June 6, 2010

SF/F Commentary

Meme: Women in Science Fiction

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John Ottinger over at Grasping For the Wind posted a meme yesterday based on Sandra McDonald’s periodic table of women in science fiction. Since I’ve recently been talking about women in science fiction with Weirdside on our podcast, I thought it would be fun to do this meme here. I’ll put my stats at the bottom of the list with a brief comment. (One thing to note: I own a lot of books and it’s entirely possible that some of the folks below should be bolded who are not. I can’t remember all of the books I own; there are just too darn many.) The meme: Bold the women by whom you own booksItalicize those by whom you’ve read something of (short stories count)*Star those you don’t recognize Andre NortonC. L. MooreEvangeline Walton*Leigh BrackettJudith Merril*Joanna RussMargaret St. Clair*Katherine MacLean*Carol EmshwillerMarion Zimmer BradleyZenna Henderson*Madeline L’EngleAngela CarterUrsula LeGuinAnne McCaffreyDiana Wynne JonesKit ReedJames Tiptree, Jr.Rachel Pollack*Jane YolenMarta Randall*Eleanor Arnason*Ellen AsherPatricia A. McKillipSuzy McKee Charnas*Lisa TuttleNina Kiriki HoffmanTanith LeePamela Sargent*Jayge Carr*Vonda McIntyreOctavia E. ButlerKate WilhelmChelsea Quinn YarbroSheila Finch*Mary GentleJessica Amanda Salmonson*C. J. CherryhJoan D. VingeTeresa Nielsen HaydenEllen KushnerEllen DatlowNancy KressPat MurphyLisa GoldsteinElizabeth Ann ScarboroughMary Turzillo*Connie WillisBarbara HamblyNancy Holder*Sheri S. TepperMelissa ScottMargaret AtwoodLois McMaster BujoldJeanne CavelosKaren Joy FowlerLeigh KennedyJudith MoffettRebecca Ore*Emma BullPat CadiganKathyrn CramerLaura Mixon*Eileen GunnElizabeth HandKij JohnsonDelia ShermanElizabeth MoonMichaela Roessner*Terri WindlingSharon LeeSherwood SmithKatherine KurtzMargo LanaganLaura ResnickKristine Kathryn RuschSheila WilliamsFarah MendlesohnGwyneth JonesArdath Mayhar*Esther Friesner*Debra Doyle*Nicola GriffithAmy Thomson*Martha Wells*Catherine AsaroKate ElliottKathleen Ann GoonanShawna McCarthyCaitlin KiernanMaureen McHughCheryl MorganNisi ShawlMary Doria RussellKage BakerKelly LinkNancy SpringerJ. K. RowlingNalo HopkinsonEllen KlagesTananarive DueM. Rickert*Theodora GossMary Anne MohanrajS. L. ViehlJo WaltonKristine SmithDeborah Layne*Cherie PriestWen SpencerK. J. BishopCatherynne M. ValenteElizabeth BearEkaterina SediaNaomi NovikMary Robinette KowalAnn VanderMeer The breakdown is like this:–Total authors on the list: 117–Authors I have never heard of: 25 (21.4%)–Authors whose work I own: 49 (41.9%)–Authors whose work I’ve read: 18 (15.4%)–Authors whose work I’ve never read: 99 (84.6%) Alright, so here’s what I think about all of this. 1. While I only own work for 49 of the authors listed above, I also own multiple books by the majority of them. I am well on my way to owning everything Nalo Hopkinson and Kage Baker have ever written, have a dozen Andrew Norton novels, and quite a few from many others on the list. 2. I’m rather shocked that I don’t own work for many of the big name authors on the list. I may have to check my library to make sure I’m not forgetting things. 3. Of the 18 authors whose work I have read, many of them I have read multiple times. I’ve read two Kage Baker novels, at least four Elizabeth Bear ones, two by Jo Walton, and a number of Le Guin and Butler titles. 4. A lot of female authors I have read do not appear on this list, such as: Susan Beth Pfeffer, Jennifer Rahn, Chris Moriarty, Kay Kenyon, and Mary Shelley. 5. I really would like to read more of the authors on this list. This has been an issue for me for two reasons: the first is that I receive very few female authors in either science fiction and fantasy to review; the second is that most of the female authors I have read are either fantasy authors or authors of other genres; and the third is that I don’t have as much time for free reading as I would like, which inevitably means I don’t get to read more diversely. I am hoping to solve the last of these issues, though, and maybe I’ll get the opportunity to read more female authors in the future. We’ll see. Right now, things are looking pretty crowded. 6. After all is said and done, I do think I may have to be a little more proactive in diversifying my reading, not just in terms of gender, but in terms of race as well. I’ve said as much before, but this is making it a little more clear for me. I’ve also said in the past that my non-diverse reading is not at all intentional, nor subconscious, which is perhaps made clear by the fact that many of the women I have read on this list are folks I came to organically, enjoyed, and continue to read. And that’s the end of that. I’m curious how the numbers look for everyone else, though. Let me know in the comments.

SF/F Commentary

Webshow Review: Universal Dead (Ep. 1 and 2)

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The web has proven to be a great place for amateur and accomplished filmmakers to showcase their talent. Joss Whedon gave us Dr. Horrible; Felicia Day and her pals gave us The Guild; and Sandeep Parikh gave us The Legend of Neil. Now comes Vernon Mortenson’s Universal Dead, a novel attempt at a zombie-apocalypse webshow featuring D. B. Sweeney (Fire in the Sky, Jericho), Gary Graham (Alien Nation, Star Trek Enterprise), Doug Jones (Fantastic Four 2, Hellboy 2), and a crew of real life military men (one Marine and four Navy SEALs). The story is set in the near future after a strange infection or disease has devastated the world. It follows Dr. Macavoy (Graham), a scientist with the CDC who has been brought out by Captain Trent (Sweeney) to a quarantined San Diego to see a presentation by Dr. Vataber (Jones) that, we’re led to believe, will change how the CDC and everyone else views the “infected.” The first two episodes very clearly establish a number of conflicts: the personal conflict between Trent and Vataber, the rational vs. irrational conflict between the more scientific Macavoy and the more mystical Vataber, and the physical threat of the “infected” outside the walls of San Diego. Right from the start, Universal Dead gets a huge thumbs up for its cast. I loved Fire in the Sky, my grandma turned me on to Alien Nation when I was younger, and the fact that there are real military men playing, well, military men is definitely a major plus. How Mortenson managed to get all of these folks is beyond me (in an email he indicated that everyone is doing this for next to nothing in terms of payment, which I think is really a fantastic thing to do for a young filmmaker). There isn’t much chemistry between the various cast members yet, but I think this has more to do with the fact that the first two episodes show only about eight minutes of actual story, which hasn’t given us the conflict we know and hope is coming (it’s a zombie story; let’s face it, we all know what we want and expect). I think the personal conflicts and the impending social/political/physical conflict will flare bright in the next few episodes. Here’s hoping something great comes out of the wait. Visually, Universal Dead takes a page from past and present-day zombie films, particularly in terms of cinemetography. While the makeup and set designs are sparse, which might be a weak aspect of the film, the way the film relies on simple shots, rather than overly complex, and perhaps out of place ones, is effective and doesn’t make the show into something it shouldn’t or can’t be. I think the folks behind this production know what their limitations are and are using what they have at their disposal to produce the best thing they can without overwhelming the story or losing focus. Universal Dead, of course, is not without flaws. While the aforementioned aspects are imperfect, there are some other things that I think are worth mentioning. First, some of the acting is a little uneven. I think Jones and Graham are the strongest of the cast, but each have a few lines that are said either a little forcefully or that are not received well by the other actors. I think this is something that will correct itself as the story progresses, but I do think it is something that is holding show back from meeting the bar set by webshows like Dr. Horrible. Second, I think the 4 minute episode length is far too short, particularly when it takes a week or more between episodes. The length of the episodes and the length between them makes each new episode feel very much like how one feels when the networks show you four episodes of a new show, and then give you nothing for two months, by which time you’ve sort of forgotten what the heck happened or lost interest. The only good thing about the length of the episodes is that it doesn’t take that much time to catch up, which is not at all true of regular length television shows. Still, while I don’t think Universal Dead is a perfect webshow, it has a lot of potential and I will keep watching. I love zombie films, and I have to be honest about something: after only two episodes, I think Universal Dead is thousands of times better than the absolutely dreadful Land of the Dead. No joke. There are no intelligent zombies that make really annoying groans and absolutely no hamfisted political messages. I also think the inclusion of a government official who takes a rational approach to the situation is very realistic; adamantly referring to the “undead” as the “infected,” even if there is no proof of an infection, is exactly how I would expect top scientists to react in the real world. Universal Dead is definitely worth checking out. If you’ve got the time, give the first two episodes a shot:

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