tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5146259764837045872.post726263224759354799..comments2023-10-25T04:17:22.699-04:00Comments on Fantasy Cafe: By Special Request: War on Sci FiKristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01700004253248186101noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5146259764837045872.post-20217704149726666072009-11-03T13:15:34.193-05:002009-11-03T13:15:34.193-05:00I don't think this Spearhead guy is bugged so ...I don't think this Spearhead guy is bugged so much by stories that focus on character. Sci-Fi is pretty much meaningless if it doesn't explore how all these new possibilities will impact the people who live in these fantastic worlds.<br /><br />What I think bugs this guy is the Hollywood style focus on sex, and hormonally-driven romance and such. There is nothing more pedantic than rehashing a set of themes that already dominate other genres, have genres that are entirely their own and have been around for centuries. SciFi is about new ideas and new possibilities (that many works of so called "SciFi" fail this standard even without the romance is beside the point, thats a whole other problem.) <br /><br />That the guy chose to cast this as a case of "women ruining a man's genre" is unfortunate as most of the responses on other blogs focus on that and ignore the more valid point the guy is struggling in vain to make. I really appreciate this blog for catching that more valid point and actually responding to it, I found the response to be thoughtful and well considered.Spudlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15820493825324269165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5146259764837045872.post-82573848626901192962009-10-19T22:58:30.760-04:002009-10-19T22:58:30.760-04:00Great post. Very well thought out. I'm a suc...Great post. Very well thought out. I'm a sucker for girlie love stories so I have to say while the whole space odyssey of BSG was fun, I was riveted by Lee and Starbuck's relationship more than anything else. I probably wouldn't have been a fan without the intense character relationships.suzie townsendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04866855626210667678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5146259764837045872.post-75323141593509294062009-10-19T19:51:40.193-04:002009-10-19T19:51:40.193-04:00Orannia: the link to the original article is at th...Orannia: the link to the original article is at the beginning of my post.<br /><br />Annmariegamble: I'd certainly agree that the biosciences have gotten a lot more recognition in sci-fi lately, and I can see your point that this shift would prompt more personal narratives than the old physics-based raygun sci-fi. I don't think that would tell the whole story though; even sci-fi that doesn't deeply explore bioscience has become more interested in personal stories than it used to be. In addition to bioscience, though, I'd also say that sci-fi has also gotten more interested in social sciences lately, which might have a similar effect. (I'd differentiate between social sciences and the outright political content of, say, <i>1984</i>.)<br /><br />I'm sure that part of the driving force behind the change is also the search for new plots that you mention. I might question whether or not they're actually finding new plots in relationship drama (pretty much the oldest plot there is) but the combination with sci-fi is new-ish, at least. But I think it really comes down to the writing being a reflection of the culture. Golden Age sci-fi was mostly written in a very optimistic era where a lot of Western culture was buying into a dream of unlimited technological progress...better living through atomic energy and such, very black and white. The current culture doesn't think that way though; even if people still believe in continuous technological growth, the growth is thought to be complex with wider implications and unintended consequences (environmental movement, moral justice, economics, etc). In order to show those conflicts the literature had to become complex as well, introducing the sort of gray characters that require more depth to understand.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16377244696240401417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5146259764837045872.post-57899775614135497272009-10-19T17:40:09.430-04:002009-10-19T17:40:09.430-04:00Fascinating post - thank you! I'm going to hav...Fascinating post - thank you! I'm going to have to find the original article that set the internet aflame...yes, I have had my head in the sand of late :-)oranniahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14007355589161084262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5146259764837045872.post-64791668754047697742009-10-19T13:25:18.668-04:002009-10-19T13:25:18.668-04:00I don't think it's as simple as saying &qu...I don't think it's as simple as saying "it's gotten more character-focused"--or I think it's more accurate to say "it's gotten more inclusive of the biological sciences." Now, call me a biochemistry major, but some of the more mind-bending of modern scientific discoveries have come from biology--the physiology of memory, for example, or the mutability of DNA expression. There are certainly bot and borg storylines that come from such discoveries, but stories about altered personal interactions are a natch.<br /><br />Secondly, I've been watching some older sci fi TV shows, and I think perhaps the changes are only a quest for <i>new</i> storylines, not girlie influences: the old classics look a little dated, or at least, no longer new. How many times do we hash over the possibilities of near-light-speed travel or parallel universes before we move on to other developments? Warp drive, I get it, what else is this show about?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com