Quote:
Originally Posted by Hamlet53
Interesting.  So “The Force” is science fiction, but Harry Potter levitating a broom to fly around on is fantasy? |
Yes.
"The Force" is a theoretically scientific concept; the idea of "auras" around living beings and an energy-force that binds the universe together is not unknown to science. In the genre, it's shorthand for some kind of awareness of particle physics not normally detectable by humans... if we could perceive magnetic fields, or gravitational ones, well enough to dodge objects with our eyes closed, that could be "the Force."
The "millions of souls crying out?" That, too, has a foundation in science. A thin one, admittedly, but still real--there have been experiments with subatomic particles reacting instantly across vast physical distances, faster than the speed of light would allow. A person in tune with such energy fields would be able to detect things happening a very long ways away. An ability to tell the difference between "disruption in nonorganic matter" and "disruption in living beings" is not much of a stretch at all.
Harry Potter, OTOH, does not attempt to imply psychic ability or particle physics or physical-mental training to explain its "magic." It defies the concepts of science, we are told, and "just works."
The Star Wars paradigm fits within a scientific understanding of the world; the HP paradigm does not. Some characters in the SW-verse disdain the abilities of the Jedi as "mystic mumbo-jumbo," but that doesn't mean they're "magic" as opposed to "science on a level not understood by most people, and the Jedi encourage that reputation."
As far as "but it doesn't really work that way!"... neither does warp space or FTL travel. The implausibility of a notion or bit of technology has nothing to do with whether it's SF or fantasy; what matters is the framework in which it's offered. Captain America's "adamantium" shield can't work either, nor can a serum turn a scrawny weakling into a super-soldier; that doesn't make it a fantasy story instead of an SF story.