Speculative Fiction Today #430 “Nightmare on Disney Street”

September 22, 2009 in Podcasts, Speculative Fiction Today by Brian Logee

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Culture

Growing Buddha Shaped Pears (dashPunk)
New Star Trek Not So Great – a discussion of Star Trek and fandom (Project: Shadow)
The Misadventures of Hello Cthulhu (via Hello-Cthulhu)
Stargate motorized pyramid is a PC case from another world (via SCI FI Wire)
life-size LEGO house (via designboom)
Jack Kirby’s Estate Sues to Regain Copyright Control of Characters Like Iron Man, Thor and the X-Men (via /Film)

Movie

MTV axes Rocky; Crackle Woke Up Dead (via SCI FI Wire)
Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy Teaser Trailer and Details (via /Film)

TV / Series

Hulu: Watch Now on Facebook show parties (via facebook)
This Dollhouse is real: Inside Japan’s rent-a-friend agency (via SCI FI Wire)
Dragon Con podcast with Craig Parker (via Legend of the seeker.org)

Book

Manga Review: Eternal Alice Rondo by Kaishaku (dashPunk)

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Genre: Craig Parker

P:SI #362 “A Spud, A Dud, and Diversity”

March 31, 2009 in Podcasts, Project: Shadow Informant Show Notes by Brian Logee

Culture

Andy Hallet Dies (via PinkKryptonite)
Where is the Diversity in IDIC? (dashPunk)

Movie

Star Trek Prequel/Sequel/Reboot gets Prequel/Sequel/Reboot (dashPunk)
- ‘Star Trek’ Trading Cards (via MTV Photo Gallery)
DVD Releases: March 31st, 2009 (dashPunk)
Sam Raimi Is Actually Writing Evil Dead 4 (via Topless Robot)
Sam Raimi says Spider-Man 4 script due by summer (via SCI FI Wire)

TV / Series

Review: Dollhouse 107 Echoes (dashPunk)
- Playing in the Dollhouse # 1 – “Echoes” (dashPunk)
Review: Legend of the Seeker 117 Deception (dashPunk)
- The Confessed #1 Deception (dashPunk)
Review: Kings 103 First Night (dashPunk)
- Of Gods and Kings #2 First Night (dashPunk)
Laurell Hamilton’s Vampire Hunter heads to TV (via SCI FI Wire)

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zunepodcastgf6 P:SI #362 “A Spud, A Dud, and Diversity”

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DVD Releases: March 31st, 2009

March 31, 2009 in Fantasy, Horror, Movies, Science Fiction, tv/series by Brian Logee

Out this week we have eight DVD’s to feature: Cthulhu, The Real Ghostbusters, Vol 1, Dragonquest, Vampire Secrets, National Geographic: Journey to the Edge of the Universe, Ogre, and two Goosebumps: The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight, Return of the Mummy

Cthulhu: I can’t wait to watch this movie. I’m a huge fan of H.P. Lovecraft and wanted to watch this independent movie when it was in the theaters but due to it’s limited release I was unable to watch it. For more read here.
The Real Ghostbusters, Vol 1: OMG we were just talking about this show on the Project: Shadow Informant. I loved this as a kid. I’m so excited to see it out.
Dragonquest: I have not seen this one but it does have dragons in it for our fantasy fans. If you have seen this let me know in the comments if I should rent it.
Vampire Secrets: A History Channel exploration into Hollywood’s vampires including a look at the origin of several common superstitions and reveals the connection between the ancient vampire myths of Europe, Greece and China. I haven’t seen this show but I like most of the History channel’s exploration specials.
National Geographic: Journey to the Edge of the Universe: I love these shows the imagery of stellar objects are always breathtaking. Go on a voyage through the cosmos, beginning on Earth and traveling outward through the solar system and the Milky Way, past distant galaxies and to the very limits of the universe. Images from the Hubble telescope and innovative computer graphics make possible the single, long traveling shot that comprises this journey, and unobtrusive narration explains the sights along the way.
Ogre: Yet another bad monster flick from the Sci-Fi channel. Not having watched this one yet I wonder if it’s just bad or if it passes into the realms of a craptastic B movie. If you have watched this let me know in the comments.
For the Parents: two Goosebumps movies out this week for the young viewers.
- Goosebumps: The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight: This collection of spooky tales: In the title story, Jodie and Mark witness strange goings-on at their grandparents’ farm. In “Don’t Go to Sleep,” Matt wakes up to find a family that he almost doesn’t recognize. And in “Calling All Creeps,” Ricky is paying the price for posting a mean girl’s phone number in a personal ad.
- Goosebumps: Return of the Mummy: A trio of spine-chilling adventures: Gabe encounters an unhappily disturbed mummy while visiting his archaeologist uncle in Egypt in “Return of the Mummy.” Next, Jeff gets a surprise when he receives a sarcophagus containing a 4,000-year-old mummy from his father. Finally, Eddie and Hat’s plan to scare a boastful pal doesn’t turn out the way they plan.

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Why Progressive Speculative Fiction?

February 16, 2009 in Speculative Fiction by Eric

Individual science fiction stories may seem as trivial as ever to the blinder critics and philosophers of today- but the core of science fiction, its essence, the concept about which resolves, has become crucial to our salvation if we are to be saved at all.

Isaac Asimov, “My Own View,” The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction

While Asimov was interested solely with Science Fiction, I believe the same can be said about Speculative Fiction as a whole. Many of the problems we face cannot be faced solely by working to fix the present conditions. If we do not explore the possible futures our choices could produce, we walk blindly into the future.

It is change, continuing change inevitable change, that is the dominant factor in society today. No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the word as it will be – and naturally this means that there must be an accurate perception of the world as it will be. This, in turn, means that our statesmen, our businessmen, our Everyman, must take on a science fictional way of thinking, whether he likes it or not or even whether he knows it or not. Only so can the deadly problems of today be solved.

Isaac Asimov, “My Own View,” The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction

Again, I would broaden his words out to all of Speculative Fiction.

Lovecraft’s Mythos

: Image via Wikipedia

Numerous horror novels/movies have shown us the problems eugenics would unleash upon our societies. Lestat’s hope that there is some good in the universe heightens his fear and motivates him to find the answers.

H. P. Lovecraft’s fiction had a simple message behind the supernatural horror. Humankind’s chief sin is hubris. We think too highly of ourselves, and as a result blind ourselves to the fact that somewhere in this vast cosmos, there are creatures who are infinitely more powerful than we are, and whose motives are unfathomable by human logic.

Cthulu, Nyarlahotep, Azathoth, the color out of space, and the color out of time are all horrifying warnings that if we lie to ourselves, pretending there is not a bigger fish out there, we will eventually be devoured by it.

Frankenstein

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is an all too familiar cautionary tale about scientific and technological advance without the restraining forces of morality and common sense. The tale has been told and retold, spawning an entire subgenre of horror about the dangers of dabbling in things not understood.

The Resident Evil franchise, Godzilla, and so many others I could spend the rest of the year naming them have picked up the mantle and and shared the horrific future we could create for ourselves if we are not careful to think ahead and not blindly rush into the future.

Star Trek

Showed us a future we could hope for. Imagine a world where hunger and poverty were removed from the equation. New challenges would raise their heads, some of which would threaten to return us to the barbaric world we had left behind.

Gene Roddenberry kindled a vision in the hearts and minds of his fans of a world of limitless possibilities. A world were our only limitations were our imagination and our character. It is a world to strive towards.

Lord of the Rings

In the Lord of the Rings books, J. R. R. Tolkien showed us a world on the cusp of transition from one age to another. His mythic prose illuminated the choices that people have to make when culture finds itself on the crossroads of history.

The basic choice is demonstrated through the characters of Sauroman and Gandolf. Their world, their age was ending. They had the choice to either embrace the future and try to make the new world a better place to live, or to hold on the past and seek the destruction of the new world before it comes. Gandolf chose the first path, Sauromon chose the latter.

Star Wars

: Image via Wikipedia

Anakin Skywalker is faced with the same choice in the Star Wars saga. At first he fights the future out of his attachment, but when he is faced with the ultimate decision, watching the future be destroyed in the person of his son, he learns that he must let go of his attachments and help the future come.

I wonder if that is why more people don’t love the prequel trilogy. It touches a nerve in them, and despite our bravado, no one really wants to think of themselves as Darth Vader. No one wants to entertain the thought that they could destroy everything they believe in and care for as a result of trying to protect it.

Like all great stories, Star Wars holds a mirror up to us and says, this could be you.

We need Progressive Speculative Fiction

Many things are hard to talk about. Stories can often show us things we would not or could not have seen otherwise.

Next time, we will discuss the differences between Positive Scifi and Progressive Speculative Fiction.

What is Progressive Speculative Fiction?

February 11, 2009 in Books, Movies, Speculative Fiction, Writing, tv/series by Eric

This entry is part 1 of 2 in the series Defining Speculative Fiction

“Progressive Speculative Fiction is a story told in any medium which has a “What if” at its core and is filled with hope for the future and promotes a sense of community (Project: Shadow Manifesto).”

Of all the things I wrote in the Project: Shadow Manifesto, that one sentence has proven to be the most controversial. Writers have emailed me asking if their work is Progressive SF or not. Let’s approach the question slowly.

What is Speculative Fiction?

Speculative Fiction is any fiction that has at its core a “What if?” There are five main subgenres of Speculative Fiction:

Science Fiction
Scifi
Fantasy
Horror
Alternative History

What sets these stories apart from the mainstream?

All fiction asks the question, “Suppose X happened to this character, what would happen?” Speculative Fiction asks, “What if X were true about the universe, how would this character react?” For example:

Harry Potter: “What if magic existed in the world and it could do anything but bring people back from the dead?”
Lord of the Rings: “What is the prehistory of Europe where a mystic struggle between the powers of light and darkness over the nature of the world to come?”
Dune: “What if it were possible to alter consciousness enough for people to see the interconnectedness of all things”
Cthulu Mythos: “What if there were beings in the universe as powerful and incomprehensible as we are to an ant?”

The question is the heart of the story. You cannot have a ghost story unless you ask, “What if ghosts interfered with the lives of people?”

That is why it is called Speculative Fiction. It speculates about a world that is different from ours in some way.

What makes Speculative Fiction Progressive?

Hope for the future and promotes a sense of community. Some have taken this to mean that dark fiction cannot be Progressive. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Heroes and Battlestar Galactica

: Image by Mostly Lisa via Flickr

Heroes is not progressive, but Battlestar Galactica is. Both of these stories are dark, and at times bleak. Why is one Progressive and the other not?

There is no hope in Heroes. Nothing inspires the characters forward. They looked into Kierkegaard’s void and could not take their eyes off of the fact that the world is free from purpose and meaning. They embrace their meaninglessness, and robs the series of any lasting merit it could have.

Battlestar Galactica looked into the same void, and the characters chose to carve out their own meaning in the cosmos. They have hope for the future, even if it is challenged often, and they are continually struggling to build a viable community.

Hope for the Future

Hope is a necessary element of fiction that many post-modern writes/producers neglect.

Without hope, the characters have nothing to loose.
With nothing to loose, there is no tension.
Without tension, there is no reason to care about the characters.
If you don’t care about the characters, there is nothing left but spectacle.

That is the primary problem with shows like Lost, Heroes, and Fringe. All they have is spectacle and shock value. They have no depth, and there is no reason for people to care about them. People watch simply to see what crazy thing happens next. They will be forgotten quickly.

Community

A side effect of the hopelessness and ennui that fills post-modern SF is the focus on the individual to the detriment of the community. This factor alone was able to change my opinion of Battlestar Galactica. I didn’t used to like the show, but after I marathoned the boxsets, I could see and better still feel the communities that were trying to maintain themselves.

A sense of community is integral to Speculative Fiction because most if not all stories present a world that is different from our own, and without a sense of community it is hard if not impossible to understand the nature of the setting. For example look at Legend of the Seeker:

The levels of mistrust amid Darken Rahl’s soldiers
The submissive population of Brennidon
The reverence of the Confessors for each other and their outrage at sacrelige
The prevelence of hidden valleys and islands

All these and more add up to a better understanding of the world under Darken Rahl’s control. Through these communities and the relationships between Richard, Zedd, and Kahlan defines the setting.

Hope and community are part of what Progressive Speculative Fiction is, but they are also Why Progressive Speculative Fiction is important, which we will talk about in the next post in this series.