Sterile Promontory: GOSLIN. (2009)
R B Grange
21/02/2009
19/02/2009
If in doubt; work it out.
Suck in a rut? Make something. It's taken me four years of my life to learn this.
R B Grange
06/02/2009
Cheg on Fantasy, you am a twot.
Below is part of the new introduction to my writing on Nietzsche in Deep Space.
But why deep space? Why Sci-fi? What characteristics does this genre have that it might allow us such an insight into philosophical and moral questions?
For starters the genre has only been around for a hundred years, having its birth in the H G Wells novel The Time Machine. This story has since been the prototype for the majority of Science Fiction; with the main character, usually a scientist, making a discovery or invention, which places him in a position where he must react to new surroundings, a new context. Into this new context he takes facets of life from his own context (or we do as an onlooker), making moral decision, that might seem straight forward to us in our context, into questions of the initial context itself.
In relation to Marxist theory, Sci-fi directly examines the idea of power and how it is distributed. To understand this better let us look at how a ‘sister’ genre of sci-fi, that of Fantasy, deals with the struggle of and for power.
The power in Sci-fi comes from the new discovery or invention. This may be the observing of extra-terrestrial life, the finding of mutant leeches or the discovery of a world beneath our feet. It may be the making of faster-than-light travel, artificial intelligent, or the cloning of dinosaurs. In all these cases the power involved in quantifiable – it is a known entity, even if how we might react to its existence is unknown, the power is understood.
Fantasy, on the other hand, deals with powers that are unquantifiable, and, I might add, revels in this mysticism. It deals with gods and devils and magic rings, that, we are told, are things not to be dabbled with. Granted, it is a metaphor, but it places limitations on the human, and what we are able to endeavor to do. Fantasy says outright that the most powerful things in existence are beyond us, or are only attainable by loosing oneself in an already known predestined ritual. Science Fiction deals with the unknown situation of gained power and where that might place us. It does not deal with an unknown power, but an unknown context.
Shaa
R B Grange
But why deep space? Why Sci-fi? What characteristics does this genre have that it might allow us such an insight into philosophical and moral questions?
For starters the genre has only been around for a hundred years, having its birth in the H G Wells novel The Time Machine. This story has since been the prototype for the majority of Science Fiction; with the main character, usually a scientist, making a discovery or invention, which places him in a position where he must react to new surroundings, a new context. Into this new context he takes facets of life from his own context (or we do as an onlooker), making moral decision, that might seem straight forward to us in our context, into questions of the initial context itself.
In relation to Marxist theory, Sci-fi directly examines the idea of power and how it is distributed. To understand this better let us look at how a ‘sister’ genre of sci-fi, that of Fantasy, deals with the struggle of and for power.
The power in Sci-fi comes from the new discovery or invention. This may be the observing of extra-terrestrial life, the finding of mutant leeches or the discovery of a world beneath our feet. It may be the making of faster-than-light travel, artificial intelligent, or the cloning of dinosaurs. In all these cases the power involved in quantifiable – it is a known entity, even if how we might react to its existence is unknown, the power is understood.
Fantasy, on the other hand, deals with powers that are unquantifiable, and, I might add, revels in this mysticism. It deals with gods and devils and magic rings, that, we are told, are things not to be dabbled with. Granted, it is a metaphor, but it places limitations on the human, and what we are able to endeavor to do. Fantasy says outright that the most powerful things in existence are beyond us, or are only attainable by loosing oneself in an already known predestined ritual. Science Fiction deals with the unknown situation of gained power and where that might place us. It does not deal with an unknown power, but an unknown context.
Shaa
R B Grange
05/02/2009
"Have you been sick?"
Had the feed back from my review today.
JT told me that I need to make my work "the time for talking is passed".
I do need to do this, and therefore I shall. I've planned to make six of my A1 drawings and two raptor pelvis things. This is exciting.
The wedding went excellently and I look now, hopefully, have the job of co-editing the video.
Things are good.
R B Grange
JT told me that I need to make my work "the time for talking is passed".
I do need to do this, and therefore I shall. I've planned to make six of my A1 drawings and two raptor pelvis things. This is exciting.
The wedding went excellently and I look now, hopefully, have the job of co-editing the video.
Things are good.
R B Grange
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