in which Chica rants about genre classifications

Here is one of my pet peeves: "This show [or book, or whatever] isn't sci-fi [or whatever genre] because [reason that essentially boils down to "I like it and I don't like sci-fi [or whatever genre]"]"

...clearly brackets are not one of my pet peeves.

This is an attitude, unfortunately, that I have encountered quite a lot. Sometimes it is dressed up in other reasons. "Firefly isn't sci-fi! There's no aliens!" ...aliens are not the defining quality of sci-fi. "Well, it's not sci-fi!" Why do you say that? "Because I like it! And I don't like sci-fi shows!"

That is not a reason.

It's still sci-fi.

I have heard this argument in other contexts than sci-fi, obviously. "It's not a kids' show, because I like it, and I'm not a kid." "It's not romance, I hate romance." "I hate musicals! ...that doesn't count, that's not really a musical."

How much would you laugh if someone told you, "Ugh, I hate baseball. The Red Sox don't play baseball! Because I hate baseball but I love the Sox so obviously they are not playing baseball." It's the same dumb justification. It's still baseball.

It's still science fiction, even if there's no aliens. It's still fantasy even if there aren't wizards swinging swords at dragons. It's still children's fiction even if there's not a tidy moral at the end. It's still Genre A even if it overlaps with Genre B, even if it doesn't have all of the trappings general-you associates with Genre A, even if you don't generally like Genre A but like this one particular example.

And in response to the most recent argument I have encountered: YES. IT IS STILL SCI-FI EVEN IF IT'S MORE FOCUSED ON THE CHARACTERS THAN THE TECH. THAT DOESN'T EVEN MAKE IT PARTICULARLY UNUSUAL SCI-FI.

I really don't know if this springs from genre snobbery (Genre A is inferior to this high-brow stuff that I like so this one thing I like that might be considered Genre A clearly isn't) or absolutism (I don't like Genre A! Ever! None of it! Therefore this one thing I like that might be considered Genre A clearly isn't) or just a misunderstanding of how genres work (This one thing doesn't have every last trope that I associate with Genre A so clearly it isn't!)

There was probably a more coherent ending to this rant, but I forgot what it is and I'm done ranting now, so...[/end]

Trust me. God's got nothing to do with it.

I have apple pie and mint chocolate chip ice cream as my LOST night snack. Woohoo!

( LOST 6x08 Recon )

...That hour went by really fast.