03-30-2012, 04:53 PM | #166 | |
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I see it as the former: Princesses, Galactic Lords, Good vs. Evil, ie Star Wars. I can so see Leia in a Valkyrie helmet doing an aria. You seem to see it as the latter: light melodrama, but the western association, I don't get....maybe you associate it with "Grand Ol' Opry?" ApK Last edited by ApK; 03-30-2012 at 04:57 PM. |
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03-30-2012, 04:57 PM | #167 |
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Whedon took the idea of "Space Western" and created something in Firefly that was so on-the-nose, you'd think he was going over the top to make fun of the idea, but instead he essentially simultaneously redefined the term and created the epitome of the genre.
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03-30-2012, 08:52 PM | #168 |
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03-31-2012, 03:01 AM | #169 | |||
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Tsk, tsk. Sweeping judgements make the baby Jesus cry... |
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03-31-2012, 03:28 AM | #170 |
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whether its positive or pessimistic we need more real science fiction out there in the market place. period.
other than a handful of established names keeping the faith, much of what passes for 'science fiction' on store shelves isn't much more than fan fiction inspired by the Halo video games. and far too many newer authors would rather write yet another zombie novel than get into the sf field. imo it's mainly the indies/smaller presses carrying the hard sf genre now and if it weren't for them it would be pretty much dead. Last edited by xg4bx; 03-31-2012 at 03:32 AM. |
03-31-2012, 09:47 AM | #171 |
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Wow, this thread is really making me want to turn my hand to writing some SF.
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03-31-2012, 10:27 AM | #172 |
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When the "sweeping judgements" are based on 15 years of observing the fandom, they make no one cry - except those who realize they are actually included in the judgement.
Given that Space Marine SF's been around since at least 1959's "Starship Troopers" and became permanently entrenched as a sci-fi staple with 1986's "Aliens", I really doubt Halo's inspired much new work, even with the latest generation. Last edited by JD Gumby; 03-31-2012 at 10:32 AM. |
03-31-2012, 11:34 AM | #173 |
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Sorry, coming late to the thread, but was intrigued by the subject. I just finished reading Hamilton's Pandora's Star and was thinking about this exact thing. It made me think of Snowcrash and how extremely different their two visions of the future were.
Both are very popular with large readerships, but are the same people reading both? Do the same people who love optimistic SF also love cyberpunk? I'm thinking back to the friends who first turned me to Stephenson. At least with them, they did not read other SF. Other suggestions from them were things like, Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian. Talk about pessimistic. I have to say, I loved Hamiton's view of the future. I think the point of the article was spot on - you need a hopeful outlook on the future, just to keep going. You need a commonly accepted road map of the future, and it has to be something that people want to build towards. If all you see is darkness ahead, what the point. Snowcrash on the other hand, was excellent in the ways Blood Merrian. Its a voice of warning, showing you what you definitely do not want. I wouldn't want my kids growing up in the world of Snowcrash. And the point seemed to be, if we as a society keep doing this and this, then logically it will lead to a future america that looks like this. I mean, we already have a floating island of trash in the pacific. So Stephenson isn't extrapolating that far. I think, in the end, both authors have a similar view of what they'd like the future to look like. I think they're just looking at different aspects of the problem in getting us there. |
03-31-2012, 02:43 PM | #174 | |
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SF could use an infusion of new and inspirational ideas; in many areas, it's getting bogged down by the same themes, being handled the same way. Dystopia is one of those areas, thematically simple and in need of development into something more realistic. Last edited by Steven Lyle Jordan; 03-31-2012 at 02:47 PM. |
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03-31-2012, 03:20 PM | #175 | ||
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(like firefly did for space westerns imho) Quote:
Speaking of post-apocalyptic dystopia, Steve, Hunger Games depressed me too much, so Kestral is now up. It better have a happy ending! |
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03-31-2012, 03:25 PM | #176 |
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I believe that even the pessimistic SF is quite likely a little too optimistic. If, as it seems likely, we run out of oil in the next few decades then every part of modern civilisation collapses. I suspect even the concept of SF will just become a distant memory. Not only will we have no energy, we'll have no food or any way to transport what food there is. What's worse is we'll then have a global population of 9 billion. Before oil the planet only used to be able to support 1-2 billion which means we'll likely have to loose 7 billion people. I'm guessing that won't be pretty.
The sad thing is that all this is likely to occur in my lifetime (just). In my old age I'm not expecting to be admiring the stars from the surface of Mars, I'm expecting I'll be foraging for a living here on Earth |
03-31-2012, 03:35 PM | #177 | |
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Or maybe we'll find sufficient other sources of energy to survive and thrive. |
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03-31-2012, 03:47 PM | #178 |
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03-31-2012, 03:51 PM | #179 | |
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Also, too, for an audience of a certain political persuasion, the "Space Marines go in and solve everything through superior firepower" is a comforting meme that they like hearing over and over again . |
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03-31-2012, 05:34 PM | #180 |
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