Video, Film, and Television – Page 10

Does io9 Get It Right About SF and “Competence Porn”?

August 12, 2013 by Steven Savage

Well worth reading. Rough summary, SF has diverged from “Competence Porn” – the joy of seeing smart and skilled people do smart and skilled things. I agree with the thesis that this has happened, but not his explanations. In fact I probably need to analyze this for awhile before I can coherently state my own theories.

However, I think there’s something here. Maybe it’s just my age, but for me my SF heroes were always, well, competent. Scientists and adventurers with names like Dick Seaton (oh, E.E. Smith . . .), Danny Dunn, Tom Swift, John Carter. Even Luke Skywalker, a bit niave, was a fast learner – but then again *I* mostly wanted to be Han Solo or Obi-Wan, so maybe I don’t care.

Something to think over.

Also I am so using the term “Competence Porn.”

(Edit: I put in the wrong link. Ironic that.)

– Steven Savage

Actually, I Suspect ‘Lone Ranger’ Just Kind of Sucks

August 7, 2013 by Steven Savage

Between Bruckheimer’s complaints and Depp and Hammer blaming critics, it appears a lot of people are not taking the failure of “Lone Ranger” very well. This is a reaction I’m not used to seeing since it sounds like it’ll only exacerbate the issue of the film just not doing well.

For those of us who follow the cultural and career issues of the Hollywood meltdown that we’re kind of expecting, I wonder if we’ll see more of this.

– Steven

Get Your Minecraft Moving: A New Trend In Gaming?

August 7, 2013 by Steven Savage

Lately I’ve seen a trend in gaming that seems intriguing. It looks like we’ve got a new iteration on the Minecraft genre – games that involve self-created vehicles that are realized with voxel technology and completely independent components. We’ve got another iteration of games on the way that you, as a potential game creator or professional, should follow.

(By the way, yes, I called Minecraft a genre. I consider Minecraft to be a game that is both a game, but also has a general, archetypical nature that makes it a genre as well. Anyway, on with the post.)