Why is SW so hard to define as a film genre?

Is it pure sci-fi?
Is it fantasy?
Is it romantic comedy?


For nearly 3 decades SW has primarily been sci-fi but yet it has been defined in many different genra's.

 

I view it as modern mythology...

But it could also fit in Sci-fi and Fantasy

It owns in whatever catagory you put it in

 

Space Opera

 

It's whatever section that Best Buy stocks it in. And that would be in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy section.

 

Because it is a cross between Sci-fi and fantasy. So it doesn't really fall under either category, but has to fall under both.

 

You bring up great points but does using lightsabers automatically make it Fantasy? Can't lightsabers be considered sci-fi tech, or are they considered fantasy because of the context they are used in the film?

 

Sci-Fi/Fantasy. It is both.

Alien-Sci-Fi/Horror. It is definitely both.

Similar to how musicians can be classified into various styles.

 

Horror because of how atrocious it can be, at times?

 

I wouldn't classify it as fantasy, really. Fantasy tends to contain elements thare are difficult to explain. In contrast, everything in Star Wars, including the Force, possesses an explanation of some sort.

But I think that the reason Star Wars is so hard to pin down because it has so many different aspects of everything. But that's what makes it great.

 

It's not that hard. Its a sci-fi. It's set in the future and it's set in space.

 

But the fact that it has so many influences from fantasy cultures i.e. Roman and Japanese it is often considered more fantasy than sci-fi. I still think it is predominantly Sci-fi that uses fantasy aspects to further the story.

 

Fixed

 

Right

I mean, ofcourse all us die hard fans know there are other influences. But to a general movie-going audience and even to the film industry, convention says that Star Wars is sci-fi.

 

On that rationale, which I mostly agree w/you, then what makes a movie like 2001 sc-fi and say Apollo 13 not sci-fi? Both are set in Space essentially.

 

I think it's its own genre
"Star Wars: A New Genre"

 

Then you have the,

The Genre Strikes Back
Return of the Genre
The Phantom Genre
Attack of the Genre
Revenge of the Genre

And spin-offs

The Clone Genre
The Genre Adventure
Genre: The Battle for Endor.

 

Sorry forgot to say it is set in the future. Sci-fi= Science fiction= fiction about what science could be, but hasn't discovered in our day and age.

That's why Apollo 13 isn't sci-fi.

 

Why is SW so hard to define as a film genre?

Becouse it combines many things and it very unique.

 

WHo is actually finding it hard to define as a genre? I've never heard of this difficulty.

 

I'd say, for the most part, Star Wars fits under the genre of science fantasy.

 

I wrote an academic paper of 30 something pages on this subject for my film class. I don't really want to write it all here, but my conclusion was that Star Wars is a hybrid of different genres. You can find everything from drama, sci fi and western in the movies.

 

Its in the future, has space battles, and alien species so isn't it obvious that its a Sci-Fi?

 

"Why is SW so hard to define as a film genre?"

It's not. It's Sci-Fi.

/thread

 

Kak - What Sci-fi stuff have you read? The really sci-fi books are WAY WAY different from how Star Wars is. Which is why I don't think its classic science fiction. Its a combination of many genres like a few of the posters have said. Talk to any Science Fiction writer of the last 40 years and they won't agree that Star Wars is true Science Fiction.