Science Fiction vs. Sci-Fi: What is the difference between Science Fiction and Sci-Fi? (I’m basically using a distinction my cousin, Kevin Reed, proposed to me.)
Science Fiction: A form of social critique or investigation set in the future (distant or near), or set in the present amid highly anomalous circumstances. Science Fiction is what you see in Cyber-Punk books, the Dune series,
Basically, science fiction offers a utopian/distopian vision of the future as a critique of the present, and therefore is not supportive of the status quo.
Sci-Fi: Roughly state, Sci-Fi is strictly entertainment of the futuristic type (somewhere in space) or concerning dangerous scientific research (think Mutant X or X-Men), and it is not different than the status quo. Just about everything is Sci-Fi now on film and the tv; there are few view science fiction movies or tv show which actually critique rather than support the current system of thought.
So, basically, I want to commit to a regular reading of the difference between Science Fiction and Sci-Fi, which I am calling Science Fiction Fridays (because I’ll post new thoughts every Friday, duh!). Through this series I’ll engage in ideological and theological critiques of the consumer american lifestyle in which I live and minister.
My initial and principle texts will be the TV series “Lost” and “Battlestar Galactica” (as the protagonists), and everything else will be ripped to shredded (especially Star Trek and Star Wars).
Please join me and let me know you questions and ideas, and what other text I ought to be using.
So first off, how might I refine my definitions of “Science Fiction” and “Sci-Fi”?