Tuesday, March 22, 2016

THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS


                THE FICTION OF IDEAS



As I began to read this book, I realized that it definitely was not a space adventure.  My first impression was that it featured a different way of thinking about sex, gender, and it featured male dominance.  The Gethenians, even though they are men/women, acted too much like men.  One of the mind experiments presented was a society with men or women who share the biological and emotional makeup of both sexes.  The idea of once a month a person could develop into a female or male with sexual characteristics was totally mind blowing to me.  The idea of one time being a male and the next time being a female is just weird.  I do think that the idea that both male and female should take part in the raising of children was good.  This idea became reality in today's world because the responsibility of raising children with both parents having jobs is now shared.  The burden is no longer left to one parent.  This mind experiment also presented the idea of same sex partners which is currently happening, even in marriages.

Secondly, the theme of religion was also prominent with two different types.  These forms of religion to me represented a form of Christianity (Yomeshta) and Taoism/Buddhism (Handdara).  Taoism seemed to follow a more spiritual rhythm of nature in the sense of adaption rather than conquering.  More of a sense of unity and peace.  Whereas, Yomesh Cult focused on enlightenment and darkness and the idea of absolute knowledge by one leader.  In my opinion, this created a cultural distinction between societies.  Even today, religion plays a huge role in some of the world's problems.

In conclusion, some of the ideas presented in this book reminded me of the song "Imagine" by John Lennon.  Imagine a society without war and without sexuality playing a factor in social relationships. Imagine a society where prominent people are really interested in different cultures and are motivated to preserve rather than conquer them.  A world where rape, guns, and seduction are absent from society.  A society based on loyalty and integrity without betrayal.  I feel society is straying further and further away from these ideas.  This book introduced me to a different way of thinking about society.




Wednesday, March 16, 2016

THE STARS MY DESTINATION / SERENITY

           
                                               SPACE OPERA AND THE NEW FRONTIER
                                                                                                                         
This book by Alfred Bester expresses the theme of the power of imagination and shows how inner beliefs and feelings can become reality. Gully, the main character in the book, reminds me of Bilbo Baggins in the Hobbit. Gully had very little ambition, no dreams, no imagination, and very little confidence. These characters were very similar to Bilbo. As the story progresses, Gully just like Bilbo, finds a purpose in life, strength, and courage.  Both characters are on a heroic journey with Bilbo and his quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom and Gully with his obsession to pursue the crew of a ship that left him to die and marooned in space.

Gully's quest turns into an adventure story through space. I see him as someone who went from being a hero to a villain. He transforms into a totally different character by being abandoned and betrayed. I believe Gully becomes a bad guy because he was wronged and motivated by revenge. He puts himself in the position of being the most wanted man in the galaxy. I see him as a person warped on revenge who eventually finds his way back and develops a conscience.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
                     
On the Spiritual Level, Gully continues to see a mysterious "Burning Man" image which flickers in and out of existence like a candle flame.  This image I believe represents him and his temper and desire for revenge.  The story also reveals a cult who tattooed Gully's face with a mask of a tiger.  At one point, a love story aspect with Gully emerges.  He falls in love with someone who he really can't have, Olivia, because she is the daughter of his arch nemisis.

This story seems to be a predecessor to the genre of Cyberpunk because the setting was in the future and it focused on high tech and the low life aspects of society.  It explored jaunting which was a personal teleportation across miles.  It also revealed a dark, unfriendly world.  This book had a little of several genres, Heroic Journey, Adventure Story, Spiritual Encounter, and Cyberpunk.  I liked this book very much.  It had a lot of action, suspense, and futuristic vision.  Space Opera is my favorite genre of Science Fiction.

Movie:  SERENITY (2005)

This movie focuses on the genre of action, and adventure, fantasy and space opera.  The movie time frame is set in the year 2517.  Serenity is a spaceship whose crew live their lives smuggling and cargo-running.  This group of renegades are on the run in outer space.  The action and adventure build in this movie as the crew faces a league of rebels, the Reavers who have violent behavior and the work they obtain from criminal activities like smuggling and stealing to offer transport to travelers.  The ship's captain, Mal, reminds me of Han Solo, but with a little less cynical attitude.

One of the parts of the movie that I found interesting was the list of passengers aboard the Serenity.  The professional companion was understandable, but the holy man and the teenage girl who has psychic powers seemed to conflict.  It becomes quite interesting when the Alliance forces become hot on the track of the Serenity in order to recapture the young psychic girl.  The characters in the movie act like cowboys from the old west and their fight against the bad guys.  This movie represents Space Opera because it was set far in the future, the adventure is mainly set in space, and involves conflict between opponents possessing powerful abilities.  Serenity, in my opinion, was a combination of Star Trek and Star Wars, but with a slightly renegade twist.  I enjoyed watching this movie.






                                                                
                                               









Monday, March 7, 2016

ANANSI BOYS / LADY IN THE WATER


                                                 CONTEMPORARY URBAN FANTASY


This book by Neil Gaiman contains dark predictions, mystical trickery, family dysfunction, and of course, killer birds.  The story deals with Animism and Witchcraft.  Animism is a type of religion that comes from Africa.  It consists of dealing with the real world and the world of the spirits filled with ghosts, demons, and magic.

The story describes two brothers, Charlie A/K/A Fat Charlie and Spider, who are completely opposite from each other and their dad who recently died.  Their dad wasn't a normal dad.  He was Anansi, the spider god of Africa.  He represented the archetype from which all tricksters were created.  Anansi was known as the spirit of rebellion who was very capable of creating turmoil/chaos and even confusing the devil.  This family was very dysfunctional.  Charlie never knew who his father really was or that he had a brother until his father died.  Charlie is mild mannered and Spider, his brother, steps into Charlie's life and takes over even to the point that he shows interest in Charlie's fiancee, Rosie.  Spider brings chaos into Fat Charlie's life.  This is an example of what happens when things in life are turned around.  Even though Spider causes problems for Charlie, he still cares for his brother.

Anansi represents a physical reality found everywhere in nature.  Another animistic apparition who appears is the Bird Woman.  She is an evil goddess who brings hordes of dead flamingos down from the sky as a curse on Charlie's brother, Spider.  These represent the myth and mythological figures in the story.  Lastly, this story shows how even gods can be as petty for revenge as humans and how mythology and modern times can impact life.

Movie:  LADY IN THE WATER (2006)

This movie begins with an apartment superintendent named Cleveland Heep who discovers a girl named Story swimming in the pool.  Story represents a Narf who is a character from a bedtime story that is being hunted by a creature called a Scrunt.  Story comes from the Blue World.  This story represents a real world situation combined with mythological characters.

Story's purpose for coming to the real world is to motivate a great writer to complete his work that will create a positive effect on the future.  The writer is Cleveland.  Scrunt is determined to stop her and prevent her from returning to her world and helping Cleveland.  The only one to stop him is the guardian.  The characters are all part of a bedtime story that is being played out.  At the end, an eagle appears and takes Story back to her Blue World.  Heep realizes that she has saved him from hiding himself away and continues to write.  Cleveland is able to overcome his sadness and sorrow from the death of his family with the help of the spiritual world.

In this movie, a suburb was inhabited by mythical creatures.  The message is that the creatures are desperate to communicate warnings to Man, but Man has forgotten how to listen.  The movie was about storytelling and it taught a good lesson at the end.