If You Watch Both

The Tree of Life by Terrence Malick, and Dogtooth by Giorgos Lanthimos, in the same week, you will cover the entire gamut of family life, from the way of grace, the way of nature, and the way of the psychopath.

It is a strange juxtaposition.

Malick's fifth film in 38 years has already generated a great deal of press and opinions about what it is, what it means, and whether it is even worth seeing. Comparisons to Kubrick's 2001 have been made. Some theaters post notices that anyone leaving the cinema will not receive refunds. I suspect that many years from now a more definitive examination in retrospect will seal this film as either the work of a genius or an overreaching flop. The path to release has been long, and the film was supposed to have been released two years ago. Rumors of much footage cut have circulated. What is left is almost pure cinema, very little dialog, emotional images with whispering narrators who do not so much preach as opine. The beginnings of the universe, a family growing up in Texas, the death of a brother. A more serious A Serious Man? Perhaps.

It has already won the Palme d'Or at Cannes.

I can't wait to see it agin.

Dogtooth was nominated for best foreign language film and is a much more straightforward examination of the extremes of family life with a patriach who lives in a gated estate. His three children are never allowed to leave the house and have grown up only under the twisted guidance of their parents who assert that they are protecting them from the outside world. Their world, a microcosm of the outside, has been altered in order to prevent outside influences from creeping in, but of course, creep in they must, to both horrific, comic, and liberating effect.

It is a fascinating look at family life at the extremes, but I do not think I shall see it again.

Cory Doctorow - For The Win & Copyright Issues

Managed to see Cory Doctorow twice during a book tour promoting his latest novel, For The Win (of which I now have a signed copy), about gold farmers in a virtual MMORPG organizing as a union. The first was at a Baltimore book store where he gave a reading and then a Q&A with the audience that was highly entertaining.











The second was at the New American Foundation for a lecture on copyright and another long Q&A.

Video embed below.



Although often introduced as a prolific blogger (from Boing Boing) and novelist, his public speaking is extremely engaging. His energy when discussing issues around science fiction, copyright issues, creative commons, and corporate control of creativity is impressive.

Almost politic.

Cory for Prime Minister?

P.S. He mentioned that Fred Lohmann from EFF had moved to Google? I remember Fred's lecture on copyright issues at the 2006 New York Machinima Festival.

Now all I have to see is author Neal Stephenson and I will have seen a quartet of cool scribblers.

Science Meet Fiction - Fiction Meet Science

And thus was born an illicit coupling.

The bastard offspring of science fiction have already begun to grow and divide into new forms, perhaps even engaging in new incestuous relationships amongst themselves. Yet still, the bourgeois elements of the fiction family look down their noses at 'those people'. Those people being science fiction writers.

Why must a science fiction writer persist in proclaiming that they still belong to the great family of fiction? As if the blue blood of pen to paper must be declared. As if the documents must be in order when the secret police knock at the door. Even when that writer is of the highest caliber. Perhaps exactly because they are so?

Justification of purpose? Of intent? Secret societies where the handshake is everything?

Strange, is it not, that in the 21st century that this odd mix must still be justified. Even when it has succeeded far beyond its heritage. The success coming not in self congratulatory prizes nor even in aristocratic awards and medals granted by those 'who know better'.

No, the justification is in the sheer weight and heft of the fan base.

Perhaps that's why?

Regardless, please stop wasting everyone's time telling us that science fiction is just like normal fiction.

You know, the kind that serious adults read.

Such a tired argument...

Sci-Fi Podcasts - Cinema/Film

Out riding my bike and listening to podcasts, I managed to listen to two in a row that were both interesting and relevant to film and cinema, both found on Escape Pod:

Episode 105: Impossible Dreams (Tim Pratt) - is about film and cinema, but not the film and cinema that you know about.
Episode 107: Eight Little Stories (Robert Reed) - a dull sci-fi series broadcast on TV is cancelled, but is that all there is to the story?

If you know cinema, the first one has some fairly hilarious moments. The second is not as funny or quirky but there is a definite relevance to the present mediascape.

Both are available at Asimov's (Impossible Dreams, Eight Little Stories) and both are Hugo Nominees.

Thunderous Thursday

ABC will produce "Masters of Science Fiction" miniseries bringing four episodes narrated by Stephen Hawking. Bizarre.

Fling Films introduces Moviestorm to GTA in "Play It Again Carl".

Incarcarex Drug Policy Film.

See if you can do this math test on YouTube. Pay attention!

This Halo movie "Be Human" won a Judges' Choice award in the recent HaloBungio.org Zune contest. Very well done.

Futurecasting on NewTeeVee (or SciFi as it used to be called). Googlezon in 2014 launches EPIC vs. Linden Labs launching Spirit in 2027? Psshaw. I welcome the coming disinformation wars. If bits can easily be created, copied, and destroyed, they can also be easily manipulated. If you introduce noise into the bitstream and only you know it's there, how it was made, and how it can be subtracted, then you win.