MovieChat Forums > Evangelion Shin Gekijôban: Jo (2007) Discussion > Doesn't deserve to be called Science Fic...

Doesn't deserve to be called Science Fiction

posted 13 years ago by shawngunnison
22 replies | jump to latest

Don't get me wrong. I like anime, but just because a movie has cyborgs, or gadgetry that is loosely based on some type of technology, does not make it science fiction.

Normally I wouldn't bother to post. The only reason I'm bothering is because this series is listed in the imdb top 50 for sci-fi films.

Gadgets and giant fighting robots does NOT make this worthy of the science fiction namesake. Me wasting time to view a film on the merit of it being one of the best sci-fi films of all time pisses me off.

IMDB is my favorite resource for determining whether a movie is worth watching or not. I'm disappointed.

[–] marulberg 13 years ago

"Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with the impact of imagined innovations in science or technology, often in a futuristic setting." -Wikipedia

This movie is without a doubt Science Fiction.

[–] guypwnsj00 13 years ago

hahaha, great answer.

[–] orlox99-1 13 years ago

Do you have a problem with Sci-Fi? Do you think its In-Superior or something?

http://s4.zetaboards.com/KaijuGalaxy/index/

[–] countZero87 12 years ago

What's the Problem? Science Fiction is a very broad genre. Take Star Wars for example. It is probably the most famous and most popular Science Fiction series. But it doesn't even take place in the future. And with the story (hero rescues princess and defeats evil emperor) and the whole thing about the force it's more like a fantasy/fairy tale.

[–] r-taylor13-848-416837 12 years ago

Star Wars is in no way a Science-Fiction. It is a space opera. An action/adventure set in space.

[–] sirfunnyboy 12 years ago

Do we have no concept of Science Fiction?

[–] Agent_Mothman 11 years ago

Actually Star Wars is science-fiction. Believe it or not, but quite a lot of the technology in Star Wars is possible, or has already been made to some degree. So, in other words, you're wrong.

"The world is indeed comic, but the joke is on mankind" ~H.P. Lovecraft

[–] r-taylor13-848-416837 11 years ago

I don't understand how your douchey comment makes me wrong. The film relies on no sci-fi themes, but action/adventure/drama concepts. Don't get me wrong, I love Star Wars, but it ain't no sci-fi.

[–] Agent_Mothman 11 years ago

What isn't sci-fi about it? As I have explained before, there is a number of things in the Star Wars universe that we have already to some degree, or are at least possible.

"The world is indeed comic, but the joke is on mankind" ~H.P. Lovecraft

[–] Agent_Mothman 11 years ago

In fact, if you don't believe me here are some examples.

Lightsabers can actually be possible.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSNubaa7n9o

The force and other Star Wars tech are talked about here.
http://www.g4tv.com/videos/9208/dr-michio-kaku-on-the-science-of-star-wars/

Holograms, force fields, robotic arms, etc.
http://www.cracked.com/article_19115_5-technologies-that-prove-weve-caught-up-with-star-wars.html

Droids, magnetic levitation, and other tech.
http://www.gadgetreview.com/2011/11/9-pieces-of-star-wars-tech-now-a-reality.html

Even real warp drives are a possibility!
http://io9.com/5963263/how-nasa-will-build-its-very-first-warp-drive

Need anything else? And yes, I am a nerd.

"The world is indeed comic, but the joke is on mankind" ~H.P. Lovecraft

[–] EpsilonX 11 years ago

So, instead of just saying that Star Wars is action/adventure and not science fiction, why don't you tell us what you think defines science fiction and why star wars does not fall under that category?

[–] r-taylor13-848-416837 11 years ago

I'd say sci-fi focuses more on the 'science' being the antagonistic quality of the film. such as Hal in 2001 or Batty in Blade Runner. Star Wars is basically just a big war and a family squabble, which happens to involve some laser guns and robots. They are not really any hard sci-fi themes in it, that the narrative revolves around.

Just because it is set in space, doesn't make it a sci-fi.

And look, even Imdb knows, the only Star Wars they put a sci-fi tag on is Empire Strikes back. The others are action adventure fantasy.

Don't get me wrong though, I love Star Wars and have watched them dozens of times, but they are action adventure, space operas in my opinion.

[–] evan_chester 11 years ago

A film can be both action/adventure and science fiction.

http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=8578799

[–] r-taylor13-848-416837 11 years ago

Ah...?? Never said they couldn't be.

[–] evan_chester 11 years ago

You said that it isn't science fiction because it's action/adventure.

http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=8578799

[–] r-taylor13-848-416837 11 years ago

I said it is an action/adventure, not a science-fiction.

[–] evan_chester 11 years ago

Exactly, implying that it can't be both! Which is ridiculous.

http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=8578799

[–] evan_chester 11 years ago

Also, "space opera" is a subgenre of sci-fi.

http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=8578799

[–] r-taylor13-848-416837 11 years ago

Yeah, but a very far removed one, that I would argue is much closer to the action/adventure genre then sci-fi.

[–] omfg-pwn 11 years ago

Star Wars is science fantasy. There are scientific technologies in Star Wars (speeders, space battleships, blasters), but very little of them are explained in detail. In other words, they just exist because they do.
The Eva series is a fine example of science fiction due to how much detail they put into the technical details. A good example: Right before "Operation Yashima" begins, Ritsuko explains to Shinji how the cannon doesn't exactly fire in a straight line. He needs to compensate for "the earth's rotation, magnetic field and gravity." Compare that to the Death Star. It just works.

[–] Flabrezu 11 years ago

I don't think that you understand what science fiction is.

[–] Mustachioed-Ken 10 years ago

For some people it's only Sci-fi if it some how critiques the future of humanity (usually in relation with technology). Eva does critique humanity but in a different way to most Sci-fi.

Eva is heavily reliant on fantasy, which might bore hardcore Sci-fi people. It deals with humanity using their technology to battle bizarre alien offspring but relies a lot on its own in-universe laws to determine what this technology can do. It is Sci-fi THEMED but at its core is not critiquing the symbiotic relationship between man and machine (like Ghost in the Shell), which pisses off hardcore Sci-fi purists like the OP.

If anything, at its core Eva is a drama. The central focus is on the people and their relationships with each other. Personally I think of Eva as a philosophical drama but if you put it into the top 50 'dramas' of all time it would just piss off purists of that genre. Eva is a complex hybrid, which means different things to different people, which is why it's so amazing.