Robert J. Sawyer: "A Galaxy Far Far Away" My Ass! (1/3)

[Antellus1]

You make some very interesting comparisons between what the producers of film nowadays think is "science fiction" and real science fiction. But what it takes on their part is a commitment to honor the thrust of the original authors toward making the point. I agree with your assessment of Star Trek as a pivotal focus, and 2001 has proved to be a predictor of the progress of modern tech. But Star Wars ultimately made a point, too, even if we are too mired in the special effects to notice.

[roadsideray]

Isn't there a parallel, and thus a social commentary, between the Jedi and the religious clergy of our day? The Clergy pretending to holy and celibate while also molding politics and public opinion to it's advantage.

[DIYDSP]

When I was a kid my babysitter had one of the first VCRs. So, we watched movies over and over again. To me, Superman was a much better movie than Star Wars. I was very surprised when I reached college and found that Star Wars was so popular.

[dinotles]

Stars wars is Space Opera... It's nothing sciency about it except gadgets... It's all form and poetry... They have spaceships that makes SOUND... in SPACE... How do spaceships make sounds? Do they leak gasses or something? But Earl sci fi WAS pretty high brow... War of the worlds, 1984, Clockwork Orange... Moebius' comics.... But there ARE some good modern sci fi as well... "12 Monkeys" is excellent

[machtlos]

Wasn't THX1138 a sci fi..a good, respectable one..made in 1971?

[Geekman333]

I think he's right to an extent. Star Wars is 'pop' sci-fi. Don't expect anything deep. Now, Hollywood is just shit all about money and less about 'film'. Like sci-fi? Simple. Iain M. Banks or Greg Bear...you won't regret it unless you're illiterate.

Peace.

[Jelperman]

This guy is an idiot.

Logan's Run was released in 1976.

[rab200]

'night of the living dead' also came out in 1968 with some powerful social commentary in its own right

[ghostmanlostsoul]

What about SILENT RUNNING in 1972? That was significant sci-fi film between 2001 and STAR WARS?

Hello, how about mentioning that one.

[MJimiD]

Hey, it's all fine and dandy that modern SF films had sociological undercurrents to them, but I hate when people apply that same BS formula to older works. It's devoid of reason. While "Frankentstein" may have presented some commentary on the reproductive blah blah, the message flies over this guy's head. It's about the idea that when humans play God, the results can be horrible. The message resounds throughout all time and has little to do with the sociopolitical atmosphere of the times.

[Ratama]

well I guess when you put it that way, star wars does kind of suck. at least there are a few pickings in the extended universe though.

[pirateking193]

@Ratama what he says is crud. the films have several great messages (love and forgiveness, find the good in everone, no one is born evil, be loyal to your friends); what's more, a lot of the old sci fi went out of style and star wars did help make it more socially acceptable. plus it opened the way for other sci fi films such as children of men. escapism has always had a place in sci fi; denying otherwise is foolish. go to reddit and google this subject. the comments have good arguements

[BUDDY6414724297]

How about talking about Silent Running, it is an advance script.

[TPreyland]

The Secret History of Jules Vern will revealed in 2012

[Deke101]

There are some salient points here, but let's give credit where it's due. Lucas went out on a major limb to produce his first trilogy and his characters have become iconic. Darth Vader is THE classic villain and one of the most recognized fictional characters in the world.

...then he had to go and make his second trilogy... ouch.

[executor56]

He's just pissy because he didn't make millions of dollars in franchising on any of his books.

[psikeyhackr]

He should be pissy because so many people have no taste. It's the bell curve for IQ. 75% of people score below 111 and 90% score below 121.

Really good sci-fi is only appreciated by the top 5%. Theodore Strugeon's brother was one of the founders of MENSA.

But now we have a sci-fi society with computers everywhere. People need quad-core computers to do word processing.  Bloatware needs to be upgraded every year so corps can make money wasting processing power. ROFL

[MJimiD]

@psikeyhackr I love when people talk about IQ. Unless a person is genuinely retarded, their IQ is normal and fixed for life. That shit you take on the internet is fake. The only people who have had an IQ test are the ones who've paid the thousands of dollars to do so. Unless you're on the extreme high- or low-end, you're in the same boat. Even then, motivation is the true indicator of intelligence. The people with truly high IQs aren't wasting their time reading SF, but making science reality.

[psikeyhackr]

@MJimiD Or telling economists they can't do algebra.

Aren't automobiles a product of science though far from cutting edge now.

But cars are machines and physics causes them to wear out. So shouldn't our economists with PhDs have been talking about all of the lost DEPRECIATION for the last 50 years?

But I suppose economics isn't a science. Try "The Space Merchants" by Frederick Pohl or "The Door Into Summer". Heinlein talked about economics and cars too.

.

[purplelev]

I like Star Wars and probably always will but this is a really good rant none the less very intelligent and Robert J. Sawyer makes many good points.

[LLC149]

Science Fiction writers are our modern day "Philosopher Kings" and Robert J. Sawyer is a leader even among our Philosopher Kings, with a gift for the delivery of a message both in writing and verbally. This three part video is a joy to watch.