Pixel Scroll 8/18 The Ballot of the Sad Sharpei

Posted on by

I have to pack and get to their airport, so I will scroll and skate.

(1) Vox posted a story that celebrates the Chronicles of Prydain as “the best fantasy series ever.” (The site Vox, not the person Vox.)

Let me tell you about the best fantasy/adventure series ever written for young people.

Nope, it’s not about Harry Potter. Don’t get me wrong, I like Harry Potter just fine. I read all seven of those books aloud to my kids, which, believe me, takes some dedication. And I’ve read and loved dozens and dozens of other sci-fi and fantasy books for youngsters over the years, including the ones with the Hobbits and the ones with the dragons (no, the other one with the dragons).

But one fantasy series will always come first in my heart: The Chronicles of Prydain, by Lloyd Alexander. Published in the late ’60s, it was one of the first true high fantasy series written by an American, and the first to rival the British greats like Tolkien.

Loosely based on Welsh myths, the books tell a fairly conventional story: A young boy bored with his ordinary life sets off on a series of adventures, learns some lessons, confronts a great evil, becomes a man, and assumes a place of leadership. It’s all squarely in Joseph Campbell territory.

(2) John C. Wright contests statements about Puppy leaders in Yes! Magazine. (An article linked by Pixel Scroll the other day: here).

As for the sentence quoted in the hit piece, let me say a word or three:

I have no views on People of Color and have never written a single word on the topic. Baptism is not a racial characteristic but a spiritual one. Sainthood is not an inherited characteristic.

My views on woman are those of a dyed-in-the-wool romantic of the chivalrous Christian school, who adores both Saint Mary and Saint Mary Magdalen as saints. I also have a healthy fascination with the character of Nausicaa from Miyazaki’s VALLEY OF THE WIND (see below) and an unhealthy fascination for the character of the Catwoman. And this is being condemned, why, again exactly? Because I respect both saints and sinners of the fair sex, both princesses and cat-burglars? Why is having contempt for woman a sign of Political Correctness, again, exactly, please?

My views, to the best of my knowledge, and have no point of overlap with the dour cynicism of my publisher and friend Theodore Beale, so the sentence as it stands is meaningless. It is like saying, “The views of the Easter Bunny and Count Dracula on avoiding the drinking human blood during Lent go beyond the pale.” But there is no view the Bunny and the Count share on this point.

My views on homosexuals are the views of the Roman Catholic Church, which is to say, the views of Western Civilization since the time of Constantine onward. Those views are ones of love and respect, more respect indeed by far than felt by those who would encourage the sexual desecration of the human person. Why is pitiless contempt for those suffering sexual aberration a sign of Political Correctness, again, exactly, please?

(3) Who do the lurkers really support? “Almost No One Sided with #GamerGate: A Research Paper on the Internet’s Reaction to Last Year’s Mob”.

Lately I’ve been troubled by the fact that GamerGate’s supporters and I seem to have completely opposite perceptions about what most people think of their movement. I’ve had GamerGaters tell me that most people don’t equate GamerGate with online harassment and that most people (or at least, most gamers) are actually on GamerGate’s side. How is it that our perceptions of “what most people think” are so different? Could it be that we all live inside some social-media echo chamber that makes us oblivious to other points of view?

[Thanks to Rob for one of these stories. Title credit goes to File 770 contributing editor of the day Will R.]

Discover more from File 770

Subscribe to get the latest posts to your email.

882 thoughts on “Pixel Scroll 8/18 The Ballot of the Sad Sharpei”

  2. There was a thread a couple of days back discussing which factual inaccuracies in fiction made you cringe, with a side note that factual inaccuracies that were essential to the plot (FTL and such) were tolerable but the smaller, unnecessary mistakes are more annoying. This reminded me of a thread on a CGI forum about the (then upcoming) movie 2012. Not only did I have major issues with the plot, but I also had moral issues that the movie might fan the flames of potential suicide cults running up to the actual 2012 deadline (okay, so those didn’t happen, but they could have, and have happened in the past at various supposed ends-of-the-world, not to mention Heaven’s Gate.) I made a reply on that thread that I vaguely remembered relating to factual errors in fiction, essentially with the point that you need to know the rules before you can break the rules. I finally managed to search that post down again, and reproduce it here in the hopes that it inspires a truly epic work of fan-fiction:

    “Let’s pick an analogy to this. Say you make a WWII movie. Nobody will (or should) complain that there were no actual soldiers central to the plot of the movie going by those names in those specific battles—it is perfectly okay to invent the characters for your setting. But if you have all of the American soldiers fighting using Uzis with laser sights, you better have a damn good, plot centric, explained reason why those soldiers are using Uzis with laser sights and it not simply be because you didn’t know that Uzis and laser sights hadn’t been invented in WWII.

    What 2012 is doing is the equivalent of giving those soldiers Uzis with laser sights and mounting them on 20-foot tall cyborg battle-elephants from which they fight the Nazi Flying Death Monkeys and their Telekenetic Venusian Bloodsnail allies. And when people complain that, in WWII, soldiers did not use Uzis with laser sights, ride cyborg battle-elephants, and fight Nazi Flying Death Monkeys and Telekenetic Venusian Bloodsnails, others (after being shocked to find out that none of that is true because of their failed basic educations) tell you “it is just a movie maaaaaaan. Turn off your brain and enjoy it.”

    ETA: Looks like I already reposted this in a pretty nice physics thread:

    http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=91104

  4. @Stevie: I totally get that “Shakespeare wrote plays to be performed dammit” is your “GOD STALK!” and that’s totally valid. And it’s great you had tickets to the show at the Barbican. I’ve seen multiple stage productions myself, though I’m sure the one at the Barbican will be amazing.

    But I think you took the wrong inference from my mention of Branagh’s staging of the Act IV Scene 4 monologue. I wasn’t talking about something Branagh made up, rather something he made unusually clear. The plain fact of the plot is that Fortinbras’ army is there to conquer Denmark in revenge for the old quarrel between Fortinbras and Hamlet’s fathers and the punitive raid “against the Polack” is a ruse to get a conquering army deep into Danish soil. The political tragedy is that the folks in Elsinore are so focused on their family drama that they miss this obvious threat to their kingdom and rule.

    Puppies would call that a “message” though I don’t know if they’d like it or not. (They’d probably like it: “Internal dissension opens the realm to external threats!” is how they might gloss it. Or say, “The decadence and short-sightedness of the ruling class can bring the nation itself to ruin!” As you like it.) Hamlet just does mistake the “meaning” of this huge force on his lands because he is interpreting everything symbolically and self-ishly.

  5. Brian V on August 20, 2015 at 8:15 am said:

    I;m not sure that really speaks to the question at hand though. The discussion is not about the knowledge of a random person off the street …

    Sure, I understand that. I was responding specifically to Lis’ question of how someone could have gotten “through late adolescence seriously interested in science fiction and fantasy” without having become aware of those authors. It’s pretty easy if you don’t have access to those works or any way of knowing they’re somehow important to the genre.

    But I agree with you in the broader context of the argument, especially today when one can Google up any number of articles on the history of fantasy and see the same names come up repeatedly.

    There’s also situations where people aren’t interested in knowing about them or not interested in reading them. I’m sure I’ve mentioned it before, but I find SF novels from before the New Wave very hard to read most of the time. And I’ve tried. I’ve read a good chunk of Heinlein’s classics – the only one I enjoyed was Starship Troopers. Second Stage Lensman is one of the books I put down with no intention of finishing. The list goes on.

    I know who the classic SF authors are, I understand and appreciate that a lot of the work I do enjoy is built on the foundations they laid, but I really don’t want to read their work.

  7. I am regretting not leaving 2012 in my “Film I like but no-one else does” slot. It’s a deliberate B-movie homage. It’s not meant to make sense.

  13. My cat isn’t going to make it; his one remaining kidney is simply completely shut down and won’t restart. We’ll go say goodbye in the afternoon or (likely) evening – the astonishingly great veterinary hospital he’s at is open 24/7, and they’ve commented that after hours are actually best for pet visiting since there’s less going on.

    I wanted to make sure to say something important to me: in times like this for me, and for everybody’s times of fatigue, grief, and general ugh, the pure good-natured, creative silliness that goes on in threads like these really matters. Even an instant’s smile or laugh can do so much to make the next trudging steps easier to bear. Everyone contributing should appreciate that, yeah, this is goofiness…and know that it matters to living life as well as we can. Thank you, everyone who’s been genuine medicine without even knowing it.

  23. You’ll be in my thoughts today — and you’re giving Montano the finest gift we humans can offer to our four footed friends, the love that seeks the end of pain and the departure in peace.

    (‘scuse me…blurry monitor syndrome)

  25. Most of you are new to me, as – I gather – we mostly all are to each other. But collectively, you’ve made File 770 one of the place I most eagerly turn to in free moments. Good work, everyone who’s been part of that.

  27. Bruce, it’s hard and it never gets any easier. But, awful as it is, do please try to remember you’re giving him a gift of a pain-free end.

  28. The thing you must keep in mind about “Doc” Smith is this: All those space opera cliches that infest his work? They weren’t cliches when “Doc” invented them.

    I think I mentioned before having this discussion with an old roommate about Casablanca, where his comment was, “I kept thinking to myself, ‘that’s such a cliche’, and I had to keep reminding myself that this is the movie that made it a cliche.”

  31. Oh, Bruce. I’m so sorry. I’ve been through that last journey with too many cats and dogs. I won’t say I know what you’re feeling, because it’s different for all of us, but I do know it’s painful. Hugs to you.

  32. How about Miranda July’s Batman vs. Superman. Which would consist of one very long dinner conversation that would consist mostly of keeping the cat off the dinner table.

    you mean, the Catwoman.

    (and I’m so sorry, Bruce.)

  33. Ah, hell. I’m sorry, Bruce. You’ve been mentioning Montano in passing as long as I’ve known you. It never gets any easier to lose them.

  34. Sorry to hear that Bruce. We lost one of our pair unexpectedly in the middle of the night a few months ago, and it wasn’t at all pleasant.

  35. Louis Malle’s My Dinner with Totoro (I think I might be going a little off-piste – but it’s now nearly midnight here and I’m going to blame being tired)

    (and I’m sorry to hear about your cat Bruce)

  36. Oh for fuck’s sake. William Morris is a famous figure in Britain, not least for his influence on the arts and crafts movement. His designs and art are popular and well studied, and he was connected to and influential upon some of the most famous and beloved artists of the Victorian era. Half the bloody middle class house in London are decorated with his textile designs!

    Somewhere at home, I’ve got a papercraft book that includes paper coloured with Morris’ patterns, and a set of plans for how to fold them into house designs that make the best use of the patterns.

    Typing ‘William Morris papercraft’ into Google doesn’t show the book I have, but it does bring up a page of four books on Amazon which includes origami jewelry box designs using Morris’ patterns.

  37. Oneiros on August 19, 2015 at 8:25 am said:

    Speaking of good-bad things, I’m hopelessly addicted to Person of Interest right now. It’s utterly ridiculous and yet I can’t stop watching it! I’m almost into season 4 as we speak. I’d have had it all finished except for the fact I had a 2 week holiday in Japan just recently, and had more important things on my mind (like my black belt grading.)

    PoI is NOT ridicolous! Much.

    Reese: “You really shouldn’t hold those things sideways, you can’t aim and the cartridge will expel directly into your… oh, what’s the point.” CRASH BANG

  39. Camestros, Wenders is the road movie guy. Wim Wenders’ Fury Road, with Rudiger Vogler as Max.

    ETA: Oneiros, Louis Malle’s Totoro would be a thing of beauty.

    Bruce, I’m so sorry. Poor little fuzzball. 🙁

  45. Permit me to add my voice to the chorus of sympathies; I know Hypatia will be getting extra love tonight. (That’s been a principle of mine for years; when one hears of a cat departing the world, distribute a little extra love to those near you, on the departed’s behalf.)

    And, because it needs to be done:

    Andy Warhol’s Starship Troopers

  46. I’m very sorry, Bruce. Would you or Montano appreciate it if I recited the funeral speech from The 13th Warrior in his honor?

    (Absolutely serious offer. We recited it as we gave my parrot a “Viking” funeral. It seemed to help.)

Comments are closed.