leaning a little bit more on sci-fi since they try to explain many things with science like kryptonite. But definitely also fantasy for X-Men, mutants have superpowers because the DNA does … things.

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3 points

I dislike the common definition of sci-fi as science-flavored fantasy. It’s just not a useful distinction to me vs plain ‘fantasy’. What I love the most about sci-fi is the exploration of what it means to be human by projecting the implications of drastically improved technology. All a matter of taste, of course.

I’m curious, though: why should a kryptonite explanation be any more sciency than mutant DNA? I see one as an entirely unexplained magic rock, and the other as an extension of the scientific triumph of understanding genetics (plus hilariously and deliberately misunderstanding evolution). X-Men is very nearly sci-fi to me; if mutants were a human creation it would be.

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2 points

I wanted to say that it’s hard to define exactly what is or isn’t sci-fi. Really I’m just a sci-fi enjoyer and am not qualified to say what is or isn’t sci-fi :D

Kryptonite for me is clearly a magic rock but in the movie it is in the realm of their science. Also there was a movie where the existence of superman led to a lot of questioning on its implications in defense politics so it could fit some part of your definition I guess?

So like superman is science-based and X-Men is also you’re right and it does clearly ask what it means to be human when there are augmented humans now. So clearly more sci-fi than superman.

But films can be both sci-fi and fantasy. It feels like a sliding rule depending on the amount the universe is based on hardcore science. On the DNA subject, Gattaca is not fantasy but X-Men is.

To me it feels similar to the debate about “hard magic” universes like Eragon (where every spell has a physical toll on the user, or other book series where the magic is really detailed in-universe and only mastered by experts who have to study their whole life for even a basic spell) and “soft magic” like Harry Potter where everyone can cast crucifixion spells at the speed of an automatic rifle (I’m slightly exaggerating).

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