Diverse Position Science Fiction

For this week, I read Octavia Butler’s Bloodchild with the rest of the class and I found it to be quite interesting and a bit weird. Octavia Butler really changes the game with this work and shows us a different kind of future where it’s the men (like seahorses) who are bearing nonhuman children- not just how advanced technology has become. Sometimes just hearing about technology can become a bit boring. Our class discussion was similar to an in-class experiment due to the nature of men bearing children because some of the guys seemed appalled and uncomfortable talking about it. They just couldn’t wrap their heads around it. Octavia Butler addresses love, gender roles, stereotypes, and even though she may not have meant to- slavery came up in the class discussion for a reason. Humans/Terrans are at the Tlic’s personal and physical mercy and kept on preserves, which has many direct ties to slavery and politics. However, it’s not about slavery, it’s about symbiosis. The aliens, Tlic, lay their eggs inside the human men because they are good carriers. Human women are not being used for this process because they are used to reproduce humans, not Tlic. It was a really odd story, a giant, alien insect loving a human and carefully placing their eggs inside a man. We are so accustomed to aliens wanting to kill us, like how the Tlic and humans/Terrans used to be at war. Gan, one of the main characters, sees some humans/Terrans being killed by the Tlic and becomes terrified. I didn’t feel like there was much resolution in this story. We were all kind of left sitting there like…. what just happened?

I had never seen Attack the Block (2012) before and it was on the fence for me until it started making me laugh. The way humor is incorporated is a real game changer, because it still had me jumping. Some parts of the movie are really suspenseful and there was a moment where I felt like I levitated out of my seat in class because of a scene. The basic plot is that London-based gang of adolescent boys and a young woman attempt to protect their community from an alien invasion. The alliance between them in unlikely, especially after they terrorize her on the street and mug her. When something falls from the sky the boys are distracted and she is able to escape. She is terrified of them until they all realize that they need each other for one reason or another. Of course the gang goes to see what it was and kill the creature so they can make some money off of it. Eventually larger, more dangerous aliens fall from the sky and begin attacking the community. Their mouths glow an electric turquoise color and their bodies are deep black. Cops and gangsters are at war with the aliens, making quite a mess. I was pleased that it didn’t end with an unnecessary love scene, like most action movies. The movie does a great job of talking about marginal social issues, the future and possibilities, while still making us laugh and jump.

Cyberpunk and Steampunk

I enjoy the analog nature of the Steampunk genre and have a lot of friends who do as well. Steampunk is a sub-genre/derivative of Cyberpunk. Steampunk is not only a genre but has become so popular within certain circles that it even has it’s own code of lifestyle: fashion, music, decoration, craftmanship, etc. It is not so much concerned with computer-based settings, but is still a distinct relative of Cyberpunk. It’s dark, retro, and nostalgic, blending the past and future. Steampunk is more industrial, although Victorian-inspired, with steam-based technology, hence the name. It has been said that Steampunk is more of an aesthetic-genre whereas Cyberpunk is a concept-genre. In class we discussed the similarities and differences between these genres, pointing out the fact that there were generally megacorporations involved. Cyberpunk is generally a mix between high-tech and lowlife, like Blade Runner (1982). Blade Runner is a also a good example where the megacorporation controls the world, and the human replicants are being hunted. The Matrix is an example of hackers in a virtual cityscape, clearly representing the high-tech life. I like both genres but prefer the element of surprise with Steampunk. It takes current or future technology and combines it with the charm of an antique. Steampunk society generally deals with low-tech and high morals.

We began watching Blade Runner in class so I really wanted to finish it when I got home. It is definitely a Cyberpunk film, where man has developed technology to create replicants (human clones) used to serve in the colonies outside Earth. They have fixed life spans. Dickered is a Blade Runner, cop who specializes in terminating replicants. The film begins with him going into retirement. There are four replicants on the loose and he decides to go back to work. In a cyberpunk vision of the future, man has developed the technology to create replicants, human clones used to serve in the colonies outside Earth but with fixed lifespans. In Los Angeles, 2019, Deckard is a Blade Runner, a cop who specializes in terminating replicants. Originally in retirement, he is forced to re-enter the force when four replicants escape from an off-world colony to Earth.

Fiction of Ideas

Accelerando is a very complicated piece of work, at least it is for me. It is packed with details to the point where I begin to get lost in the actual story. Perhaps the complex style of writing in combination with the title, which means “speeding up,” represents more than what meets the eye. The material is described in such an advanced technological way that I have to reread it several times to digest it; the technological singularity is overwhelming. Humanity is literally speeding up, becoming posthuman. Many of the characters are nonhuman, which makes it difficult to understand their social structure. The story follows a character named Manfred Macx, his daughter, Amber, and later her son, Sirhan, through three stages of the technological singularity, which I find interesting because it’s basically three generations of experience of one event. This was the most difficult of all genres for me to dive into. I wasn’t a fan of the movies either. This is definitely a story for those who can’t wait to upload themselves to a server and live in a super-techie world. It doesn’t seem to be a happy ending, how could it really? How much is too much? How far will technology go to impact the economy? I suppose I’m a firm believer in “everything in moderation.”

Science Fiction Parody and Satire

I’m listening to “I Think We’re All Bozos on this Bus” and my dogs are going crazy, hearing the howling noises, squeaks and people singing. It’s a nice added touch, ha.

“The future is fun! The future is fair! You may have already won! .. You may already be there!”

This audio piece is incredibly disorienting for me because it’s so overwhelming, obscure and multi-layered. It was difficult for me to appreciate but nevertheless I stayed with it until the end. It’s very political, using former President Richard Nixon’s voice (or similar), which ends up shutting down the computer because it can’t answer Clem’s questions. An overlay of voices (bozos) begin addressing “The President” and when he is asked about “Dr. Memory” he begins stuttering and rambling, unable to string together a sentence or phrase without the words scattering like a broken necklace, falling apart piece by piece. The robot voices begin taking over, talking about defying gravity and taking advantage of the future. When I read a review about this audio piece someone had stated that Clem’s character is one of the first “computer hackers” mentioned in pop culture, which I found rather fascinating. I thought back to when this was made, 1971, a few years after William Mathews from MIT found a vulnerability running on an IBM 7094. Hackers weren’t widely known of. Today, hackers are stealing hundreds of millions of dollars, identities, passwords, and other confidential information. That certainly didn’t take long– which brings me to my next point– that was only 43 years ago! The audio piece really made me think about the future of science, politics, and pop culture. I enjoyed the humor in certain parts (ex: around 15:00 when the narrator is reading something and keeps making errors, ex: tit, oops opps that’s a “p”..tip).

I decided to try a few audio clips from “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” while I cooked dinner. I found these clips much more accessible (for me). Humanity-related humor in a British accent.. perfect. To explain the image above (“Don’t panic and carry a towel”)- it simply means that if you have your towel, you are in control. Basically, if you can struggle and endure the rocky road across the galaxy on your own, still in possession of your towel- you are in control.

“Do you really think the world is going to end?”

“Yes. In 1 minute and 35 seconds.”

“Is there anything we can do?

“No, nothing.”

“What if we put a paper bag over our heads or something?”

“If you’d like, yes.”

“Oh, will that help?”

“No.”

Mythic Fiction

I have always loved Coraline for the ‘life lessons’ that happen to be packed into the parallel-reality adventure. I’ve been really crunched for time due to personal family troubles, so I had to opt out of Ananzi Boys but I plan on reading it over Thanksgiving break. So, Coraline it is! I always find something new in it every time I read it or watch it. Coraline is a young girl who moves with her parents to an old house with very quirky neighbors. She feels entirely neglected from her parents and finds herself and her imagination on these little adventures, exploring and fantasizing. “Be careful what you wish for” is a huge message in this story. The house has it’s own secrets, luring Coraline into an idealized world where her “perfect parents” have buttons for eyes and let her do as she pleases. The games never end and her imagination never settles. Caroline truly loves her family, despite their flaws and faults but she isn’t aware of that affection until she’s about to lose them. When her fake parents try to trick her into staying in this alternate world, asking her to sew in her own button eyes, she realizes who she would rather be with. She always dreamed of finding a better, more exciting world but once her “Other Mother” kidnaps her real parents she knows it’s too good to be true. Coraline saves her parents and the three ghost children from the “Other World.” When she escapes, she slams her fake mother’s hand in the door. Her parents have no memory of the events but Coraline is warned that the “Other Mother” is still after her for the key to open the door between the two worlds. She tricks the “Other Mother’s” severed hand and it falls down a well. The book and movie are pretty close to being in tune with each other, although in the animated film Coraline has blue hair and the character, Wybie is added. I can relate to this story because I was once a teenager and wanted a different family. I ended up leaving home when I was only 16 and moved across the country. I supported myself and graduated high school but never fully understood or appreciated certain aspects of my family until they were out of my everyday life. Today my mother is my best friend and my latest photography projects revolves around trying to heal the relationship with my brother (www.kathryneharrison.com, if you’d like to look). Coraline is every teenager or young person struggling with their own identity, feeling out of place and wanting attention- someone to be there and want them. The simple desire to be wanted but not realizing that you already are. Like Coraline, I had to untangle myself from the web of confusion about what I truly wanted and needed in order to fight for it.

Literary Speculation

The most obvious symbols I found in the story relate to rites of passage, the differences between generations, stereotyping, personal transformation/self-realization, life lessons, and a few philosophical metaphors (ex: “But don’t you know it’s always better to hunt on the bottom and not on the surface?..”) Sometimes I have a hard time getting into stories and always searching for some other meaning behind what is written or the story being told. In the example I just listed, I was reading and immediately stopped in thought. To me it relates to searching within yourself and not attaching oneself too much to the surface or material world. In the story the great-uncle is answering a question that he has no idea about due to his position of being a fish while the main character is on land and hunts on shore. The great-uncle is always arguing that living the ancient and aquatic life he does is far superior. He rejects change.

I connected with this story in several ways, from fearing my significant other would judge me based off my family or heritage, to how I want to live my life and knowing what I want. I’m not an aquatic creature or have paws so I had to take those out of the equation. “I went on my way, in the midst of the world’s transformations, I transformed myself.” Perhaps I’m finding these connections due to my own baggage of being in my mid-twenties and let’s face it, almost everything is subjective. I am seeing what I am expecting, seeking a connection. This quote in the story really hit home for me because we are always in a state of flux, of evolution- physically, mentally, emotionally. The world doesn’t stop spinning because we don’t want to get out of bed in the morning, or because our fiancee ran off with our great-fish-uncle in the lagoon. The main character seems to be “ok” about the love of his life leaving him and not so worried about what to do now even though he didn’t want to introduce her to him because of a social class issue (her family was more evolved, more sophisticated). Talk about a backfire- she wanted to learn how to breathe underwater and bring more fish into the world.

I could definitely see this story being an animation or adapted into a trailer-length-film or short film and adapt the characters to actual people, like of like the Once Upon a Time television series.

When it comes down to writing for a genre, I would think that it’s possible to incorporate several elements, similar to how all of these subgenres are emerging. I think it should be free to open up the mind to new avenues, even if I have a hard time understanding. Sometimes I feel like we are running out of material and stories to tell because everything has been done so far. Sometimes a new spin or twist on a story will come around and we are begging for more. Deciding what goes where in the genre world these days can be quite complicated, I’m sure. We have come to accept that certain elements will automatically define a genre and that’s where I see trouble. We expect what we get, forgetting what we are experiencing through the work.

 

Space Opera

Space Opera is definitely one of those genres that I didn’t know much about before this class. My entire immediate family is obsessed with films and books in this category of entertainment, which is perhaps why I avoided it. It never really seemed believable to me and I couldn’t let go of trying to understand how any of it was possible, from spaceships and super-advanced technology, to robots and aliens- I wanted proof. But of course I had no trouble believing in fairytales or princesses, or even animals that could talk. To be honest I’m not sure what kept me away from this genre all my life, but now that I’m required to investigate it I have found a way to break to down- romance and adventure in outer space. Having never watched any of the Star Wars or Star Trek series, I decided  to indulge. My mom was terribly obsessed with Star Trek and I just remember how many times I would wander into the living room or her bedroom to cuddle up and watch a movie with her and I would have to leave because it was always on! Ha.. So, I gave Star Wars (the original from 1977) a chance and this is what I think…

Luke Skywalker is the protagonist and if he and his uncle never bought the escaped/missing droids R2D2 and C3P0 the story would never have escalated or began. Once those droids were in possession,  the plot evolves, the tension heightens and the characters begin to develop. The droid R2D2 escapes in search of Obi-Wan Kenobi, which is when Luke saves the droids and actually meets his mentor. Then his aunt and uncle, the people who have raised him and looked after him, were killed. This heartbreak threw Luke into a rage to destroy the Death Star and return the droids to Princess Leia, although they are not aware that she is being held prisoner. At first Luke didn’t want to get involved in any adventure because he feared the wrath of his uncle and wanted to obey, but once he and his aunt were killed and home destroyed, Luke became engaged. He had stumbled upon viewing Princess Leia in a virtual file stored in R2D2. His desire to destroy the Empire grows and he wants to leave the planet. He battles forces and droids but eventually leaves in charter, guided by Han Solo, finding out that the rebel headquarters they were going to has been blown up. They are brought on board the Death Star and form a plan to rescue Princess Leia and give the information to the rebel forces.

Luke counts on Obi-Wan Kenobi to mentor him and guide him through this quest, but when Obi-Wan battles Darth Vader he is killed. There is a huge, epic space battle and eventually rescue the Princess and escape. They arrive at the rebel base and deliver the information. Luke and his flaky friend Han Solo drop a bomb on the air conditioning duct which blows up the Death Star. Boom. Mission accomplished.

The main conflict I see in this is between a good force and an evil force. Even when you’re stuck between making a tough decision and an easy choice (doing something right or wrong), it’s best to sacrifice and be honest. Truth and loyalty always prevail, and we aren’t given clear, direct paths in life. Sometimes we have to untangle the pieces to the puzzle to figure out what is the answer to sticky situations and in return we become more grateful for the journey we encountered and endured.

Spiritual Education

I was wondering how long it would take to bring up Harry Potter in this class, haha! When I was going through orientation at Ringling College, I was scolded (playfully) by students and faculty for never having read the Harry Potter books. Then I was lectured endlessly for the past three years for never watching any of the films. I’m in that odd age group that was just a little too old/busy to get interested when it first came out, and then just never took the time to invest in them. So, this is my week to watch some of the movies and give the Brits a shot. I’m sure our class discussion will be full of big eyes and jaws on the floor. One thing, I am soooo happy the cast remains mostly the same throughout all of the films- huge relief!

Side note: I still cannot get over the fact that our only college sport at Ringling is quidditch. Isn’t it weird running around with a broom between your legs? Hopefully I don’t get stoned to death in class for saying such nonsense.

Looks like it hurts, no?

Okay, here we go. Since I am juggling multiple projects and papers I can’t watch all of the films but I plan on watching:

1) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, 2001, and then skip ahead to..

2) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, 2009

3) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, 2010

4) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, 2011

That’s 581 minutes, or 9.6 hours– AKA a full dose of Potter.. My tribute to the class!

So, here we go… The first movie begins setting up Harry Potter as a lonely kid, appearing to not fit in with his family and hated by his only living relatives, the Dursley’s. His bedroom is under the stairs and he has no freedom or privacy. On his 11th birthday he receives a letter but he isn’t allowed to have it. The letter is an invitation to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and eventually the magic fills the house with letters. A giant named Hagrid visits Harry and informs him of his destiny, basically, and how he is coined a hero. Soon he begins school and befriends Ron and Hermione, and the three become inseparable. The stories really educate children on friendship and loyalty, instilling values in girls and boys on behavior, intellect, karma, judgement, and respect. I think the series bring up several life lessons, especially that judgements won’t help you and you must learn to let them go and experience. Quidditch is the sport at Hogwarts and Harry becomes the youngest player in over a century. The three young wizards encounter a few mysteries over the year but they believe a professor is trying to steal the Sorcerer’s Stone from a hidden place in the school, which is when they try to intercept and Harry has to fight Voldemort (the wizard that killed his parents and tried to kill Harry as a baby). The year ends and Harry returns to the awful Dursley’s for the summer.

(I actually watched all of the movies but for the sake of time I will continue writing only about the four movies listed above..)

In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince it’s Harry’s sixth year at Hogwarts, a great deal of time has passed and he seems to have matured. He has fallen in love with Ron’s sister, Ginny. We learn of the death of Sirius Black and his relentlessness to kill Voldemort. Harry doesn’t stay the full summer with the Dursley’s due to an unexpected visit from Dumbledore. Dumbledore needs Harry to help convince Slughorn to return to Hogwarts. When he arrives at Hogwarts he finds out he was made the team captain for quidditch. This year is solely focused on working one-on-one with Dumbledore, learning all he needs to know to defeat the Dark Lord. When the Half-Blood Prince’s book appears it changes Harry’s perspective on spells and he even begins using them outside of class, which creates tension between him and Hermione. Hermione doesn’t like it and there is a lot going on within the school. Malfoy is up to no good and Harry believes he is up to something dark involving the Death Eaters. Eventually Malfoy sneak the Death Eaters into Hogwarts once Harry and Dumbledore leave on a mission to destroy parts of Voldemort’s soul. When Harry and Dumbledore return, Snape sadly kills Dumbledore, which sets Harry off. He is more driven than ever to destroy any remaining piece of Voldemort, so the trio (Harry, Ron, and Hermione) decide to go together after they say one final goodbye to Dumbledore.

And now we reach the Deathly Hallows, the final journey to defeat Voldemort..

Harry knows what he needs to do by now, and he must destroy all of the horcruxes that contain Voldemort’s soul. He puts the Dursley’s in hiding so the Death Eaters won’t torture them for information, which shows Harry’s character despite all of the hardship he encountered with them. Once the three set off on the quest, they realize how unprepared they are and they discover news about Dumbledore’s past that creates doubt. Harry is caught between believing the words of his mentor and those of what could be the dark truth. Going without necessary resources, such as food and water, naturally the three start to break down. Ron and Harry get into a blowout fight, resulting in Ron leaving, which means he not only left Harry but also left Hermione behind. Harry and Hermione are heartbroken at Ron’s betrayal but continue moving forward. They get caught up by Voldemort and almost die in battle, which is when Harry breaks his wand. Soon enough Ron returns and saves Harry’s life, which is probably the only way he could’ve been forgiven. The three learn of the trio of magical objects called the Deathly Hallows and that if someone posses all three, they would become a master of death. While Harry has been learning about Dumbledore’s past he has to decide what to believe, and choose what to do with that information. He realizes that he must sacrifice his own life to save everyone else and to defeat Voldemort. When he does, he meets Dumbledore in death. During their conversation Harry is given two options: stay in death or return and fight. Well, he’s come this far- it would only make sense that he goes back to fight. This part of the story truly shows Harry’s heroism and strength, his loyalty and goodwill. Eventually Harry defeats Voldemort once and for all! All it took was one final spell… 4,195 pages later (US edition).

Over the course of this journey of mine in completing the Harry Potter series, I’ve learned many things. I’ve discovered that you have to be persistent, determined and motivated to accomplish what you want; and that all you need to do is decide what you want, and then you’ll learn how to get it. Coming from a typical dysfunctional American home, I can relate to Harry and Hermione the most. Choosing who to keep close to you and what is important to you become life-long decisions. It’s easy to get caught up in the stress of daily deadlines, relationships, work, family, drama, a social life, health, etc., but our choices to overcome and push on are what give us strength in the end. “Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it.”–Dumbledore.

“The things we lose have a way of coming back to us in the end- if not always in the way we expect.” — Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Fantasy Life/Heroic Journey

This type of genre I find interesting for many reasons, but most importantly how it affects the psyche and sparks imagination in its audience. It creates a world for you to escape to, to believe in, to want to be in.. it is so calculated in every detail of creation that the unknown is truly an adventure. In The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, he shapes every single aspect of the story but still keeps some of the things we know like dragons and goblins. Hobbits are his specialty, his creation- like Frankenstein’s monster. This world is full of adventure, mystery, and complex situations, always enticing the audience to keep going. Middle-earth is another world with its own mythologies, people, creatures, terrain, etc. The basic plot goes like this, the home-loving hobbit, Bilbo Baggins takes off on an episodic-quest for treasure, which is guarded by a dragon.

Fantasy has a way of unlocking the mind, numbing reality, and allowing the audience to engage in the story. Our society has shifted, and most of the developed world has become emotionally detached from others. Escapism and fantasy have become our best friends, it has become our condition. We read these stories, play those games, watch these movies, and we criticize the other worlds as if they were our own. We attach ourselves to this alternate universe and liberate ourselves from whatever is fueling our desire to escape. Perhaps the genre has rooted itself so deeply into our culture because we desperately want to understand what is going on in our own lives but can’t quite grasp it. Fantasy is like religion, something you will never be able to actually touch or feel but something in another “space.” It’s something you choose to either believe in or not, quite often it’s fantasy or religion. The heroic journey is an adventure that we wish we could take on and explore. It’s a journey of self-discovery, filling the gap between knowledge, reality, and experience. Tolkien does this extremely well, knowing the limits and taking risks where allowed.

Sometimes stepping away from reality can give us a safe place to retreat to, but sometimes it can consume us. I think we all have a tendency to believe that there is more than what’s in front of us, there’s gotta be something else. Some people get caught up in sci-fi, some in time travel, others in fantasy or religion- whatever it may be, we obviously want more. But then I wonder about mythologies- even back to when Mayans believed in gods of rain and sun, etc. Is it human nature to fabricate beliefs? Do we build these stories to entertain ourselves? Guide others? Instruct younger generations? I suppose this could explode into hundreds or thousands of different points and perspectives so it’s a little overwhelming to try to break it down- there’s really no wrong or right answer. I suppose my point is that they are all basically the same story- retold endlessly in infinite variations.

“There are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never happened before.”    -Willa Cather

Witches

I love witches about as much as I love vampires, maybe more. The witches in Aunt Maria by Diana Wynne Jones were not exactly the witch-type you would generally imagine, if you were to imagine that witches were constantly like Winifred Sanderson from Hocus Pocus.

Back to the point, the plot in this story is like a labyrinthine, from the unusual family life to the changing of souls into cats and wolves. Mig Laker and her older brother Chris go with their mother to visit Aunt Maria after their father disappears. Aunt Maria is similar to Dolores Umbridge from the Harry Potter series, her outward appearance is completely opposite of her actual personality. She drowns her cruel behavior in “cute” material.

Aunt Maria wanted to control and boss everyone around, making them cook her food and do her chores. She didn’t do magic constantly, actually her first act of magic in the story was when Chris accused her of murder so she turned him into a wolf. When this happened it also revealed that all of her friends could do magic too but didn’t every day. The magic was kept mostly a secret but was powerful. Overall I enjoyed the book, wishing it was made into a movie but that may ruin the beauty of it. I liked the fact that the book had many twists and turns and that I didn’t even know she was a witch until halfway through- making it more layered that I originally anticipated.

From Hocus Pocus to Harry Potter, Practical Magic to Stranger in Our House, witches are awesome. Practical Magic has a different spin on craft, revolving it around love, social norms, childhood, and a little bit of death. While the movie is very different from the book, it’s still pretty entertaining. It’s not scary or spooky, only a little when the crazy boyfriend starts beating on Nicole Kidman (one of the witches), but other than that it’s pretty much PG. The story centers around the family history of being witches and how their love for any man kills the man, so it’s out in the open from the beginning (“the agony of love”). The two sisters (Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock) are raised by their two aunts (Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest), who try to raise them to realize and accept their gifts. Obviously it has the advantage of an amazing cast but some scenes could have been shorter or a little less dramatic (like the late night tequila and screaming).