I guess i'm having trouble seeing the difference between the two and it's not helping me in class. Can anyone help me out in explaining what makes them differ from each other?
2007-12-03 10:16:28 · 2 answers · asked by Adam101 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Homework Help
"Space Opera" emphasizes romantic adventure and larger-than-life characters with little care about the plausibility of the technology. Hard SF attempts to portray a plausible, realistic future.
"Star Wars" verges on Space Opera. "2001" is hard SF.
2007-12-03 10:24:26 · answer #1 · answered by jgoulden 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Star Wars movies are often called "space operas" because they really just tell classic stories (damsel in distress, good vs. evil, etc.). The setting (a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away) is incidental. You could tell the same story in a medieval European or feudal Japanese setting. You just wouldn't have cool light saber and space battle effects. That's really the only reason for any of the technology in Star Wars movies; it looks cool. Hard science fiction focuses on technical details and is usually about some moral question raised by a hypothetical technology or a possible future extrapolated from a current trend. Arthur C. Clarke (2001: A Space Odyssey) is a good example of a hard sci-fi writer. His stuff is focused more on scientific possibilities than telling a love story or a story of "good guys" vs. "bad guys."
2007-12-03 10:49:05 · answer #2 · answered by michaeltron2000 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋