I found Gattaca rather weak. Yet another sci-fi about not fitting into someone's vision of a perfect world. Its about the perceived value of human life being determined by genetic screening/manipulation technology. Where have I seen that before? Generally speaking in too many science fiction stories. Specifically? how about Brave New World. Even Lucas himself did something similar in "THX 1138".
Nobody points to "Days Of Our Lives" and says 'that's the reason no one takes my interpretative dance theatre production seriously'. And canning D.O.O.L. Wont bring a more receptive eye to their production.
Star Wars is like a gentle introduction to science fiction, I find it pap now too and wish it was more gritty, but I didn't think that back when I was 11 years old and watching it for the first time. If someone had sat me down to watch Gattaca when I was 11 its relationship to the real world would have gone right over my head. I'd see a boring film about some guy who goes to work, runs on a treadmill and makes his wheelchair bound boyfriend pee into a bottle and keep it in the fridge. If I stayed awake through it (I still have difficulty staying awake through it).
I'm not going to beg George to make 3 more, but I'm sure someone will take up the torch of 'dumbing down' sci-fi, padding interesting ideas with loads of frivolous drama or add modern interpretative dance to it in order to appeal to larger and younger audiences. Good on them.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Ursula K. Le Guin
"It takes these very stock metaphors of empire in space and monstrously bad people and wonderfully good people and plays out a bunch of stock operatic themes in space suits [...] You can do it with cowboy suits as well."
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Damn right you can, Firefly is hella fun to watch. Mixing the cowboy and sci-fi (nyah nyah) genres together to good effect.
