44
votes
Accepted
Is The Truman Show on-topic?
Yes
Many things make this film on-topic. A few:
The giant dome built that a whole (fake) city fits in.
It is shown that real lighting storms can be created in it.
It’s pretty dystopian.
Truman is ...
- 11.1k
38
votes
Accepted
What is our actual policy on science questions?
In-Universe Explanations — Even Based On Real Science — Are On-Topic
Any question that is asking for an answer within the context of a fictional universe, even if that question requires real-world ...
- 103k
34
votes
Accepted
Is the story-ID question that turned out to be about the Axe commercial, on-topic?
Yes, it is on topic.
First of all, the user asking didn't know it was from an Axe commercial. Angels are not unusual in works of Fantasy, so this Stack was a logical place to ask.
An answer should ...
- 36.9k
33
votes
Accepted
How should we handle questions that are about non-SF/F elements in a SF/F work?
Before I get to my real answer, two things:
No, we absolutely should not migrate questions off this site if they are on-topic. There are plenty of cases in the Stack Exchange network where site ...
- 103k
33
votes
Should meta posts regarding the deaths of figures that are important to SFF:SE be on topic?
Yes.
The community has already voiced its opinion on these questions. The Christopher Lee post has +33 upvotes, Terry Pratchett +34, Leonard Nimoy +29, Carrie Fisher +41 and Affable Geek +10. ...
- 627k
33
votes
Let's talk about Story ID requests for erotica
They should be allowed.
As long as it's SFF, it's fine.
We are a site about science fiction and fantasy. And, let's face it... there are very often explicit scenes in SFF. And sometimes there is a ...
- 37.4k
30
votes
Accepted
Are anthropomorphic animals by themselves enough to deem a work fantasy?
No. Anthropomorphic/Sentient/Talking animals don't, in and of themselves, make a film/book/TV programme/comic into a fantasy if the central conceit is that talking animals do already exist within that ...
- 627k
28
votes
Let's talk about Story ID requests for erotica
If a question is overtly offensive, it should be flagged as such.
Gratuitous NSFW pictures, links to porn, unnecessarily graphic language ... all of these are at best things to be edited out of a ...
Rand al'ThorMod
- 132k
26
votes
Is Science Fiction and Fantasy SE the proper place to debate the severity of Nazi Germany's atrocities?
Generally no. Atrocities committed by Nazi Germany and other powers are history and are generally not on-topic here.
However, works of science fiction and fantasy often draw from political history; a ...
NullMod
- 68k
25
votes
Accepted
Should we edit the help centre to mention Worldbuilding?
Worldbuilding mod here. I would say yes to this proposal; I've seen a lot of questions redirected from Science Fiction & Fantasy to Worldbuilding.
Here's my proposed wording:
If your question ...
- 1,934
24
votes
Accepted
Is Calvin and Hobbes on topic?
Yes
As you've noted, the Calvin and Hobbes cartoons incorporate significant elements of science fiction and fantasy, quite a lot of which is internally consistent and intrudes into Calvin's reality. ...
- 627k
24
votes
Are the Peanuts comics on-topic?
Both Science Fiction and Fantasy are broad categories but I fail to see how Peanuts fits into either of them.
There are many cartoon tropes (characters only falling after noticing they've run into ...
- 4,417
24
votes
Accepted
Is this site just for books?
Science fiction and fantasy in all forms of media is welcome here.
We have tags for movie, tv, and video-games as well as for books, novel, and short-stories. (Inconsistent pluralisation, I know. ...
Rand al'ThorMod
- 132k
24
votes
Accepted
Is Mad Max (1979) science fiction?
The original 1979 BBFC Rating guideline for this film gives us a pretty good indication of its suitability for this site. In short, it's a dystopia and is set in the future. Either of those would make ...
- 627k
23
votes
Is Zootopia on topic on SFF:SE?
Zootopia is very firmly on topic, containing significant elements of science fiction.
Conceit/Setting
Ignoring the talking animals, the film itself is set in a futuristic world, complete with ...
- 627k
23
votes
Accepted
Is Ducktales on topic?
As base instinct I would say yes (having watched the show growing up... Let's just take a look at the theme song (I could have recited it for you, but you can't hear me through typing).
...
- 58.5k
23
votes
Should we have a policy on questions about adult topics in SFF?
The rules are fine as-is.
Reference:
Should questions about sex and other adult activities be off-topic?
What's our tolerance for adult content?
But phantom, there are so many arguments!
Hey, I ...
- 133k
22
votes
What's our policy on questions about fantasy/sci-fi creatures that aren't directly related to a specific on-topic work?
OK, I'll bite. (Note that this is my personal opinion - I'm not speaking as a moderator here.)
These questions should be on-topic.
Questions about (for instance) zombies in general, without being ...
Rand al'ThorMod
- 132k
21
votes
Is the Joker movie on-topic here?
Yes
It is on-topic by association with the superhero genre, like Gotham and other DC superhero-related shows. To quote from this answer about Gotham:
TL;DR - Gotham should be on-topic because ...
- 11.1k
20
votes
Accepted
Are questions about Mission: Impossible on topic?
I believe not. Mission Impossible is a series of action-spy genre, and does not to any extent fit the definitions of either Science-Fiction OR Fantasy.
This is the same as James Bond, or Jason Bourne ...
- 16.1k
20
votes
Is Zoolander sci-fi?
I don't really think that Zoolander fits into the genre descriptions for Scifi.
It certainly contains elements that are scifi-ish but only as part of a wider fantasy universe in which male models ...
- 627k
20
votes
Is critical analysis now off-topic?
In general, critical analysis is on-topic and can lead to great questions. The closed question, however, is not a good example of such a question. At the time it was closed the body of the question ...
NullMod
- 68k
20
votes
Accepted
Can I ask about identifying a sci-fi puzzle book?
As long as there was a consistent science fiction theme throughout, these books would be perfectly well on topic.
We've had other questions about puzzle books (typically of the CYOA variety) as well ...
- 627k
20
votes
Accepted
What is the proper recourse for bubble-burster comments?
Should these types of comments be flagged, addressed, or merely ignored?
If you feel that a comment is not constructive, flag it.
If a comment does not relate to improving the question or one of the ...
- 9,353
20
votes
Accepted
Is "The Rats of NIMH" series on topic?
The usual test is to look at conceit and marketing. Both of those heavily indicate that this book series is (science) fantasy, and hence on-topic
Central Conceit.
A group of rats has been subjected ...
- 627k
19
votes
Accepted
Are questions about Black Mirror on topic?
Black Mirror, of which I have watched every episode, deals with themes that are very much within the bailiwick of science-fiction.
It includes social, cultural and technological effects on societies ...
- 211k
19
votes
Translations of fictional languages to English
I see no reason to consider these questions undesireable:
They're not off-topic. These questions are asking about fictional languages from science fiction or fantasy contexts; that seems thoroughly ...
- 160k
19
votes
Accepted
Is Super Mario Bros on topic here?
Yes, Mario is on topic.
Plot, Man fights a dragon to save a princess, can shoot fireballs after eating a flower.
Magic exists, further proof.
- 65.6k
19
votes
Accepted
Are questions about sci-fi/fantasy shows viewership on-topic?
Behind-the-scenes questions are on-topic
This includes fandom information. There's no need to move these types of questions to M&TV as they're perfectly valid, on-topic and have precedence.
In ...
- 44.4k
19
votes
Accepted
Is it reasonable to ask about the meaning of phrases in a science-fiction work?
Why not?
In general, we accept questions about all aspects of sci-fi and fantasy works, including those that aren't directly related to the sci-fi or fantasy elements. See How should we handle ...
Rand al'ThorMod
- 132k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible