Nerds in this day and age--an evolution thanks to media expansion.

I know that some of you were thinking I was such a friggin' liar for a post a week but that is still the goal.  I even got a new chromebook to help me go back out and blog all the time.

I'm watching Criminal Minds randomly as I start to write this post and it definitely has me thinking.  Penelope is the resident "nerd" character, and that has been a growing theme over time right now.  Nerd culture in general is now a streamlined thing.  Back in the day my mother used to take the train and the bus two hours across Chicago to get her Doctor Who books from England, not knowing what was in stock.  She had to stay up at a strange time to watch the latest episode that America got.  It was a big deal to her when she went to college that she met someone who went out of their way to knit the Tom Baker era scarf.

Nowadays, not only can you merely just google it and you can get the directions for a great scarf, but BBC America is carrying it and you can watch it on netflix or just rent the DVDs and people will talk about it at the work place (not as much as some other shows, but you're no longer the odd man out).  This has grown for a lot of things.  I noticed it in college when this professor in one my drama classes was relating to obviously not traditionally nerdy drama kids about how Battlestar Galactica was some of the best modern dramatic pieces out there.  That's when I knew--geek culture is becoming mainstream.

It's not everything.  Let's not lie to ourselves, it's not like the national pastime is going to become Warhammer.  But considering all the movies that are getting redone, all the investment in TV show characters that have geeky habits, and all the mainstream focus on nerd events like comic-con, it's now... not so surprising to say you're a trekkie or that you spend a good amount of your time playing video games.  And I can mention pretending to be a vampire on the weekends without people proceeding to ask if I'm in a cult and deciding not to interact with me.

However, I wonder if this really means that geeks are increasing in numbers.  Are we?  And what does that really mean if we are?

Well i think with the way media works these days, thanks to the impossible greatness of the internet, people are able to find out about things easier than they were before.  By the time I was in high school, if you wanted an obscure anime, either you had to have a friend or be in the dubbing circles on the early days of internet forums, or you had to find a place to buy it online and potentially have to know japanese to enjoy it once you received it.  And the price was friggin' high!  The sad thing is this is when it was just becoming easy for anime exposure.  Nowadays there are conventions all over the place, they carry manga in mainstream bookstores, you have Amazon the seller of EVERYTHING, and on top of that you can direct download some of the more popular animes on netflix.  Isn't it great living in the future?

This extra exposure to things that others who were not genetically predispositioned to dress up as Beverly Crusher on Halloween two years in a row (that's me, by the way) means that people are no longer surprised by they hobbies that previously had either been hidden from the majority of the public or had been stigmatized by popular culture and individuals who didn't understand nor cared to do the research.  I encourage young pen and paper gamers to watch the Tom Hanks classic Mazes and Monsters.  This is how our hobby was portrayed.  Can you believe that?  As much as the internet has its down points, its ability to connect and teach has lessened the stereotypes.  Now there are many more avenues for communication and learning, and acceptance is definitely increasing over time.

But another thing I see happening is that there is a lot more "casual nerding" going on.  There are people who may be interested in one sci-fi series, but can't seem to dig the whole Asimov or LeGuin library.  There are people who really like playing Mass Effect but then would never consider the rest of Bioware's franchises or even other games like mass effect.  There are people like me who do like a really good Doctor Who episode, but don't hunker down to watch the entirety of the series or feel it even necessary to appreciate it.  Possibly because the need of extreme interest is low thanks to media, we're getting more people who like geeky pursuits but don't love them the same way the smaller geek culture did before.  If you don't have to  an hour and a half bus ride to get that book you've been waiting for, it's probably easier to love the series and not be a die-hard.

And this is part of the reason I feel like writing this whole long rant today.  Living in the future means we are more exposed to these great hobbies and genres that have now experienced more time in the limelight.  It's fantastic.  As much as I haven't read or seen Game of Thrones (I swear to god I'll read the books don't judge me) I'm happy that we have a fantasy series outside of Tolkien's world that is now part of popular culture.  I'm elated that people are getting interested in the philosophical quandries that sci-fi explores in new stories.  I have to stop myself from doing a joyful dance when I went into a Barnes and Noble and saw they were selling Settlers of Catan and Pandemic.  It's almost as if we're in a miniature nerd renaissance.

But with that there are some drawbacks.  Part of the reason I used to love sci-fi is that I found that it was the better composed art forms.  Tighter, more thoughtful writing was prevalent.  Things were thought through.  But the more I look back, the more I realize that this was due to my mother's really good taste in art all around.  There are really bad versions of any traditionally nerdy pursuit out there, and thanks to living in the future, that has also spread around.  I am not going to pretend I know what all of them are, and in fact I'm not going to list any for fear of nerd rage.  Feel free to leave it in the comments.  But we all know what we're talking about.  This is why we're always wary of any story with lizard men--it doesn't automatically mean it's bad, but it does mean there is a higher probability of crap in that story.

Now that these nerd loves are front and center, it means that there is a higher probability that the "normal consumer" of certain medias are going to be more highly exposed to the filth.  Noticed how many comic book movies are receiving the sequel treatment that ruined many a franchise before.  Old sci-fi movies are getting redone and forgetting why those stories were important in the first place.  One example that I hate picking on but I'm going to anyway is Star Trek: Into Darkness.  J.J. Abrahms makes great movies.  They're exciting and riveting and you get sucked in the theater and you forget that you drank a bucket worth of lemonade and need to pee for the last hour of the film.  He makes great films.  I'm never going to argue that Into Darkness was a bad movie.  But I will argue is that Into Darkness was bad Star Trek.  We're talking about a series that was known for thoughtful questions of humanity that were answered in hour-long shows.  Not every episode does that, but the pursuits of those questions are always present.  Those questions were not fully defined or explored in Into Darkness.  In fact, I would argue that Into Darkness has the opposite problem that the very first Star Trek movie had.  Star Trek: The Motion Picture was a great question about the reach of humanity in space and its affects that was clouded with bad writing and editing.  Star Trek: Into Darkness was a very well done movie that never touched anything that would make the audience think after they left the theater.

On top of the normal things that will affect any medium that becomes part of pop culture, you now also have nerds becoming more prevalent as characters in other stories, such as Penelope in Criminal Minds.  Her portrayl is okay, although it does totally fall into the stereotypical problems that any hacker schematics do in any TV show or movie (no, hacking isn't just a bunch of fast code typing, it doesn't work quite like that).  But let's take a look at The Big Bang Theory.  I'm officially going to say this: fuck that show.  What the internet did to help get away from stereotypes that associate with nerds, i.e. the whole loner persona who has trouble communicating with people and are so out of the loop they can use their personality to collect disability, The Big Bang Theory brought back in full force.  There are geeky people of all different walks, and let me tell you I've been a loyal fan of Star Trek while still knowing how to dress fashionably and not be socially awkward.  I could make a whole blog post about how we have to stop treating socially awkward like it's a subset of cute, but then I may have to do research into The New Girl and I'm not feeling that.

Finally, there is the in-fighting.  I've posted about this before, where there is a subset of nerds judging other nerds about not being geeky enough.  Female cosplayers do get the largest brunt of it but it happens all over the place.  People who don't know all the lore judging people they believe know less of the lore for their beloved series.  People who think that the influx of women in certain fields is entirely superficial.  People who feel you have to prove yourself to them before you can join their games.  SERIOUSLY GUYS!  There should not be a test on whether or not you're a nerd!  Why would we be so exclusive?  Who benefits from that?  Seriously, so many other groups have shot themselves in the foot from in-fighting, do we want to join those ranks because someone who wants to join your Star Trek marathons doesn't fluently speak Klingon?  Are we seriously going to do this?

As you can see, there are so many benefits to this new nerd era we're living in right now, but also some set backs.  Some of the things that I hope all of the geek-spheres take advantage of is the ability to expose more people to the love of their hobbies.  For example, my friend David Zoltan, the man who introduced me to the LARP hobby I've loved, is now opening up Geek Bar Chicago thanks to the magic of kickstarter.  I don't know how successful this could've been without the magic of living in the future.  I think if we invest in spreading the word and accessibility, we can teach the masses why we've loved these hobbies all this time, and invite them into what we invested those long bus rides across town for.  That will help get rid of the issues with misrepresentation and, potentially, with poor quality nerd productions.  We just have to show everyone not only what we like, but why we like it.

As a side note, there's a part of me that likes bringing good sci-fi to the forefront.  Star Trek is definitely a big part of the reason why NASA exists in the first place.  So many genius people were inspired by it.  Maybe we can get that again in hope that it wil inspire the next generation for us to a better future, where maybe NASA will no longer be considered non-essential.  Because in the long run, those hopes that widened our eyes when we participated in all of these things are actually help make us into people who strive to problem-solve, discover and create in the future.  That would be the best result of this mini renaissance, don't you think?

African Americans that have encouraged my inner nerd

It's the last day of Black History Month, and I rarely pay enough attention to it here.  So today, I'm going to list some of the black nerds that I appreciate.

Nichelle Nichols--Not only can black women go to space, but they can look fabulous doing it!  And as season two and three of the the original Star Trek Series went on, she got more spotlight and made sisters look intelligent with poise and respect.  This was a great thing to see when I was in junior high becoming a woman: black women can be smart and pretty at the same time.

Dr. Mae Jemison--She may not have had as huge an impact as some of the others listed, but as a kid having a black woman succeed in the field of space means that I can do anything.  And believe me, there were a lot of people down the road telling me I couldn't, whether they knew it or not.

LeVar Burton--Obviously, he played an engineer on Star Trek: The Next Generation.  But he also was the host of Reading Rainbow!  So not only can I be good at math, I can be well read too!

Octavia E. Butler--another person who I had limited exposure to, but reading Parable of the Sower is inspiring in the tapestry that she weaves with character development and how to write a future world.

Neil DeGrasse Tyson--He is this generation's Carl Sagan, which is something we desperately need at this time.  He will lead us to the future of Galaxy-rises.  Also, the only person who I would like to officiate my wedding.  It's never going to happen but a girl can dream.

Finally of course, I have to make a nod to my grandfather and my mother.  They saw in Sci-fi a world where we can all be equal, or worlds that showed why not making that choice is disastrous.  They saw in it the future they wanted their children to have, and in that encouraged their families to do anything and everything they wanted to do.  Specifically thanks to my mom.  I don't think I would still be pursuing my writing dreams without her encouragement.

Parable of the Sower

In hopes of engaging in some literature, I went to my library not too long ago and actually only got one fiction book: Parable of the Sower by Octavia E Butler.  Butler has a reputation for writing really thoughtful science fiction, but I hadn't read anything of hers.  Some of her books are even in part of my mother's huge sci-fi collection and I just never had a chance to touch any of it.  But I read the summary on the jacket cover in the library, and decided that this would be a good start for her work.

It's a great piece of first person.  The main character, Lauren Olamina, is writing in a journal, which is what the reader is experiencing.  The gaps in time actually work in the narrative's favor.  The style is not trying to hard to be a journal, which in some way I appreciate more.  Having a main character that is a good writer is actually a better idea than some other sophomoric attempts I have seen before (including my own in the past).

The general story is about how Lauren is growing up in an hostile United States that becomes more and more fractured over time.  Drugs and crime are rampant, and the only defense people have against violent drug abusers is to hide within communities.  Early on Lauren realizes her community is going to fall apart, she doesn't know when but she does decide to plan.  The first half of the book you're waiting for everything to fall apart merely because Lauren is convinced it will.  As things get worse and worse you keep on thinking it will be on the next page, and when it finally does happen you still kicked in the face with it, it still feels sudden.  Lauren's journey, and her ways to cope with a violent world along the old highways of the west coast, becomes even more enthralling, and the end is bittersweet and befitting for the dystopia Lauren has lived in.

I don't want to call this a review merely because I know I enjoyed a book when I actually finish it.  I'm really good at starting a book and never feeling compelled to pick it up again.  That was not a problem with Parable of the Sower.  I had to stop myself from reading it so that I could sleep.  What that really means is the pacing is excellent.  Pacing is key for my enjoyment of a story, and if it's not at the right equilibrium you've lost me.  Not so with this story.

I appreciate how thoughtful Butler is with characters, and her honest with how cruel humanity could be. Everyone wants a future like Star Trek, but to be honest it takes a long time and a lot of work and luck to get there.  As much as I hope Butler's world in this book is not the future, I appreciated how realistic government reactions and individual responses were.  Butler know people.

There is a sequel, Parable of the Talents, that I'm not as tempted to read.  The ending to Sower was so good and perfect in my head that I kind of don't want to touch it.  Maybe in the future I can be convinced of otherwise.

Things to consider in writing sci-fi.

Recently the ideas that sprang from the DeWitt in Titania have been coming back, not necessarily with the same focus or main character, but with the same ideas that were whirling through my head.  I'm realizing what was running through my head wasn't necessarily clear in that little tidbit, but there's a lot of stuff.  And surprisingly, a lot of it are necessary answer to questions.  Here are somethings that you should think of in your sci-fi setting.  And yes, totally feel free to add in the comments.

HOW RECENT.
Even if not set in this universe, you have to figure out how far in the "future" the technology is.  Have we mastered space colonization?  Long distance travelling?  What is the next evolution for the internet?  Cell phones?  Entertainment?  If it's recent, you may want to look at what people predict for the next ten, twenty or fifty years.  When you go significantly past that, it's easier to be a bit more creative.  I would still suggest research what tech people are researching now, but expanding on that sometimes is great inspiration.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE HOMEWORLD.
With a lot universes, this means Earth, but for any story setting every people has a place of origin.  Is it still where they stay?  Does it still exist?  Do they even remember it?  That last one was a great premise I first saw from Asimov.  But it's important to know what happened to the biological home.   If you're not traversing space in the story, it's important to know how the world started and how the tech has changed the world, for the better or worse.

SENTIENT SPECIES.
Even if you're staying on one planet, even if there are no extra-terrestrial beings, you have to decide what the origins and values are of the race you're writing about.  And if there's more than one, what's the relationship?  Sometimes looking at the historical relationship of neighboring countries is great inspiration.  Also looking at different cultures throughout the world, maybe even further back in the past when globalization was less present, and people were more isolated.

WHY IS IT A SCIFI?
If it's a story that doesn't need to be set in the future, do not write it in the future.  The same can be said for adding extra tech or extra species.  The setting has to enhance the story, and if it doesn't just keep it in modern times or historical fiction.  Sci-fi doesn't make things extra exciting by merely being in space or in the future.  It takes elements of the story that already exist and reveals them in a new light.

Story Inspired by Random Comic Panel

I am a big fan of Something Positive, a web comic by R.K. Milholland.  The comic is hilarous, and the couple of times I've met him in person (and played a Bunnies and Burrows game he ran) he's a cool guy with a dark sense of humor.  I follow him on twitter, and occasionally he'll put up a random picture, including this one:

Artwork by (duh) R.K. Milholland

He puts up the picture with the caption "I doubt sincerely anything will be done with this panel."  And me, being the writer that I am, take that up as a challenge.

So below is the short piece I thought up in my head just from the picture above.  Enjoy.

Oh, and for the story below:

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
_____________

At age 26 DeWitt was still a duckling.  He wasn't ugly.  He wasn't dumb.  He had "bloomed", whatever that term meant.  He was actually, to be honest, a success story.
He had two great parents.  His father had succeeded in being a prominent figure of Public Health policy, raising the bar on extra-planetary imports.  His mother was a a fantastic salesperson who ran a branch of a successful real estate company.  He was the oldest of three sons, all of which went to the best private schools that money could buy.  He'd had decent enough grades, but his soccer career is what made him shine before he went off to college.  He ended up falling in love with economics, and excelled due to his dedication to his studies.  He had finally finished his Masters, getting into an elite program despite all the obstacles.  In between the studies he had settled down with a beautiful older woman, a biologist who was up and coming in academic circles.  He was a success in every way a man could be.
But his papers did not add up.  The Director of Human Resources at the Department of Labor had let DeWitt sit down in his office during the interview, but the pile of reports on the desk was unsettling.  DeWitt had quickly recognized some of them as his own.  He took a seat in the wood chair, something that stood out in a building mostly composed of metal and concrete.  The hum of the florescents put him on edge.  Across from him, the Director picked up a thin piece of official cello-paper, with the seal of the colony.  It was DeWitt's birth certificate.
"Mr. DeWitt, I scheduled this interview before I had taken a close work at all of the paperwork the state has allowed me access to, understand?  And this piece of paper has me concerned.  I don't see why you even applied here."
"Excuse me, Sir?"
"We have standards that I have to uphold, understand?  I have to make sure you can keep up with what we do here, and to be frank, Mr. DeWitt, you can't.  And I just hate it when people waste my time, understand?"
"Sir, I don't what you're refer--"
The Director laid the birth certificate in front of him.  "Read the CP line."
DeWitt picked it up and read the Conception Procedure line.  "Basic."
"Understand?"
"Sir, if you're problem is that I was conceived naturally--"
"Precisely the issue.  I'm glad you see it.  If you had been genetically calibrated before you had latched yourself into your mother's womb, this wouldn't be a problem, understand?"
"Sir, with all due respect can we keep my mother's organs out of this discussion?"
"Don't bother with the respect.  You can see I can't hire you."
DeWitt cleared his throat.  "Actually I can't."
"It should be crystal clear!  If you have been modified at conception, when most Titanian's are, you'd be fine.  They would've automatically made sure that your neural networks, or whatever they call them, would be fast enough to process at a regular Titanian speed.  But you're basic conception, so I can't admit you here with you slowing down the teams calculations."
"I'm applying for a job that involves policy making, Sir."
"You still have to calculate formulas to predict the labor situation, understand?"
DeWitt picked up one of the old essays.  "You obviously printed out all my work, you can see I can calculate a simulation like the back of my hand, even make new ones modified to unique situations!"
"Mr. DeWitt, none of your work is exemplary.  None of it.  I can assure you half the people who applied for this job have done work at least at your level, if not better."
"So you're telling me you didn't even read it then.  I've been published in industry journals!"
"Mr. DeWitt, I am sorry you have wasted my time here, but there's nothing I can do for you, understand?"

DeWitt walked from the interview in the dark.  The colony was always dark outside, but the indoor lights had been calibrated to imitate the solar cycle back at Earth.  He followed the neon street signs to his wife's office.  Her building was a grey monolith, next to many other grey monoliths.  There was barely any indication that the building housed test subjects, or viles of microorganisms.  It did hint that there was something sterile inside.
DeWitt was let in by the receptionist to his wife's office.  He looked at the degrees on her wall, the pictures of her graduation, of their wedding and their families.  It was a good life she had.  So was his, in spite of his origins.
She walked in, her goggles and gloves still on.  "I came in as soon as I could.  I want to know how it went."
He responded as softly as he could, but he he couldn't hide all his anger.  "No you don't."
She sank right next to him, on the arm of his chair.  "Oh no, my starlight."  She never liked the words honey, or babe, or darling, so she used starlight.  It was still corny.
"He immediately went to the CP line on my birth certificate.  Explained it like I thought he would.  Kept on saying 'Understand?', as if I spoke some other language."
"You should've responded 'Que?' or something like that."
"Doesn't matter.  If the government won't hire me, I doubt any company will. "
"Don't say that, starlight."  She embraced him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.  "It's only been a couple months.  Not time to give up yet."
"You and I both know that in this boom phase I should have a job.  I mean, I studied this stuff.  I know I should have a job now.  Titania is just not going to let me, with this genetic caste system."
"It's not like that."
"It is that!"
She let go of him, and slowly took her seat at the desk.  DeWitt knew he shouldn't have said that.  She was always guilty that she had been calibrated and he hadn't.
"I'm sorry.  Look, earlier today, I figured I wouldn't get the job.  I'll... start looking somewhere else."
She smiled.  "That's the spirit.  I'm sure there are plenty of other jobs for someone with your skills.  Or you could just got straight to a Ph.D."
"I can't, remember?  CP basic."
"Oh.  Well, there has to be another job, even if it's not something you studied the last eight years."
DeWitt started to laugh.  "So you're telling me I wasted eight years?"
She frowned.  "You know I'm trying to encourage you."
"Hey, I was thinking.  I'm wondering if... well, Titania is the only planet that has the genetic qualifications.  If we thought about moving to somewhere else, another colony is bound to hire me.  Maybe Walter's Gate or Man's Progress."
Her face was sad.  "Starlight, my research is only happening here.  This is the only place that's looking at microbiotics at this level, not to add with the right tools.  I can't be anywhere else."
"So what, I'm stuck here with a Masters unemployed the rest of my life?"
"You're not going to be unemployed the rest of your life."
"I'm not taking a job selling fast food to people out the drive thru, so I'm afraid I am."
"You don't have to get like this.  No reason to be this angry."
"Of course you're the reasonable one, part of your breeding, right?"
She stood up.  "If you came her to upset me, you have to leave.  I still have work to do today and I can't--"
"You get to work and I get to stay home after all I went through?"
She rushed out the office.  "I'll see you at home.  You'll have cooled by then I hope."  She slammed the door.
DeWitt just stayed there, looking at all the pictures.  He stared at the happy couple they were on their wedding day.
"Had I known then I was to be your duckling, that I was to follow you single file wherever you went, I would've reconsidered my options, love."

Star Wars =/= Science Fiction: My reasoning

Alright, this has come up in conversation recently, so I'm going to try to talk about this in a short, concise blog.  We'll see if that happens.

Now, excluding the series in question, think about the major themes and elements that make a story a Sci-fi versus a Fantasy.

SCIENCE FICTION...
uses technology of the possible future, based in the theories and dreams currently, to mold a plot where the dilemma is caused or possibly fixed by technology.  Many stories of the genre have themes involving humanity, society and moral ambiguity.  A great example of a Sci-Fi movie is Blade Runner.  For a literary example, let's go with Brave New World.

FANTASY...
uses a world where forces beyond scientific explanation and many times is mastered by an innate intuition of how it interacts with the world.  These forces are used to explain phenomena in the world, as well as a major plot device for progressing the main character(s) goals.  Many stories of the genere have themes involving good versus evil, family inheritance, and an epic journey (either internal or external).  Both The Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter series are great examples of fantasy books turned into movies.

When it comes to themes and story progression, Star Wars has a lot more in common with the Harry Potter Series than it does with  Brave New World, Star Trek or even Firefly.  It follows the journey of a young man who has to come to terms with a great power within in, and how to rectify the evil brought to his home without him even pursuing an adventure.  He's inherited a gift from both his parents that he uses to see and change the universe around him.  He has to believe in it first to work, and then he has to use that power to defeat one of the greatest evils ever known.  I just described the stories of Harry Potter and Luke Skywalker in the vaguest terms.  They really do have a lot in common and should go get some tea together.

"Set in space" does not mean "Sci-fi".  "Aliens in space" do not mean "Sci-fi".  There's a lot more to it than technobabble.  And I'm sorry, the addition of the force being "aliens in your blood" rather than just a mystical entity does not change the fact that science is unnecessary to any Star Wars plot.

Now this is not to say that the worlds cannot blend or meld into one another.  Strange, inexplicable things can happen in many sci-fi stories.  Fantasy will utilize science from time to time, especially if it's in a modern setting.  Usually though, the way the plot focuses on and resolves the main conflict is the key to seeing what a story is when it comes to these two genres.

Talking about this with my friend Proptart, she classified it as a "Sci-fi Fantasy", wherein there are some sci-fi elements in the story (space travel and such) but the story itself is of the fantasy genre.  Although I would accept this classification, I would prefer to go the extra step and call it a "Space Fantasy"--a fantasy story told in a galatic setting.

I doubt Blockbuster is going to rearrange their layout for that classification.

Inception... is it sci-fi?

I got to see Inception today, which was totally worth it!  I rarely think it's worth the time to go see a movie in theaters, just because the silver screen can be rather expensive.  However, this is a movie that you need to see with friends so afterwards you can look at each other and say "What the hell did I just see?"

Part of the reason I'm writing about it now is because at the beginning of the movie I started to wonder... is this a science fiction movie "disguised" as a cerebral drama?  I use the quotes because most sci-fi concepts are cerebral.  But the sci-fi part of this movie were not emphasized.

The main plot is that Cobb, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, is a man extremely good at extracting information from people through dreams. He finally gets a job that could allow him to go back to his family (he's accused of a crime and constantly on the run) and makes a team to do something that many think impossible: Inception.  They're given the task of planting an idea through a dream.  Only one person claims to have done it before, which is our hero Cobb.   Everyone else knows it's risky, and it will take a lot more delving into the mind than any of them have done.  Using a bunch of "science", they figure out a way to plant an idea that is crucial to preventing a global company becoming an international energy monopoly.  Everyone is used to getting ideas, but can they give one that is convincing?

What makes this movie a sci-fi?  Or any movie for that matter?  Well, it tends to show an image of a future, close or distant, with a technology that people find somewhat believable, and using that to explore an idea about humanity.  And I would like to argue that Inception almost does that.

Image of the Future:  It could be now, but everyone who watches the movie knows that the technology to infiltrate dreams, which seems more like a skill than a technology, is not something that exists right now.  The way it's presented, this isn't an alternate universe.  This is either now or in the near future.  It's future enough.

Believable Technology: This is where it starts to get tricky.  Sharing dreams with other people hasn't been a technology proven yet.  Using an IV in your arm to share a dream with up to 5 people where everyone is aware and somewhat in control... that's where realistically I can't 100% buy in.  Now you may think I'm hyper critical here, that space ships really can't be in space like they are in the movies and aliens aren't realistic either.  And you're partially right.  But this is something that is partially true.  We've done space travel, and there are planets that could possibly have life.  Robots do exist.  I know of nothing that recently investigates a shared dream state.  You readers are definitely allowed to prove me wrong.

Idea about Humanity:  This is definitely true.  Regret and baggage, along with the idea of inception itself.  It can't really be an outside force, it does have to come from within, which is why the dream diving is so necessary.  Great ideas.  Maybe not shown in the whole scope that many sci-fi's do, but after reading Lathe of Heaven I can see how these ideas can be applied to a small cast of characters.

Inception is almost pure sci-fi.  My particulars for my personal taste make it not, but if someone called it sci-fi, I wouldn't be as offended as I am when people call Star Wars sci-fi.  But that's another blog post for another day.

Lathe of Heaven by Ursla K. LeGuin

My mother, from when she was a homemaker, has a huge collection of sci-fi books she read while raising me and my brother.  I've been meaning to dig into them more, and other than a couple Asmiov stories didn't read a lot of them.  Due to me being on the train a lot, I decided to pick up one on a whim, so I chose Lathe of Heaven.

First of all, I had yet to read a female sci-fi author, and it was really refreshing.  A lot of the old sci-fi is masculine in their story-telling devices and you can tell.  That doesn't mean that male writers are better or worse than female writers, there's just a notable difference.  To be honest, when I write fiction it's a bit more masculine because I've been inspired by a lot of male writers (Tennesse Williams is my favorite playwright, I consider Oscar Wilde a god amongst men) and I'm sure it shows.  But LeGuin is feminine in the way that show shows the characters to the reader.  She's not just fantastic at showing their emotional state in a way that doesn't get repetitive, but showing who they are by how they show themselves to the world, it's beautiful.  Her metaphors and adjectives are in a really good balance, something you don't really appreciate without looking back at it.  Also, trying to be an effective writer make you really appreciate the talent involved in maintaining that balance.

By now you all should know that I am a huge character motivation person, and the focus of three characters had a great flow, and each chapter had a great focus on them.  George was perceived by everyone, including himself, as a simple dumb man.  If you read the book, you realize he's ridiculously wise beyond his years, even beyond being human in some respects.  When he tries to get help with his condition--dreaming things into reality with horrific consequences--his doctor Haber uses the opportunity to change the world for "the better".  George hires lawyer Heather to help and the both stay ridiculously connected to each other, and as Heather sees how George changes the world she becomes invested in helping him for his sake.  The changing of perspective between the characters shows their evolution through the book in a compelling way.  Seeing who stays the same throughout the universe that is constantly changing in history, and who changes, is extremely important to understand the moral problem of playing God.

LeGuin in many ways was ahead of her time.  In 1971 she wrote about interracial relationships with honesty, she wrote about peoples emotions in a way that many wanna-be authors wish to imitate today, and her take on George's unintended "solutions" were honest about humanity's flaws.  Sure she wasn't changing the literary world, but she was helping it progress.  I wish I could see the world through her eyes, because it must be truly inspiring.

The world she builds shows how sci-fi can be like a fantasy world without going all "elf-dwarf-orc" on you.  George's changes bring about some extremely bizarre things, that are fantastic to visualize in your head.  It was one of those books I did want to see a movie version, but I'm scared that the producers would not get the point of half of the decisions LeGuin made and why they are important.  Well, apparently two movies already exist, but I think I'm going to avoid them.  I'm always afraid of how directors and producers manipulate the text.

If you like sci-fi books with heavy questions and fantastic situations, I suggest picking up Lathe of Heaven.  And I will have to pick up another LeGuin book off my mother's bookshelf.

Found my calling at age 23?

Last night the reading I had went really well.  I don't want to bore you all with the details, but the reception was mostly positive, and people were convinced that I was going to get this produced somewhere.

Really?  Little old me?

So I guess I'm good at this writing thing.  But I was thinking about it, and about what's out there and how to make myself different, and then I realized...

There isn't enough sci-fi plays.

I'm serious about this.  I know I posted about the one Capek wrote, the one where the word robot originates, but there aren't a lot that come to my head.  Or any, really.  It's something absent on the stage.  Does it need to be on stage?  Not really, I can understand why film and tv work better for the genre.  Doesn't mean I'm not going to try though.

I think I mentioned to you guys that Lady Gaga's Bad Romance inspired me to write a story (can't really look up links while at work) but now that I think about it, play makes a lot more sense.  I'm partly writing this down here because I don't want to forget this idea, I think it could be rather riveting if I do it right.

I had a hard time sleeping last night, in the same way children can't fall asleep Christmas Eve.  Something exciting is happening and it's hard to rest.  Well I think the exciting thing that happend for me, after all the feedback and the whirlwind of ideas in my head, is that I realized I've been a writer all this time, and I don't have to let that go.  Officially, I'm calling myself a writer now.  And I feel like if I don't continue writing, I'm denying myself and all those people who were touched by my work something that at least some people out there want to connect to.

Give Dollhouse a Second Chance.

On a whim late last night I decided to check out Dollhouse again.  I only saw an io9 title saying that it was "the best thing on tv last night" so I wanted to see if it actually picked up.  I didn't feel the need to catch up with the rest of the series, it was past midnight and I actually wanted to wake up in the morning refreshed.  Also, I did see the second episode but was still unimpressed, so hadn't seen anything since.  I went from seeing episode two a few weeks ago to episode 6.  

It was pretty stellar.

Dollhouse is finally doing what good sci-fi should: asking tough questions.  How wrong is it to have a fantasy, and how far are you willing to go for it?  How dangerous is knowledge to those we wish to keep naive?  And an all time favorite, who can you really trust?

Spoiler Alert

The last episode involved a man who only wishes to be with his with for that one surprise he never got to show her.  Echo was suppose to be that woman for that job until FBI agent Paul figured out what was going on and dropped in hoping to get something out of the encounter.  He sees Echo, which falters his focus and then talks to the guy who rented Echo out.

This conversation was where I actually gained interest.  Patten Oswalt's character, the "renter" of Echo, legitimately lost love at exactly the point where his wife would've been paid back for all her faith in him.  He never got to surprise her with the dream home he bought for both of them due to her dying in a car crash when she was driving on her way to the surprise.  That's horrible!  There's nothing illegitimate about wanting to give her that surprise.  This isn't some twisted rich pervert who wants a sex toy for a weekend.  This is a guy who has an unrealized dream, and will do anything to have his wife back, even if it's only for a brief time.  

I started thinking about it.  The Dollhouse is a twisted sort of prostitution, but if I lost the boyfriend in a horrible crash right before everything went right for us, I would be tempted to do the same thing this renter did.  Does that make me a bad person?  Maybe, but I never said I wasn't one.

This, along with other questions about trust and power, were asked numerous times.  And don't forget about the questions you have for specific characters.  What the hell are Adelle's motives in the long run?  Are Sierra and Victor falling in love, and is that dangerous?  Will Paul ever feel satisfied if he ever finds out about Dollhouse?  If the 1st episode was more like the 6th episode, I wouldn't have had doubts about Dollhouse like I did before.  Joss Whedon is finally showing us the quality programming he knows he can produce.

SyFy?

I used to love the Sci-fi Channel.  It was full of Star Trek, The Twilight Zone and other smart programs that made me consider it as part of my channel surfing routine.  Over the years it started acquiring some low quality shows and movies, with the occasional gems like Battlestar Galactica and Farscape before that.  I stopped checking it out unless I knew another Outer Limits marathon was on.  A couple months ago they were advertising a wrestling fight they were airing on the channel, and I knew that the Sci fi Channel I loved had changed drastically.

Apparently the Sci-fi Channel sees that they need to change something, so they decided to change their name to appeal to a wider audience.  So what did they change their name too?

SyFy.

My first response: ew.  My second response: what was wrong with the original spelling?

I can understand not completely changing the name so people don't become confused, but misspelling branding always bothers me.  Like people don't know what it says if it's spelled different.  It still invokes the idea that there are science-related stories presented on the channel.  As long as that programming is going to be on that channel, you'll get that audience.

Also, the wider audience has more to do with the programming, and if you have crappy programing interspersed with a few golden moments your channel is still going to get sucky ratings.  Quality, not name changes, will change my opinion.

I would speak more on the subject, but looking at the spelling made my brain fry, so I need a break.  Later readers!