Obviously we are aware of the genre of fiction. Or science fiction for that matter. Or superhero comics, or supernatural stories, and so on. So my point wasn't that e.g. vampire fiction doesn't exist or isn't interesting to writers and reader.
But nothing in the genre of fiction is really about the impossible. That is just metaphor and plot device for what was, is, or can be.
If there's a superhero with laser eyes and super-strength, it's not about the superhero, but about the idea of heroism, the responsibility of power, the connections with people, the repercusions of actions, and so on. It's the connection with the existing and the possible that makes it interesting.
The non-realistic part is just background.
The background is just (literally) a backdrop. Which is why you can set Romeo and Juliet in 20th century America, or Antigone in space - as many have done, and the heart of the work is still there just fine.
Precisely what makes it art is the background though.
> The background is just (literally) a backdrop. Which is why you can set Romeo and Juliet in 20th century America, or Antigone in space - as many have done, and the heart of the work is still there just fine.
Yeah, and I even told you what the heart is.
No, that's just the decoration on the dish that is art. The nutritional value and the test is in the core. The artisty is in the expression and observation and relatedness, not in the the backdrop.
Also, objective impossible is wildly different from any individual subjective one.