tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3304302673132222419.post4280275023967847742..comments2023-11-09T22:51:59.986-05:00Comments on Dreaming About Other Worlds: Biased Opinion - Inventing a Science Fiction Past to Complain About the Science Fiction PresentAaron Poundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11747596648152141394noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3304302673132222419.post-50214488405295454402015-02-28T12:23:58.125-05:002015-02-28T12:23:58.125-05:00@Bob R Milne: I think there is something interesti...@Bob R Milne: I think there is something interesting going on here. Torgersen is the current flag-bearer for the "Sad Puppy" cadre, and the posts that group has put up concerning the issue are loaded with grievances based upon essentially false information and baseless assumptions such as those displayed in Torgersen's "nutty nuggets" post. There is something of a pathology here in which the "Sad Puppies" have constructed a narrative that is quite obviously at odds with reality in order to advance a story of their own persecution.<br /><br />I doubt that pointing out the falsity of their fictional version of the history and present of the genre is going to change their minds. After all, their entire premise is based on a fantasy of their own making and not upon any kind of studied assessment of the facts, so pointing out the facts is likely to glace right off of their persecution complex. But I think it is important to analyze this somewhat intriguing kind of mass delusion that has taken hold in the "conservative" corner of the science fiction field.Aaron Poundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11747596648152141394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3304302673132222419.post-78490175467143136972015-02-26T15:51:18.728-05:002015-02-26T15:51:18.728-05:00Huh? Really? I'll admit, I didn't read his...Huh? Really? I'll admit, I didn't read his entire rant, but you're right that he's mis-remembering (or mis-imagining) the history of the genre. There have always been sci-fi stories that are just fun adventure fiction, and there will always be a place in my heart for them. Sometimes you just want some literary comfort food in the form of a lost world adventure or a blazing space opera. <br /><br />Sci-fi in the 60s and 70s especially, however, was largely about bigger, wider, more complex social issues. Some of those books fascinate me, and some were too heavy on ideas and too light on plot for my tastes, but they're important reads. I don't like being preached at, and heavy-handed social commentary solely for the sake of condemnation doesn't interest me, but I'm all for being educated and enlightened as I'm being entertained. <br /><br />It's a genre if infinite ideas and possibilities, of utopian and dystopian futures, so why should it be restricted to what's 'safe' and 'vanilla' today?Bob/Sallyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07830145891314387373noreply@blogger.com