Different Types of Sci-Fi/Fantasy

With a remake Star Trek movie coming out in two weeks and a Terminator sequel two weeks after that, a remake Land of the Lost movie in a month and a Transformers sequel a month after that, 2009 is definitely a year for science fiction on the big screen. I guess it's been going strong since last year though, what with the success of A-listers Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and WALL-E but also B-fare like Cloverfield and Journey to the Center of the Earth. Dare I mention Star Wars: The Clone Wars and The X-Files: I Want to Believe? Bottom line is there's a lot of science fiction to wade through and how do you break it down, find your niche, or start from scratch as a newcomer?

I personally feel that science fiction and fantasy are actually the same thing, with science fiction just being a newer subgenre under the broader fantasy fiction genre. Looking over lists of subgenres under each however, I can see a distinction with science fiction being based more on setting and time period while fantasy is based more on characters and what they're capable of doing. They both have their spoofs. Just as science fiction is divided between hard (biology, chemistry, physics, etc.) and soft (philosophy, political science, psychology, etc.), fantasy is divided between high (epic with a grand moral dichotomy) and low (realism with moral ambiguities). Science fiction has its otherwordly subgenres like alien contact/invasion, dystopia/utopia, and space opera, but those can be compared to anthropomorphic fables, Bangsian fantasy (set in the afterlife), and dream worlds/subconscious exploration.

Time is of the essence when talking about science fiction subgenres like Victorian steampunk to contemporary techno-thrillers to futuristic cyberpunk, alternate histories/parallel universes and time travel especially. Fantasy subgenres from fairytales to folklore to mythology work equally well regardless of setting and are unrestricted by time period. Sword and sorcery usually stands in opposition to contemporary/urban fantasy, but it doesn't have to (think Highlander). The difference comes from the characters' choices for skills, that's all. Dark fantasy (supernatural horrors) and Wuxia (mystical martial arts) work in any region of the world and actually benefit by changing conventional time periods. Character is of the essence when it comes to the more fantasy-oriented subgenre of romance. That's about ten subgenres each for science fiction and fantasy. On to my personal favorites list:

1. Back to the Future (1985) time travel
2. Gattaca (1997) soft science fiction
3. Willow (1988) swords and sorcery
4. Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959) fairytales/folklore
5. TRON (1982) cyberpunk long before there was The Matrix
6. The Matrix (1999) cyberpunk + Wuxia
7. The Fifth Element (1997) space opera (with actual opera)
8. T2: Judgement Day (1991) artificial intelligence
9. Reign of Fire (2002) post-apocalyptic science fantasy hybrid
10. Constantine (2005) dark/supernatural fantasy

I can already hear the groaning over my omissions. Oh well, my top ten list shouldn't suggest that I don't like 1950s B-movies, anime, children's movies (I have a separate list for those), superheroes (you should know I'm a comic book geek), and Tim Burton movies. I even liked the Planet of the Apes remake (2001) better than the original (1968). I feel bad for kids that meet Anakin Skywalker before they meet Darth Vader. I also feel bad for kids that saw The Lord of the Rings trilogy before reading The Hobbit. In case you didn't already know, director Guillermo del Toro of (Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth) has been given the reins for the 2012 movie adaptation of The Hobbit. In the meantime we have the made-for-TV animated version (1977). I'll admit that I don't care about Battlestar Galactica, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (I prefer the movie version to the TV series any day), Doctor Who, Lost, and Star Trek (but I am excited for the new movie). At least I'm familiar with the titles.