Posted in Entertainment, Likes, tagged aliens, awesome, cheer me right up, fun, Guardians of the Galaxy, inspiration, movies, recommended, Redbone, science fiction, sff, work, yay on August 12, 2014| 1 Comment »
Yeah, I saw Guardians of the Galaxy. If you haven’t, it’s a damn fine movie. Damn fine!
Posted in Entertainment, Likes, Writing, tagged arts, characters, creativity, entertainment, feminism, Fiction, genre fiction, How to Train Your Dragon 2, science fiction, sff, speculative fiction, Strong Female Character, Tasha Robinson, The Matrix, Thoughts, Trinity Syndrome, Writers, writing, yay on June 19, 2014| Leave a Comment »
We’re losing all our Strong Female Characters to Trinity Syndrome
This excellent piece by Tasha Robinson sums up a lot of the problems mainstream storytelling has with “Strong Female Characters.”
For the ordinary dude to be triumphant, the Strong Female Character has to entirely disappear into Subservient Trophy Character mode. This is Trinity Syndrome à la The Matrix: the hugely capable woman who never once becomes as independent, significant, and exciting as she is in her introductory scene.
If you are interested in learning how not to bury your SFC’s light under a bushel, I recommend this article. It highlights on-point questions creatives should ask themselves, like:
03. Could your Strong Female Character be seamlessly replaced with a floor lamp with some useful information written on it to help a male hero?
:p
In many instances, what starts out as an interesting character is hobbled in order to provide the male hero with whatever thing he needs (knowledge, motivation, etc.) to make it to the finish line. There are exceptions, of course, and I’m pleased to say that Emily Blunt’s character in Edge of Tomorrow was one such.
So maybe all the questions can boil down to this: Looking at a so-called Strong Female Character, would you—the writer, the director, the actor, the viewer—want to be her?
Like Tasha Robinson, I loved Cate Blanchett’s character in How to Train Your Dragon 2 and was as disappointed when the role for this supremely kick-ass woman who was willing to live in exile for twenty years to uphold her principles just sort of… fizzled out. I hope to see more from her in a third installment. In fact, I hope to see more Strong Female Characters across the board.
Who knows, one day we might even just call them, oh, I don’t know, “Female Characters.”
Posted in Entertainment, Likes, tagged awesome, Doug Liman, Emily Blunt, entertainment, genre fiction, Hiroshi Sakurazaka, movies, science fiction, sff, speculative fiction, Tom Cruise on June 8, 2014| 1 Comment »
So, remember when I had a hard time finding a movie theatre showing Edge of Tomorrow in 2D? I know, that was, like, hours ago, you may have forgotten. I bring it up now to say that I did find a theatre, and I did go see the film, and it was Totally Worth It, people! No spoilers, but the acting and directing and editing and… well, just about everything was top notch. Really, really enjoyed it.
Definitely recommended.
Now I’m off to find the book it’s based on, All You Need Is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka. Because speculative fiction well done is a delight.
Posted in Entertainment, tagged 3D movies, annoyances, Edge of Tomorrow, entertainment, less than awesome, Ottawa movie theaters, science fiction, sff, speculative fiction, Thoughts on June 6, 2014| 1 Comment »
Srsly, Ottawa movie theaters, why can’t I see Edge of Tomorrow in anything other than 3-frickin-D this weekend? Oh look, here’s an article about how the gross for this movie might be underwhelming. Could it have anything to do with the fact that some of us can’t see it without wearing glasses that make us want to lose our lunch?
Hang on a sec, after much searching I have found one theatre (hey there little guy!) that is showing this movie in 2D. One. Guess which theatre is getting my money? Because hey, I want to see Edge of Tomorrow. 🙂
Posted in Entertainment, Funny, tagged Canada, CONPLAN, funny, inspiration, ishouldbeworking, Pentagon, speculative fiction, superfun, war fighting, War Plan Red, zombie Apocalypse, zombie preparedness, zombies on May 21, 2014| 1 Comment »
Today I’m reading up on ways to prepare for the zombie apocalypse, as one does. How, you ask (as one would)? Why, by studying the Pentagon’s own zombie preparedness manual, CONPLAN 8888, of course!
Yes, it’s tongue-in-cheek, but not entirely. The planners behind this gem of a training tool realized that zombies would be a great way to engage trainees in threat assessments and creative problem solving in the field, all without running afoul of an actual constituency. After all, pick a real country as the subject of your war plan and it’s a quick leak away from a serious misunderstanding (and no one wants to piss off Canada again, amIright? Canadian Bacon, people!). And what’s more fun than fighting zombies?
See for yourself, and watch out for those space zombies!
Posted in Entertainment, Writing, tagged Ann Leckie, awesome, books, creativity, entertainment, Fiction, genre fiction, Nebula Awards, science fiction, sff, SFWA, short stories, Writers, writing on May 19, 2014| Leave a Comment »
In case you missed it over the weekend, the SFWA has announced the winners of this year’s Nebula Awards. (You may remember the winner for best novel from an earlier post here at this site.) Congratulations to all!
Novel
Winner: Ancillary Justice, Ann Leckie (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
Nominees:
We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, Karen Joy Fowler (Marian Wood)
The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Neil Gaiman (Morrow; Headline Review)
Fire with Fire, Charles E. Gannon (Baen)
Hild, Nicola Griffith (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
The Red: First Light, Linda Nagata (Mythic Island)
A Stranger in Olondria, Sofia Samatar (Small Beer)
The Golem and the Jinni, Helene Wecker (Harper)
Novella
Winner: ‘‘The Weight of the Sunrise,’’ Vylar Kaftan (Asimov’s 2/13)
Nominees:
‘‘Wakulla Springs,’’ Andy Duncan & Ellen Klages (Tor.com 10/2/13)
‘‘Annabel Lee,’’ Nancy Kress (New Under the Sun)
‘‘Burning Girls,’’ Veronica Schanoes (Tor.com 6/19/13)
‘‘Trial of the Century,’’ Lawrence M. Schoen (www.lawrencemschoen.com; World Jumping)
Six-Gun Snow White, Catherynne M. Valente (Subterranean)
Novelette
Winner: ‘‘The Waiting Stars,’’ Aliette de Bodard (The Other Half of the Sky)
Nominees:
‘‘Paranormal Romance,’’ Christopher Barzak (Lightspeed 6/13)
‘‘They Shall Salt the Earth with Seeds of Glass,’’ Alaya Dawn Johnson (Asimov’s 1/13)
‘‘Pearl Rehabilitative Colony for Ungrateful Daughters,’’ Henry Lien (Asimov’s 12/13)
‘‘The Litigation Master and the Monkey King,’’ Ken Liu (Lightspeed 8/13)
‘‘In Joy, Knowing the Abyss Behind,’’ Sarah Pinsker (Strange Horizons 7/1 – 7/8/13)
Short Story
Winner: ‘‘If You Were a Dinosaur, My Love,’’ Rachel Swirsky (Apex 3/13)
Nominees:
‘‘The Sounds of Old Earth,’’ Matthew Kressel (Lightspeed 1/13)
‘‘Selkie Stories Are for Losers,’’ Sofia Samatar (Strange Horizons 1/7/13)
‘‘Selected Program Notes from the Retrospective Exhibition of Theresa Rosenberg Latimer,’’ Kenneth Schneyer (Clockwork Phoenix 4)
‘‘Alive, Alive Oh,’’ Sylvia Spruck Wrigley (Lightspeed 6/13)
Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation
Winner: Gravity
Nominees:
Doctor Who: ‘‘The Day of the Doctor’’
Europa Report
Her
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Pacific Rim
Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy Book
Winner: Sister Mine, Nalo Hopkinson (Grand Central)
Nominees:
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, Holly Black (Little, Brown; Indigo)
When We Wake, Karen Healey (Allen & Unwin; Little, Brown)
The Summer Prince, Alaya Dawn Johnson (Levine)
Hero, Alethea Kontis (Harcourt)
September Girls, Bennett Madison (Harper Teen)
A Corner of White, Jaclyn Moriarty (Levine)
Kevin O’Donnell Jr. Service to SFWA Award: Michael Armstrong
2013 Damon Knight Grand Master Award: Samuel R. Delany
2013 Special Honoree: Frank M. Robinson
Posted in Entertainment, tagged :(, Almost Human, Fox, JJ Abrams, Karl Urban, Michael Ealy, science fiction, sff, speculative fiction, television on May 15, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Because of course! Almost Human was a smart show, well-written and acted, had a great cast with complex relationships, an interesting and mysterious vision of the future, and healthy doses of both pathos and humor. Of course it’s been canceled!
I loved the dynamic between the show’s two main characters (played with subtlety by Eomer Karl Urban and Michael Ealy), and who doesn’t want to push an android out of a moving vehicle once in a while? I think we can all relate to that.
Thank goodness we still have 10^∞ reality shows to watch.
/facepalm
/yesthatwassarcasm
So, sad news for viewers of quality TV, speculative or otherwise. Thank goodness we still have books!
Posted in Entertainment, Likes, tagged Andy Serkis, awesome, Brendan Gleeson, Carrie Fisher, entertainment, Episode VII, Harrison Ford, John Boyega, Mark Hamill, Max von Sydow, movies, Oscar Isaac, Peter Mayhew, science fiction, sff, star wars, yay on April 29, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Yes, a lot of these names come up in previous discussion around the film, but there’s nothing like an official announcement to make things, erm, official. The core cast from the original trilogy is returning, which is terrific. And I’m particularly pleased to see John Boyega after his impressive turn in Attack the Block, and of course “stone cold veteran badass Max Von Sydow” (oh Ming the Merciless, you slay me!). And they start shooting in a couple of weeks. Better and better!
/fingers crossed
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