Star Wars-Sci-Fi or Fantasy?

Another Star Wars post because I just love writing about it so darn much! When I was a in high school I had an English teacher that informed us, his loyal students, that Star Wars was in fact a fantasy story and not science fiction like I had always figured it was. Seriously, it has aliens, space ships and laser guns. What’s the scoop? I’ve also had several other people proclaim the same thing to me since. Not that it’s a HUGE deal, but when you spend 17 years of your life thinking of something in a certain way and then find out it may not be that way, that can mess with you a little bit, especially if it’s Star Wars related. So what is it? Let’s research this out a little bit.

According to Wikipedia, science fiction is defined as… “a genre of fiction dealing with imaginative content such as futuristic settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, time travel, faster than light travel, parallel universes, and extraterrestrial life. It often explores the potential consequences of scientific and other innovations, and has been called ‘a literature of ideas.'”

Fantasy fiction is the defined as…”a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary plot element, theme or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic and magical creatures are common. [differs from science fiction in that it] steers clear of scientific and macabre themes.”

According to the SF definition, Star Wars features four of the six things listed as common themes in SF. It would be assumed that it takes place in a futuristic setting except for the “a long time ago…” phrase. Most SF stories tend to deal with a “what if…” scenario like “what if robots were among us” or “what if our reality was false and we were plugged into a machine called The Matrix” Star Wars doesn’t feature this as a theme or have other scientific themes, but focuses a lot more on the good vs. evil approach which is extremely prominent in fantasy fiction. The force can also be classified as magic, unless you buy the Phantom Menace explanation with metachlorians, in which case the Force can be explained and could therefore be a SF attribute. But then there’s sword fighting, which is more of a fantasy feature than SF, but it’s sword fighting with a technological weapon. Ugh.. this is hard. Maybe we should just vote. Or maybe you just don’t care. But seriously, what do you think? The franchise seems to have fairly equal attributes from both forms of fiction. Personally I still refer to it as sci-fi because A) that’s what most other people refer to it as and what I’ve always known it to be and B) it’s got space, space ships, aliens, robots, and laser guns. If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it’s probably a duck.

 

Defending Daredevil

If you’ve ever talked to me for an extended period of time, you’ll find that I LOVE superheroes and comic books. There’s just something I find extremely fascinating about someone that chooses to make a difference in other people’s lives, puts on some sort of costume, and uses their special abilities and powers to better the lives of others. It’s noble and fun all at the same time. If you look at the box office numbers of superhero movies over the last 10+ years, you’ll see that I’m far from the only person with this fascination.

Spider-Man, Batman, and any other household super names usually gets the credit they deserve. However one character that I feel doesn’t but should is my homie Daredevil.

Some Marvel characters such as Iron Man and Black Widow have gone from second tier to extremely popular over the years because they have been featured in quality movies. Daredevil was unlucky in this regard. He is a fantastic character that was featured in a bad movie and is suffering the consequences of it to this day. Because his movie was bad, people assume he’s not a great or interesting character. It’s easy to point out the flaws in this logic but I also understand where this comes from. For years I thought Batman was a lame and corny character because of Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. I had even been a big fan of him before with some comics, the Burton films and Batman: The Animated Series. Unfortunately the Schumacher films just left a bad taste in my mouth, until my palate was cleansed in an extreme way with Batman Begins.

Well despite Daredevil’s poor film debut, the good news is he is getting a Netflix original mini series next year. I’m very optimistic about this mini series, but even if it turns out to be bad, here’s a list of reasons why you should give Daredevil a fresh chance and ignore the Ben Affleck film.

-Daredevil is blind. He is the only superhero that comes to my mind that has a physical handicap and is actively fighting crime. This provides not only an interesting twist to the character, but also helps us to give more thought to the handicap even if it is through the lens of a fictional character. In this way Daredevil can act as a fictional advocate for those that are blind.

-Daredevil’s superpowers consist of his other senses being at a superhuman level, as well as a radar sense that helps him to sense things his other senses may not. The interesting thing about these powers is while other heroes powers give them an extreme advantage like Superman’s multiple abilities or Wolverine’s healing factor, Daredevil’s powers act more as a way to make up for his disadvantage of being blind than to give him a huge general advantage. It’s true Daredevil’s powers give him an edge at some points (for example he can use his hearing to listen to a person’s heart beat and detect if they are lying) but it’s just enough of an edge to keep things interesting and yet not enough for him to rely on these abilities like say Wolverine or Deadpool do with their healing power.

-When Daredevil isn’t jumping across rooftops or punching criminals in the face he is a lawyer by day as Matthew Murdock. Murdock is a defense lawyer that defends people when they have been wronged in some way. Therefore Daredevil is consistently helping people in and out of tights. He can also act as an example to people about getting a good education.

-Daredevil is a master martial artist, which is always fun to watch or read about in different fictions. According to wikipedia, Daredevil blends the styles of ninjutsu, aki jujutsu, jujitsu, kung fu, capoeira, judo, aikido, wrestling, stick fighting and American boxing into his fighting. I know I’m going to make some enemies saying this, but I believe that Daredevil could beat Batman in a hand to hand fight on pure skill alone. And that is coming from someone that likes Batman just a little bit more than Daredevil.

-All superheroes are tragic characters, but Daredevil is as tragic as they come. He was abandoned by his mother, his father was murdered, two of his loves were murdered in front of him (though one came back to life in typical comics habit), he was married, then left by his wife, then she became mentally ill. The Kingpin blew up his house and ruined his life when he found out who he really was. Daredevil has also struggled with his mental health throughout his life.

-Daredevil’s secret identity was revealed to the public, starting a realistic chain of events of what would happen to someone legally if they have been fighting crime as a vigilante. This hadn’t really been done before in superhero comics.

-Daredevil has been written by some of the most talented comic writers out there, including Frank Miller, Brian Bendis, Kevin Smith, Ed Brubaker, and Mark Waid.

Okay, now this is all stuff I came up with at the top of my head. So seriously, Daredevil is a fantastic character that needs a second chance. He deserves all of the popularity that other Marvel characters have been getting lately. So give Daredevil a chance!

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Being in the Wrong Time Period

One of the most treasured times of my life was the two year full time mission I served for the LDS church. I served in the Eugene, Oregon area from 2006-2008 and met some really fantastic people. One of these fantastic people that I met was my second companion Christian Larson. When I met Christian (Elder Larson at the time) I quickly learned that reading was his all time favorite hobby, and he was also a huge fan of the sci-fi/fantasy genres. I’m also a huge fan of sci-fi/fantasy so we got along really well.

Of the many great memories I have of Christian, one of my favorites is when we would get home at night. I usually would be sitting on the couch talking on the phone to other missionaries or writing in my journal. Christian on the other hand would be pacing the apartment with a broom handle swinging it around and having a grand old time. Christian never specified exactly what he was swinging his broom handle at, but I never had to ask. Christian was swinging his make shift sword at orcs, sith lords, or trollocs. Sometimes one of our lamps would get caught in the cross fire of these battles. And do you know what Christian would often say to me during these battles?

“Elder Champlin, do you ever feel like you were born during the wrong time period?”

Chrisitan wanted to take his sword fighting to the next level. He didn’t want to be swinging a broom handle around in a missionary apartment. He wanted the real deal. He wanted to be a knight of the round table and to fight other knights in black armor and run around banging coconuts together.

I’ve experienced this with a handful other people with nerd interests throughout my life. Scientists haven’t come up with an actual name for it yet, but it’s the state of loving a time period so much that you wish you were born in it. If you’re ever at a park and you see a group of people dressed up and fighting each other with foam medieval weapons, they likely have what Christian had. Heck, I’ve even felt these symptoms from time to time if I have logged in to many hours on Skyrim or Baldur’s Gate.

But I am here to tell 2006 Christian Larson, LARPers of the world, and occasionally Tim Champlin that you were not born in the wrong time period.

In order to illustrate my point, I have included a pros and cons list of living during the medieval era in real life.

Pros- the greater possibility of dying a glorious death. I.e. lying in a field with arrows sticking out of you like unto Boromir of LOTR fame.

Cons-the greater possibility of dying a glorious death with arrows sticking out of you like unto Boromir of LOTR fame.
-Non of the modern conveniences
-Working 12 hours a day (or more) in a kitchen, farm, or servant job.
-If you are a man having a “physical relationship” with a woman, the hair to leg ratio will be exactly the same on both people.

There are countless other cons but I rest my case. It’s fun to read about and play in time periods in the past, but it’s not as fun to actually be alive in them. So let’s all sit in our air conditioned homes, sip some wild cherry pepsi, and watch Monty Python and the Holy Grail and be grateful we don’t have to live such a “charmed” lifestyle.

P.S.-I was on the phone with Christian the other day and I am proud to say that he has overcome this desire now that he is married man with a good profession. 

 

 

David Goyer-Get This Guy Out of Hollywood

Over the years, superhero movies have become a way for Hollywood to make millions and even billions of dollars. I never thought as a 10 year old I would see an Avengers movie, a Spider-Man movie, and a Batman movie come out in the same year, within months of each other. It has been an honor as a comic book fan to see some of my favorite characters come to life on the movie screen, and even more so, to see superheroes and comic books more accepted in mainstream culture.

I think the credit should go to the movie makers who have taken chances with these properties and showed the world that amazing stories could be told of these costumed heroes. Most of these writers and directors have showed their love for the genre, and honored these characters with excellent films. Bless the hearts of the Nolan Brothers (Dark Knight), Jon Favreau (Iron Man), Joss Whedon (Avengers), Marc Webb (Spider-Man), and the countless other writers, directors, and producers that make these movies happen. Unfortunately, there are other creators in Hollywood that have ridden the waves of success with some of these film makers, and have gotten credit for some fantastic work, when it’s probably no where near deserved.

David Goyer, I’m looking at you.

David Goyer is a screen writer and director that has been considered by some to be a talented creator and has been given way to much responsibility and credit for the DC cinematic universe. Goyer is most well known for his work on the Dark Knight trilogy as well as Man of Steel. He is the main writer for the upcoming Batman v. Superman movie as well as Justice League, and adapting the upcoming tv series Constantine. Now that’s some pretty serious stuff to be writing for. Now let me make a list for you of other movies Goyer has been involved in. I’m going to include their rotten tomatoes rating in parenthesis to make my point.

The Puppet Masters (26%)
The Crow: City of Angels (12%)
Dark City (74%)
 Blade (55%)
Blade II (59%)
Blade:Trinity (26%)
Jumper (16%)
The Unborn (11%)
Ghost Rider (26%)
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (18%)

So I know that Rotten Tomatoes isn’t the end all be all of movie reviews, however you have to admit his film career is just more than suspect. So basically, Goyer somehow managed to get involved with the Nolan Batman franchise and received positive attention for something he likely wasn’t really responsible for.

On another note, Goyer has gotten some really negative nerd press recently concerning his comments on the Marvel character She-Hulk. Basically, Goyer was saying that he believed She-Hulk was created to be an extension of the male power fantasy, in that if you were to become an incredibly strong character like the Hulk, She-Hulk would be there as someone strong enough for someone like Hulk to have sex with. “…let’s create a giant green porn star that only the Hulk could $#&%”

Thought #1- I think it shows a lot about someone who’s theory is a comic book character was created solely so other really strong characters could have sex with them.

Thoughts #2-I’m not sure if Goyer realized that She-Hulk is the Hulk’s cousin, and therefore they have never had any kind of romantic interactions.

Conclusion: David Goyer is someone who got a huge break working with someone as talented as Christopher Nolan. However, he himself is not talented. He was able to get his name on some fantastic movies and therefore was given work that he is not capable of doing a good job of. He also has some very poor, superficial, and creepy views on various comic characters. He should not be adapting characters as iconic as Batman or Superman on the big screen. I know Hollywood is concerned more with making money than making quality work, and they will make money on these characters no matter how good or bad the movies are, but Warner Bros., can’t we do better? Goyer does not deserve this job. If you decide to not go with Goyer after all, maybe you should give me a shot at writing these movies. I seriously think I could do a better and more respectful job.

David Goyer-Get This Guy Out of Hollywood