Oh, must be thinking of something else.Mr. Doe said:
Wait, that sounds like moralizing.knumpify said:
Poll: Excuse me, waiter there appears to be politics in my sci-fi
- Thread starter Mr. Doe
- Start date
Recommended Videos
You see I dont see that I see war and death and the loss of everything and it never says anything with it it just shows you it and tell you the story without ever saying anything is wrong or right or saying anything is happening it shows you and leads you on this journey never forcing anything into your head just letting you figure it out for yourself.knumpify said:
So is Spaceballs, and it also has no politics in it.BlackWidower said:
I don't see what your trying to say here?
if there was politics in ether of them I totally missed it, so it might as well not be there.Mr. Doe said:
Or the message was the way to make a lot of money is merchandising.AjimboB said:
No you see there is no message in the movie its what you gathered from the movie its like telling a story but leaving the ending out letting someone decide it never Told you war makes men mad thats what you saw. I can talk about how I dunno Carebears taught me that fundamentalism is wrong and that would be the same thing your saying its what you learn from your experience not what is told to you and Im cool with that but when things try to pound it home (Avatar) it doesnt work.AjimboB said:
Why not? Because it's funny as well? Sci-Fi is more a setting then a genre anyway.BlackWidower said:
EDIT: I would also like to say it's better then almost any other Sci-Fi movie I have seen go to theaters in the past few years.
In my humble opinion, you should have to look for the messages (if any) embedded between the lines (or, within the subtext) of science fiction in order to "get the message" (assuming there is one). Writers that start off with an agenda are usually, for lack of a better word, shitty. And these shitty writers are no doubt doing one of two things: 1./ Trying to bolster sales with "controversial" topics (or through pandering *ahemjimcameron*) or 2./ they're preaching.
Now, I know everyone and their mother has a big old list of books and movies they love that have an overt and obvious message (from Frankenstein to Starship Troopers to Avatar), but you have to ask yourself: Is the book good on its own merit without the big message? Because if the answer is honestly no, that is because you are the choir (and the author is preaching to you.)
Science Fiction is a strong genre all on its own, with an infinite amount of subjects to keep our attention. And here's the real kicker:
Avatar would've been a better movie without the pandering.
Now, I know everyone and their mother has a big old list of books and movies they love that have an overt and obvious message (from Frankenstein to Starship Troopers to Avatar), but you have to ask yourself: Is the book good on its own merit without the big message? Because if the answer is honestly no, that is because you are the choir (and the author is preaching to you.)
Science Fiction is a strong genre all on its own, with an infinite amount of subjects to keep our attention. And here's the real kicker:
Avatar would've been a better movie without the pandering.
It's supposed to be getting you to identify with them by being as non-intrusive as possible. Just because there isn't a moral stretched out twelve feet high in neon letters doesn't mean it's not there. Also, I'm pretty sure FMJ doesn't qualify as Sci-Fi. FMJ was showing us now, as we are, (or were, depending on how particular you want to be), but Sci-Fi obviously is about what happens tomorrow and the choices we make, and thereby the rationalities and moral implications that follow and prompt those decisions. By your logic "We came to the alien planet of Pandora because... well it's Pandora, right? It's got a cool name!" would have been a better back story for Avatar.Mr. Doe said:
To your OP, can you name a game that matches what you describe that wouldn't also fit under the moniker of "arcade style"?
Isn't that the game that has been panned for being "half done"? I honestly can't claim to knowing more than what anyone else can glean from ZP's review and the wiki page, which makes the game sound like it got chopped pretty bad and that it was based on the entire "War is bad there are bigger problems out there" train of thought. It just happened to be aliens instead of poverty or famine because well... aliens sell better?Mr. Doe said:
There's a difference between not having moral or political messages and not having that message(s) play a central role in the game. That's why you have sci-fi RPG's like Mass Effect (see what I did there?)
I'm not in favour of filling fantasy or science fiction with messages. However, it can kind of work sometimes. In Avatar it was incredibly obvious and didn't work. It was insulting and really left a bad taste in my mouth. However, District 9 made me think and question humanity through its real world messages, something I think was commendable.
Sci-Fi has always had a message within its text, early sci-fi were usually allegories and parables about the folly of perusing nuclear war, later sci-fi stories were about acceptance of others despite being of another race or culture.
Look a Heinlein's stories (which I think are the most awesome of sci-fi stories), his three most well known books: Starship Troopers, Stranger in a Strange Land and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress all have some kind of political/ social message to teach people.
Starship troopers was about serving ones society for the greater good and proving that you were willing to give up a part of your self for society.
Stranger in a Strange Land suggested people look towards more peaceful and natural ways of finding self satisfaction and achievement. Throughout the story there is present, a massive mega church which functions more as a moneymaking machine and a place of hedonistic practices rather than a center of inner peace. The scary part is this was really before the advent of modern mega churches and the similarities are striking.
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress serves to promote a Libertarian agenda that argues that people can self regulate themselves and don't need a massive government telling them what to do. The text suggests that personal freedoms and economic freedoms can be fairly self determined by the people of society.
All three of these stories were critically aclaimed and well recived by both readers and reviewers (All three of these novels won Hugo awards as well)
Political messages don't ruin sci-fi novels or movies, indeed some of the more politically and socially motivated stories have given us some of the highest quality of writing. What messes up these stories and makers them uninteresting is sloppy execution, not the fact they are trying to send a message.
Look a Heinlein's stories (which I think are the most awesome of sci-fi stories), his three most well known books: Starship Troopers, Stranger in a Strange Land and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress all have some kind of political/ social message to teach people.
Starship troopers was about serving ones society for the greater good and proving that you were willing to give up a part of your self for society.
Stranger in a Strange Land suggested people look towards more peaceful and natural ways of finding self satisfaction and achievement. Throughout the story there is present, a massive mega church which functions more as a moneymaking machine and a place of hedonistic practices rather than a center of inner peace. The scary part is this was really before the advent of modern mega churches and the similarities are striking.
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress serves to promote a Libertarian agenda that argues that people can self regulate themselves and don't need a massive government telling them what to do. The text suggests that personal freedoms and economic freedoms can be fairly self determined by the people of society.
All three of these stories were critically aclaimed and well recived by both readers and reviewers (All three of these novels won Hugo awards as well)
Political messages don't ruin sci-fi novels or movies, indeed some of the more politically and socially motivated stories have given us some of the highest quality of writing. What messes up these stories and makers them uninteresting is sloppy execution, not the fact they are trying to send a message.