TMD's Creatively Named Blog

Super 8 is amazing.

Seconded.

 

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But really, I love this argument. Sci Fi is an amazing vehicle that can overtly address current issues better than any other genre.

Have you ever read Robert L. Forward's book Saturn Rukh? 'Cus ya should. Not to mention the short story (not by Forward) Before My Last Breath.

 

Seriously, you need to read them.

This reminds me, I need to see Super 8.

I haven't seen it, yet. To summarize my thoughts on this matter, science fiction tends towards the philosophic implications of a hypothetic scenario. While it can sometimes be simple entertainment, it gives people an instead, big, hyperbolic scenario to work with that explores ideas when taken to their natural extremes. There are certain thems that are very constant throughout science fiction, those often being questions on humanity's identity and so forth, but let's not focus on the classic questions in particular. The point is that in works such as Lord of the Rings and Star Trek, a fantasy is created to immediately capture the imagination and fill the story with color. Considering that the oldest forms of storytelling involve grand settings and conflicts or novel fairytale ideas, I would assume that these storytelling devices are okay, and science fiction is the contemporary form of fairytales.

 

Consider, by the way, what might just be the greatest movie ever made, Wizard of Oz. Back in the day, the book was by far a science fiction fairytale. Just consider the technology of the Emerald City and the titular character. Then, through the fantastic premise, it finds its theme in unique ways, and the archetypes of the characters come to light through the hyperboles. I have no criticism of authors who write life fiction, as this is necessary, but strong, bold examples of archetypes are also necessary in society. This is why we have Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Spiderman, Captain America, Iron Man, and a whole spectrum of other superheroes who create a pantheon of archetypes for immediate comparison, to bear the face and symbolize ideas for character and philosophy that can be continually explored.

 

This is what science fiction is. It takes the complications of the real world, simplifies them on their surface with a basic premise using contemporary fairytale elements such as robots, aliens, and new technologies, and it then reminds us that they're complicated, all the while maintaining a simple high concept pitch that makes a good prelude to the case the work presents.

 

As usual, I do not really relate with your contemporary examples in popular culture. I'm beginning to wonder who your target audience with these essay-rants is. Then again, that's a stupid question, since it's probably the majority of other BZP members.

 

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Kraggh, these posts are mirrored here from my 'proper' Essays, Not Rants! blog. For the most part, I write these mostly for myself or based on movies I know. This week's entry was almost based on Deadfall (which comes out this Friday) since we had a screening here at NYU yesterday (the writer graduated from here).

 

In any case, I figured Super 8 and Mass Effect are popular enough to resonate with most people. But ENR has from the get go been based on references I know.