Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Sci-Fi Round-Up: July 30, 2014



Infographic: Mapping Climate Change on Tatooine Over 110 Galactic Years

Interview: Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige on Guardians of the Galaxy.

Interview: The Sunday Times interviews Peter Capaldi, star of Doctor Who.

Interview: Wired interviews Mike Buonaiuto, director of Credence.

7 reasons we can’t wait for Star Wars: Episode VII

15 Sci-Fi Books That Predicted the Future, chosen by Mashable.

The 100 Best Science Fiction Movies, as chosen by the Daily Grail.


As news spreads that Disney will be adding Leia themed toys to its merchandise, more and commentators are noting how often Leia is shown as a slave in kidworld. Considering the The Terrible Unspoken Implications Of Star Wars’ Slave Leia is this on-going criticism Slut-shaming Princess Leia or protecting childhood from adult sexuality? The debate is not a new one. Many fans have come out In Defense of Slave Leia, and almost as many have come out In Response to In Defense of Slave Leia. The controversy is part of why Star Wars is so Terrifying for Women. BtchFlcks thoughtfully posed the question earlier of whether Princess Leia is a Feminist Icon or Sexist Trope? Of course, it isn’t just women discussing the controversy, Having previously written an article titled “Don’t Dress as Slave Leia” and then, a rather more nuanced rehash in which he explored why telling people not to dress as Slave Leia is not itself free from problems, Ryan (of Mad Art Lab) has decided that, actually, he’s going to dress as Slave Leia this con season; or, rather, Slave Leo. Carrie Fisher discussed the costume in a 1983 interview with Rolling Stone. (Via)

Bookworm Blues recommends some Post Apocalyptic Reading.

Brian K. Vaughn And Fiona Staples Reveal What’s Ahead For Saga

Den of Geek breaks down Why The Terminator is a horror classic.

Dispatches From The Future: Ten of the brightest minds in science fiction imagine how we will live—on Earth and beyond—in the decades and centuries to come.

Dune Endures: “one explanation for Dune’s lack of true fandom among science-fiction fans is the absence from its pages of two staples of the genre: robots and computers. This is not an oversight on Herbert’s part but, rather, a clever authorial decision.”

Feminist Science Fiction Is the Best Thing Ever, proclaims Motherboard.

Here’s an excellent feminist sci-fi primer, in case you’re looking for one.

The Hollywood Reporter explains Why It Took 20 Years for the The Giver adaptation to Hit Theaters

How the sci-fi series Extant built a realistic future.

The Huffington Post explains Why Your Daughters Need More Star Trek

I, Origins Went To Insane Lengths To Get Its Science Right, but what does it say about Hollywood when “insanity” is the first word that comes to mind when a movie gets its science right?

The Imaginative Conservative imagines If Dostoevsky Had Written Science Fiction

io9 picks the 13 greatest sci-fi comedies of all time.

Mike Brotherton blogged about religious people talking about aliens over at Amazing Stories last week, after creationist Ken Ham suggested NASA stop looking for aliens because they’re going to Hell.  Not to discount Mr. Ham’s opinion, but Brotherton thinks we should keep looking anyway. And let me remind you that NASA thinks we’ll be successful relatively soon.

The Millions remembers Italo Calvino’s Science Fiction Masterpiece, Cosmicomics.

Not-So Brave New World: “cultures need not succumb to violent death; they can die of their own, internal causes, sinking society into a death-like boredom that may last for centuries. The Brave New World is a culture of supreme boredom; and what makes the boredom worse is the hopelessness arising from the fact that the people are too craven and self-involved to notice.”

Popular Mechanics asks Could We Ever Build an Artificial World? In their cosmic megastructures series, PM explores some of the key engineering and design challenges in constructing gigantic structures for use by humankind in space. Strangely, there’s no discussion as to the pros and cons of exhaust ports. Personally, I’d come down on the Con side.

Rise Up from Science Fiction Monoculture!

Science fiction authors pick their top science fiction movies

Snowpiercer and the Futility of Revolutions

Snowpiercer: This summer’s Indie Savior or Casualty?

Some sci-fi writers want fewer killer robots and more vision for the future. I suspect that these writers may be in cahoots with out future robot overlords.

Watch Nathan Fillion describe his First Comic-Con With Joss Whedon

What Sci-Fi Movies Get Right and Wrong About Time Travel, according to Slate.

Where literature and gaming collide: “Game narratives tend to drink from a narrow pond; they swig space operas and Tolkien, swish them about their mouths and trickle them into rows of polished glasses. There’s nothing wrong with science fiction and fantasy, just as there’s nothing wrong with escapism. But there is something wrong with lazy writing, with cynical pandering”

Why Is Science Fiction So Hard to Define?

Why Star Wars did not ruin sci-fi, no matter what Lewis Beale says.

William Gibson: the man who saw tomorrow: Neuromancer, 30 years old this month, leapt into cyberspace almost before it existed

Voyages About Nothing: How Seinfeld Influenced Star Trek’s Legacy.


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