Top 10 Blog Posts for February 2014
And here they are: 10. Why I Haven’t Babbled About the Hugo Awards…Yet 9. Book Review: Tarnished by Rhiannon Held 8. Top 10 Science Fiction and Fantasy Anime Movies 7. Censorship is what people say when they don’t want to address the actual issue…for reasons 6. How to Destroy the SFWA…err, no, I’m not going to talk about that after all 5. Moderating the Community and the Cost of Respect 4. Top 10 Science Fiction and Fantasy Movies Since 2010 (Thus Far) 3. Top 10 Overused Fantasy Cliches 2. On the SFWA Bulletin Petition Thing Nonsense 1. Movie Review: Riddick (2013) (or, I’m Going to Mega Rant Now) I am genuinely surprised that my review of Riddick remains one of my most popular posts this year. Interesting… For anyone curious, I’m currently using Google Analytics for the numbers. I don’t think they’re entirely accurate, but the stats in Blogger are currently flooded with hits from the spam accounts that targeted me last month. Some posts were artificially amplified by that; GA mostly removes spam hits, but it also removes repeat visits and anything else it assumes isn’t an “original visit,” which seems fairly wide in scope. So it’s a little difficult for me to figure out what is super popular right now… Oh well!
Post-Post-Event Thoughts on Loncon3 and Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross is not hosting the Hugos this year. He’s made what I think is the right decision and stepped down. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, then you missed all the “fun” on Twitter. You can get a decent overview of the situation over at The Wertzone. In any case, what I’m going to talk about here aren’t the things everyone was throwing out on Twitter — mostly. Here, I’m interested in some of the whys and hows and whats that are underneath all of this and why, ultimately, Jonathan Ross was a poor choice within the current climate of sf/f. First, I’ll say that I hold no animosity towards Ross. I don’t know the man, as you’d expect, and have, in fact, viewed some of his material and found him rather amusing. I also agree with Adam Whitehead that the motivation to bring in Ross, who himself is a supporter of sf/f and its various properties, is a good one: high profile tv personality who happens to be a vocal fan = good for business. But the problem Ross posed was two fold: 1) He is, as Whitehead and Farah Mendlesohn (who stepped down from the Worldcon committee over Ross’ appointment) and others have noted, a divisive figure, most notably because his comedy has frequently gotten him into trouble. You can read about some of that on his Wikipedia page or here. If I’m fair to you and myself, I have found some of his more offensive jokes humorous, though not necessarily the ones most have cited (mostly because I wasn’t there and don’t have the full context in which these things were said). In fact, I’ve enjoyed other shock comedians such as Jimmy Carr from time to time, though even he crosses lines I just can’t handle (rape jokes are not funny to me). The question, in my mind, is not whether it personally offends me or other individuals, but the repercussions such offense has on the larger community. I think it was Kate Elliot who noted on Twitter that individual acts aren’t the problem, but a collection of those acts adding up to a whole. Which leads me to… 2) The sf/f community is, as Charlie Stross rightly asserts, in the middle of a serious discussion/debate about inclusion (a.k.a. house cleaning). Though I seriously doubt that Ross would have treated sf/f fans with ridicule, there is the very real problem that Ross’ public profile poses for sf/f fans: in certain respects, his comments damage the potential for a safe space. It doesn’t matter that Ross’ comments are frequently meant in jest. We live in a society where these types of things are also said with the utmost seriousness, such that people who are attacked for (seemingly) being “overweight” or “white and adopting non-white children,” for example, do not necessarily feel these jokes as jokes. For them, these sorts of comments are not unlike pouring lemon juice in a wound and saying “but it was only a joke; why did it hurt you so much?” This is why Seanan McGuire went on her mini-Twitter rant about feeling anything but safe at the Hugos. She has previously been in that beautiful front row for nominees, and may appear there again in the future. She is a prime example of this problem. There is also another side to this: in the interest of creating inclusive spaces for people, we have to realize that in the absence of those spaces, humorous pokes at previously excluded individuals just reminds them how much they are not in this community. Everyone’s experience varies, of course, but the sad fact is that we do not exist in an sf/f community which has set aside its sexist past en total (or its racism, for that matter). It’s still here, albeit missing one of its scaled legs. It’s still fighting to keep things like they were. That’s why there is such a concerted effort to push sf/f forward so those excluded-now-included groups can feel at home. However, the pain doesn’t go away just because we include people. The pain goes away when their inclusion is coupled with a sense of safety: the idea that you won’t be harmed, cast out, or burned for being a woman or person of color; that any criticism you receive is, with exception, appropriate, not a reflection of an individual’s opinion of you based on factors you cannot control. That your weight or your health conditions are not the subject of public scrutiny as a method for discarding your worth as a contributor to the community. Our community is not safe yet. It’s not. Seanan McGuire doesn’t have the benefit I have: she doesn’t always feel safe because things happen to remind her how far away from others she is/was/might be/could be. Me? I’m going to be cast out if I say something monumentally stupid. If I do something horrible. I’ll be cast out because I did something, not because I’ve got some stuff dangling between my legs or because of my heritage or because of where I was born. That’s an important distinction. Now, does this mean Ross can never be a part of sf/f? No. Does this mean he can never host the awards? No. But it does mean that the decisions our entities make need to keep in mind their long term impact. I’m not sure Ross would have been so good for sf/f. He might have brought a lot of attention with him, but it’s also possible he would have done a lot of damage to a field which is still trying to figure out how it can include everyone without pissing on everyone’s toes. We’re just not there yet. Maybe one day soon. Then, perhaps Ross will return. —————————– A few corrections from my day of Tweeting: I originally argued, as many have, that Ross shouldn’t host because he’s not a fan. I was flat wrong on that front, and tried
Link of the Week x2: “World SF is the Diversity Our Community Needs” at The Book Smugglers
In case you missed it, I also have a post up at The Book Smugglers today. It is also on world sf, though on a slightly different aspect of it. Do take a read, if you get a chance. Thanks to the fine folks over at The Book Smugglers for allowing me to suck up some space for my thoughts! And if you want to help me get to Worldcon, please consider supporting my fundraiser.
Link of the Week: “World SF and the Global Archipelago of Worlds”
As part of my efforts to spread the word about the World SF Tour, I’ve got a guest post up at SF Signal on world sf! That’s pretty much it. Go read it! You might also consider checking out the World SF Tour fundraiser page and donating $10.
A SFF Film Odyssey (2010): The Official List
The following is a list of every film I’m going to watch and discuss/review this year. These titles will eventually link to posts here or on The Skiffy and Fanty Show. Keep an eye out as I fill this whole thing up! Note: if something is missing from the list, please let me know in the comments; I’ve tried to include every sf/f “feature” film released in 2010, but I could have missed something. I’m also going to go back to some of these films if I have already reviewed them in the past. The full announcement about this project can be found here. Here goes: (“F” denotes a film that did not originate in the U.S.) Alice in Wonderland Alien vs. Ninja (F) Altitude (F) Arctic Blast (F) Arietty (F) Arthur 3: The War of the Two Worlds (F) Arthur and the Minimoys (F)(Filler) Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard (F)(Filler) Avalon High Beyond the Black Rainbow (F) Clash of the Titans Daybreakers Denizen Despicable Me Die kommenden Tage (F) Downstream Enthiran (F) Future X-Cops (F) Growth Gulliver’s Travels Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 FIN Hot Tub Time Machine FIN How to Train Your Dragon FIN Hunter Prey Inception (review; post on emotion; post on emotion) FIN Iron Man (filler) Iron Man 2 FIN Kaboom (F) Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole Mardock Scramble: The First Compression (F) Megamind Monsters (F) FIN Mutant Girls Squad (F) FIN Nanny McPhee (Filler) Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang Never Let Me Go (F) Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief Predators Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (F) Repo Men Resident Evil: Afterlife Shank (F) FIN Shrek (Filler) Shrek 2 (Filler) Shrek Forever After Shrek the Third (Filler) Skyline Sleeping Beauty (F) Space Battleship Yamato (F) Tangled The Book of Eli The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (Filler) The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader The Chronicles of Narnia: The Witch, the Lion, and the Wardrobe (Filler) FIN The Crazies The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya (F) The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec (F) The Last Airbender The Nutcracker in 3D (F) The Sorcerer’s Apprentice FIN The Strange Case of Angelica (F) The Tempest The Twilight Saga: Eclipse The Twilight Saga: New Moon (Filler) Tooth Fairy Toy Story (Filler) Toy Story 2 (Filler) Toy Story 3 Trollhunter (F) FIN Tron: Legacy (Strange Horizons review; mini review) (F) FIN Twilight (Filler) Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (F) Universal Soldier: Regeneration When in Rome Womb (F)
#WorldSFTour Fundraiser Updatery: Free Reads and Moving Forward
First things first, I would like to thank everyone who has donated to this adventure so far. It means a lot to have the support of folks following me around on the Internet. So, thanks! If you haven’t supported the fundraiser yet, please consider doing so. I really want to bring my podcast and the World SF Tour to Worldcon this year, in no small part because it will help me expand the project ten fold. I won’t lie: Worldcon will be a lot of fun. But it will also be about contributing to this field, which means a lot to me. Now for the updates: Not too long ago, the fundraiser reached the 1st Milestone, which meant one of the perks activated. The 1st Milestone Perk involved an entry in the Encyclopedia Confictura, a fun little alternate history thing I’ve done for giggles. This time, I let a donor pick the topic, which ended up being the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. That perk is now live. It’s listed under C in this magic Google Doc of other examples! I had a blast writing it, and folks seem to be enjoying it thus far. The 2nd Milestone Perk also activated, which involves Paul Weimer writing a “Mining the Asteroid” column on a classic work of sf/f. Everything for this fundraiser is donor selected, so a lucky individual selected The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers. Paul’s post isn’t live yet, but it will be next week. 🙂 I’ve registered for Worldcon. So, yeah. At this point, I’m trying to raise travel expenses, which is the largest bulk of the cost (somewhere between $1500 and $1700). We’re now $232 (or thereabouts) from the 3rd Milestone. For anyone who follows The Skiffy and Fanty Show, you’ll know that we do two film-related subcasts: Torture Cinema and Shoot the WISB. The 3rd Milestone Perk will allow a lucky donor to pick someone for one of those subcasts. That could really turn out to be hilarious. Oh, and if someone picks Waterworld, I’m sure Jen Zink will be in that episode…and she will defend it with her life! And that’s about it. If you’ve got a little spare cash, please consider helping out. Even $5 goes a long way. Anywhoodles!