Books/stories/movies by main "theme"

fabrice4

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Is there around a classification of stories by main concept/theme like:
DREAM: Inception, Dreamscape, Wakinglife etc
MATRIX like, "we live in a simulation": a few I forgot names, a korean one,
TIME TWEAKING: deja vu, futureworld , looper(movie)
BODY SNATCHER like


etc
 
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Wiki has themes:
The links go to lists of novels.
Because of the linked format it is not always definitive with lists of novels.

Not broken down well

They all have their own lists of themes so they might miss what you want.

when I do searches I often end up here.

here is an old discussion from this forum


If you get creative you can get goodreads to behave sometimes

still no dream cat

I'm still searching for an old link I had to a site that had Science Fiction broken down into specific themes.
 
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Most lists are by Genre and that might easily exclude what you call theme.

sorry but what do you mean by "genre"?

what I called here theme is, as i tried to explain, the subject/concept, the main "thing" around which the book/movie/narration is centered:
- alien invasion
- ecological disaster
- controlled dream-world (ex: nidra yoga/inception, dreamscape etc)
- world not being exactly "real" we are a simulation or hologram or being some god's dream etc (matrix ...)
- hard tech from Vernes to Campbell

etc etc
 
"Genre" is usually defined as a category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter. For instance, romance, thriller, mystery, science fiction, fantasy, horror, western, etc. Although according to some approaches the categories are broader: poetry, fiction, non-fiction. Sometimes, these days, science fiction, fantasy, and horror are considered to together make up a genre called speculative fiction. But each branch of speculative fiction is so broad and various that there are also "sub-genres." Steampunk, cyberpunk, space opera, etc. etc. etc. High Fantasy, epic fantasy, urban fantasy, etc. etc. etc.

However, most of what you have listed as themes, fabrice4, are actually premises. Theme is related to the underlying meaning of a story ("capitalism is inherently destructive,""the effects of childhood trauma can last a lifetime," "we must save the Earth before it is too late," "prejudice dehumanizes us all," and so forth, but a theme doesn't have to be a message, just an exploration of some specific aspect of the human experience) and the same theme can turn up in stories of vastly different genres with vastly different premises.

I only point this out because if you want to search out lists of stories united by a certain something, you have to know the generally agreed on definition or accepted word for what that something is. You seem to be looking for a list of science fiction stories grouped by premise.
 
TV Tropes might be of interest. Here's a link to their Dream Tropes page, which further subdivides and from there provides some examples.
 
"Genre" is usually defined as a category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter. For instance, romance, thriller, mystery, science fiction, fantasy, horror, western, etc. Although according to some approaches the categories are broader: poetry, fiction, non-fiction. Sometimes, these days, science fiction, fantasy, and horror are considered to together make up a genre called speculative fiction. But each branch of speculative fiction is so broad and various that there are also "sub-genres." Steampunk, cyberpunk, space opera, etc. etc. etc. High Fantasy, epic fantasy, urban fantasy, etc. etc. etc.

However, most of what you have listed as themes, fabrice4, are actually premises. Theme is related to the underlying meaning of a story ("capitalism is inherently destructive,""the effects of childhood trauma can last a lifetime," "we must save the Earth before it is too late," "prejudice dehumanizes us all," and so forth, but a theme doesn't have to be a message, just an exploration of some specific aspect of the human experience) and the same theme can turn up in stories of vastly different genres with vastly different premises.

I only point this out because if you want to search out lists of stories united by a certain something, you have to know the generally agreed on definition or accepted word for what that something is. You seem to be looking for a list of science fiction stories grouped by premise.


thanks

So where can I find a better classification than the ones given (thanks for the effort)


me no engliss spiker

no joke, really thanks
 
TV Tropes is the only place I can think of off the top of my head, and wagtail has already mentioned that. (It does mention as many books as television shows and movies, if I remember correctly.) Maybe others will have some other suggestions. Otherwise, you might have to go through the premises that interest you one-by-one and Google a request for information. That would be time-consuming, so maybe someone will know of a place where many are compiled together.
 
I did see a Library in East London that had ordered all their fiction books in this sub-subgenre thematic way, rather than the more usual genre sectional way, and I found it an interesting idea. Sorry, I've forgotten exactly where it was now. I've also forgotten the categories they used now, but it did make you stop and think. I'm sure it made people pick up books that they wouldn't have otherwise, and they must have loaned more books out because of it. In a retail bookshop, however, I'd much rather they arranged books by authors, alphabetically. Trying to decide which corner of which floor of the shop to go to, depending on whether it is "new", "science fiction", "fantasy", or "general fiction" book, really annoys me. This is because I usually go with the intention of buying a specific book already. I expect that if I was just browsing (and drinking coffee from the coffee shops these bookshops seem to always have now) well, then a thematic classification might be a good idea. These high street bookshops have to compete with online retailers, but they will always be at a disadvantage, because online you can both search for a specific book or author, or you can also follow the "if you liked x then you may like y" links. The high street bookshop cannot order their books to please everyone.
 
I did see a Library in East London that had ordered all their fiction books in this sub-subgenre thematic way, rather than the more usual genre sectional way, and I found it an interesting idea. Sorry, I've forgotten exactly where it was now. I've also forgotten the categories they used now, but it did make you stop and think. I'm sure it made people pick up books that they wouldn't have otherwise, and they must have loaned more books out because of it. In a retail bookshop, however, I'd much rather they arranged books by authors, alphabetically. Trying to decide which corner of which floor of the shop to go to, depending on whether it is "new", "science fiction", "fantasy", or "general fiction" book, really annoys me. This is because I usually go with the intention of buying a specific book already. I expect that if I was just browsing (and drinking coffee from the coffee shops these bookshops seem to always have now) well, then a thematic classification might be a good idea. These high street bookshops have to compete with online retailers, but they will always be at a disadvantage, because online you can both search for a specific book or author, or you can also follow the "if you liked x then you may like y" links. The high street bookshop cannot order their books to please everyone.


Thanks
 
TV Tropes is the only place I can think of off the top of my head, and wagtail has already mentioned that. (It does mention as many books as television shows and movies, if I remember correctly.) Maybe others will have some other suggestions. Otherwise, you might have to go through the premises that interest you one-by-one and Google a request for information. That would be time-consuming, so maybe someone will know of a place where many are compiled together.


thanks

My interest lays in finding stimulating "premises" or "universe concepts" ... some SF writers made a better job at seeing and interpreting the world than the vast majority of pompous socio-economic PhD

tv tropes ... I must have missed it in the posts (y)
 
Foreword: in quotes terms that I am not very sure of

I find the "theme" "premise etc stuff very interesting

As you told before "premise" is the "frame" into which the story happens ... but it could actually be the main "subject"/focus while the "story" could just be the mean to present the "premise" ... "nothing new on the western front" while telling soldiers stories is nothing more than a presentation of war, contrary to "Iliade" where the cukhold revenge and Achilles wrath are the the center, despite the war description is appalling in its violence

Here the will of the author is opposite

Has anybody made a "premise" x "story/plot" classification?

thanks

I like structures
 

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