Poll: Subject study; The explained or the inexplicable?

[Firia]

I've been noticing a bit of a trend with some games, and movies, in relation with comments and observations I see in relation to them. Specifically, the use of the occult, interchangeable with science fiction. (For use of this topic, I will be drawing from Silent Hill, and some movies, but it's not about these games or movies.)

When it comes to the strange, unusual, and the unexplainable, movies these days point to science fiction. Take vampire movies; Blade, Underworld, and other popular vampire movies draw on science to explain the origin of their damnation. While older vampire movies used occult myths to generally explain what's going on. But is this preferable?

In a recent Zero Punctuation review of Silent Hill Shattered Memories, [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1651-Silent-Hill-Shattered-Memories] Yahtzee mentions that one selling point of the game was that they cut the whole cult aspect from the game (while I haven't played the game, I think it's safe to say they did not replace the occult with sci-fi... unless the whole thing was in Harrys mind. Shhhh, no spoilers). A friend of mine seems to prefer explained logic over existentialism. In fact, the more I look, the more I find I seem to be alone in my preference for the occult element rather than the sci-fi vampire. (Really? A radical and rare virus is the reason you are ageless and require blood? For crying out loud....)

(If you wanted to go further, in Silent Hill Homecoming, the game has the occult element but has the audacity to explain everything by the end. In Silent Hill 1, you beat the game only to have 50 questions pursed on your lips, and no way to answer them. I think this is a part of the series success that straying from has attributed to the decline of the franchise over the years. But that's another topic for another thread in another section of the forums. It just means that even with the occult, you can explain everything quite nicely.)

 

[Firia]

It would seem even a topic about the occult has a similar effect.

 

[Pimppeter2]

Well yesm, this trend is showing up.

I guess its the cause of a mix of a western world that is no longer very spiritual or devout, and a mix of the rise of science becoming a more accepted.

However, if I had to be honest, I would say that its mostly on the behalf of lazy story writing. Want vampires in a modern setting, but too lazy to write lore on them? Bam, Vaccine gone wrong.

 

[Nickolai77]

I'm not entirely sure what your post is asking, but i'll go with what your asking in the second paragraph: Does one prefer a sci-fi or a super-natural "magic" explanation for mythical creatures?

I personally like a blend between mystical magic and science fiction, however my main irk with magic in fiction is that it often lacks a rational (in a fictional sense) explanation.

For instance, i have a fictional universe (ok, technically it's a multi-verse) inside my head from which i draw inspiration from to do creative writing. In this universe there are mages, or wizards (call them what you will) who's magic works by using their psychic will-power to alter the fabric of reality, essentially their mind is powerful enough to alter physical forces. This is because i don't like taking magic for granted. "How does that broomstick float?" one may ask, i would not be satisfied with the answer "Oooh, it's magic", as if magic is some kind of ineffible end-all explnation to everything. Call me fussy, but i just don't like magic being used as some sort of answer in itself.

Also, what's the scientific backing for vampires in Under-World? It's been a while since i've watched the films, but don't recall anything "sciency" about their origins.