As someone who greatly enjoys many aspects of what is considered 'nerd culture', I'll admit that we have a bit of an image problem on the whole. We tend to be elitist about the things we like, which causes disinterest among other people who show an interest in Dungeons and Dragons, video games or comic books. I can't speak for everyone who owns a twenty-sided die, but I personally have done my best to try and stop this stereotype. Which is why I held back with my knee-jerk reaction to Clive Martin's recent article about why he will not be enjoying the popular HBO television series Game of Thrones. After all, not everyone enjoys every single popular thing (I personally have no interest in watching The Walking Dead) and if Clive Martin had a good reason to ignore the show, I would do my best to read his article with an unbiased opinion.
Then I actually read the article, and discovered that the article was less a critique of Game of Thrones and more of an ignorant dismissal on all aspects of the fantasy genre.
Martin states in his article that his dismissal of the genre is due to a belief that it's stories "come from a very conservative, dated world view." While this is hard to argue (a majority of fantasy novels do take place in medieval-esque world), I also fail to see how this is a reason to dismiss the entire genre. I agree that it's important to have a progressive world view in the real world. And while a fictional story can influence your view on the world (George Orwell and Issac Asimov come to mind), it's primary objective is to tell a compelling story. Part of that compelling story
One could make the same argument against historical fiction. Books written about a certain time period also have a dated world view, since at the time they literally were the current world view. But that fact doesn't keep films like Braveheart or Kingdom of Heaven from being fantastic, because ultimately the important thing is a compelling story and characters. Whether the character is someone who can actually exist in this world shouldn't matter.
This is why I feel that Game of Thrones is so successful outside of the "fantasy nerd" audience: Because it focuses heavily on the characters rather than Tolkien-esque world building. Rather than having the viewer (or reader) learn more about the fantasy world by exploring it as they do in LoTR, George RR Martin focuses on the strife of his characters with laser like precision. And while there are fantastic elements seen with the Dragons and the White Walkers, they take a back seat to Tyrion's complex affair with Shae, Arya Stark's transformation from an innocent girl into a merciless killer obsessed with revenge or the internal power struggle going on behind the walls of King's Landing. Westeros is a relatively grounded in reality universe, and any "fantasy elements" that would be strange to the reader are equally peculiar to everyone in the story.
Which is a shame, Clive Martin. Because had you watched (or read) Game of Thrones, I think you might have liked it. Your complaints about the genre (as ridiculous as they are) are things that are remedied in George RR Martin's writing.
Too bad you'll never know, since you're compelled to hate something which you haven't even made an attempt to experience.
PS: I'd also like to take a moment to talk about the whole "Why are there no (insert ethnicity here) in LoTR?" argument. Not because racial representation in fantasy The reason is because they are books based on Slavic myth written by an Oxford professor in the thirties. Asking why LoTR only has white people is like asking why a story about the American Revolution has no Asians.
But again, had Clive Martin experienced Game of Thrones for himself, he would have discovered that the show is filled with diversity. One of the more important characters of Season 2 and one of the most powerful men in Essos was an African American. Khal Drogo was played by a Native Hawaiian. Hell, the show is one of the first times (in my knowledge) where an interesting, compelling and important character was played by a midget!
Again, all important things to consider before writing an article about a show you haven't even attempted to watch.
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
I'M GONNA RUN AWAY AND JOIN A MOTORCYCLE GANG AND YOU CAN'T STOP ME (Or: How a Republican responds to Losing)
I created this blog in order to talk nerdy things. Video games, tabletop RPGs, science fiction/fantasy movies, all that stuff. But in light of the recent election I feel my first blog post here should involve just that.
After coming home from class today, I took a quick look at my Twitter feed and found that someone posted this article from a Libertarian blog. I'll put my feelings about the Libertarian party aside for now to discuss the content of Eric Dondero's blog post. For those of you who don't wanna read the album, Dondero has basically suggested that those upset with this election (i.e: Republicans and Libertarians) take his example and mimic the actions he claims to do. Some of these included divorcing/breaking up with your liberal wife/girlfriend, quit your job because your boss is a Democrat, take a dump on your Obama loving neighbor's lawn (though to be fair he quickly retracts that statement to let your dog do the business) and to put up unflattering signs in front of and complain loudly inside of businesses that accept food stamps and welfare checks (bear in mind he mentions no plans to actually stop shopping at these businesses. You know, like a normal boycott.)
I don't claim to be a perfect person, but I doubt I would be this upset if Obama lost. So on the off-chance that someone reading this wants to take Dondero's suggestions seriously, I'd like to ask them (and Dondero, if he ever finds this) a few questions.
1. Are things really that bad under Obama?
I get it, you don't want Democrats to be president. You have a different idea of how this country should be run and I respect that even if I don't necessarily agree with it. And I get that comparing the president you don't like to Hitler or Stalin or Cobra Commander is just par the course. I get that, you don't have to apologize for being passionate.
But do you hate the idea of a Democrat in the office that much? Do you really think that Obama plans to turn America into a Communist country simply because he wants to use welfare to assist those who can't make enough money to get by (that's the majority of welfare recipients, by the way, despite what right wing pundits say) Do you really think that America has died, even though the American people have just chosen their leader fair and square like the Constitution promises? Do you really think that Obama will take away all your rights, even though checks and balances would make it impossible to do so (especially with a right leaning Congress)?
I get that you don't like Obama, and that's fine. But don't treat this like the collapse of a great nation and don't act like we've suddenly elected the Antichrist into office.
2. Divorce your wife for exercising her constitutional right? Are you fucking nuts?
I'm one of two openly liberal people on my mother's side of the family. Whenever my family gathers for Christmas, Thanksgiving or any holiday, there's a good chance that politics is going to be brought up. Yeah, I'm usually ganged up upon and there's a lot of yelling, but each side gets a good look at the others and in the end we still all have a good time despite the fact that we feel this country should be run different ways.
If Romney had won, there is no way in Hell I'd completely cut ties with them. Why, because they're my family and I love them, and they are much more important to me than whoever is going to be running this country for the next four years.
Take a moment to think about what Mr. Dondero is suggesting here. He is asking that you do one or all of the following: give up a steady paycheck, dissolve the vows you made with the man/woman you love, separate yourself from one or more of your friends (people who may have known you longer than you've even been able to vote) and spend the rest of your life on a crusade that involves putting insulting signs in front of Wal-Marts and shitting on varioius people's lawns all because they exercised their rights as American citizens.
This isn't a patriotic action or a crusade for freedom. This is an adult throwing a temper tantrum and (if he is 100% serious) a prophecy that in ten years, we will see Mr. Dondero shitting on people's lawns and throwing copies of Atlas Shrugged at the men in white coats who eventually come to take them away.
3. Can't you guys chill the fuck out?
Yes, Obama is going to be President again. For four more years. Not a hundred, not fifty, not ten, four more years. After those four years, you're all going to get another chance to try and vote for a leader again. This wasn't your last chance to save America (unless of course the Mayans were correct) and you'll get another chance to elect a Republican into office. Or maybe even a Libertarian if you play your cards right. I'll of course vote Democrat again, but that's the wonderful thing about this country: we get to choose our leader, and if we don't like him, he's only around for eight years tops.
In conclusion, let's put it this way. I am a Democrat and I have a friend who is a Libertarian. For the past six months, we have been at each other's throats arguing over whether Ron Paul is a good politician, whether Obama will take away all our freedoms or if there's really any difference between the Democratic or Republican party. The fights got heated and we both got frustrated with the other person a great deal.
Neither of us intend to stop being friends because of this, no matter what the election results were. Because as our President said when he won the election, "We are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions, and we remain more than a collection of red states and blue states. We are and forever will be the United States of America". In the end, my friend and I aren't just liberals or Libertarians, but Americans. Hopefully the readers of Eric Dondero's blog will understand this, and will take his blog for what it is: the un-American tantrum of an upset man-child.
After coming home from class today, I took a quick look at my Twitter feed and found that someone posted this article from a Libertarian blog. I'll put my feelings about the Libertarian party aside for now to discuss the content of Eric Dondero's blog post. For those of you who don't wanna read the album, Dondero has basically suggested that those upset with this election (i.e: Republicans and Libertarians) take his example and mimic the actions he claims to do. Some of these included divorcing/breaking up with your liberal wife/girlfriend, quit your job because your boss is a Democrat, take a dump on your Obama loving neighbor's lawn (though to be fair he quickly retracts that statement to let your dog do the business) and to put up unflattering signs in front of and complain loudly inside of businesses that accept food stamps and welfare checks (bear in mind he mentions no plans to actually stop shopping at these businesses. You know, like a normal boycott.)
I don't claim to be a perfect person, but I doubt I would be this upset if Obama lost. So on the off-chance that someone reading this wants to take Dondero's suggestions seriously, I'd like to ask them (and Dondero, if he ever finds this) a few questions.
1. Are things really that bad under Obama?
I get it, you don't want Democrats to be president. You have a different idea of how this country should be run and I respect that even if I don't necessarily agree with it. And I get that comparing the president you don't like to Hitler or Stalin or Cobra Commander is just par the course. I get that, you don't have to apologize for being passionate.
But do you hate the idea of a Democrat in the office that much? Do you really think that Obama plans to turn America into a Communist country simply because he wants to use welfare to assist those who can't make enough money to get by (that's the majority of welfare recipients, by the way, despite what right wing pundits say) Do you really think that America has died, even though the American people have just chosen their leader fair and square like the Constitution promises? Do you really think that Obama will take away all your rights, even though checks and balances would make it impossible to do so (especially with a right leaning Congress)?
I get that you don't like Obama, and that's fine. But don't treat this like the collapse of a great nation and don't act like we've suddenly elected the Antichrist into office.
2. Divorce your wife for exercising her constitutional right? Are you fucking nuts?
I'm one of two openly liberal people on my mother's side of the family. Whenever my family gathers for Christmas, Thanksgiving or any holiday, there's a good chance that politics is going to be brought up. Yeah, I'm usually ganged up upon and there's a lot of yelling, but each side gets a good look at the others and in the end we still all have a good time despite the fact that we feel this country should be run different ways.
If Romney had won, there is no way in Hell I'd completely cut ties with them. Why, because they're my family and I love them, and they are much more important to me than whoever is going to be running this country for the next four years.
Take a moment to think about what Mr. Dondero is suggesting here. He is asking that you do one or all of the following: give up a steady paycheck, dissolve the vows you made with the man/woman you love, separate yourself from one or more of your friends (people who may have known you longer than you've even been able to vote) and spend the rest of your life on a crusade that involves putting insulting signs in front of Wal-Marts and shitting on varioius people's lawns all because they exercised their rights as American citizens.
This isn't a patriotic action or a crusade for freedom. This is an adult throwing a temper tantrum and (if he is 100% serious) a prophecy that in ten years, we will see Mr. Dondero shitting on people's lawns and throwing copies of Atlas Shrugged at the men in white coats who eventually come to take them away.
3. Can't you guys chill the fuck out?
Yes, Obama is going to be President again. For four more years. Not a hundred, not fifty, not ten, four more years. After those four years, you're all going to get another chance to try and vote for a leader again. This wasn't your last chance to save America (unless of course the Mayans were correct) and you'll get another chance to elect a Republican into office. Or maybe even a Libertarian if you play your cards right. I'll of course vote Democrat again, but that's the wonderful thing about this country: we get to choose our leader, and if we don't like him, he's only around for eight years tops.
In conclusion, let's put it this way. I am a Democrat and I have a friend who is a Libertarian. For the past six months, we have been at each other's throats arguing over whether Ron Paul is a good politician, whether Obama will take away all our freedoms or if there's really any difference between the Democratic or Republican party. The fights got heated and we both got frustrated with the other person a great deal.
Neither of us intend to stop being friends because of this, no matter what the election results were. Because as our President said when he won the election, "We are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions, and we remain more than a collection of red states and blue states. We are and forever will be the United States of America". In the end, my friend and I aren't just liberals or Libertarians, but Americans. Hopefully the readers of Eric Dondero's blog will understand this, and will take his blog for what it is: the un-American tantrum of an upset man-child.
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