Day 35
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
This is definitely funny, but also painfully accurate.
And this page caught my eye the other day. As you can see, the third season of "Battlestar Galactica" is getting rave reviews...but many of them contain backhanded compliments galore. Choice quotes:
-"The new Battlestar transcends genre." (TV Guide)
-"But the secret to "Battlestar ," as one of my colleagues keeps saying, is not to think of it as science fiction. This is a show about religion, politics, parent-child relationships, and the moral dilemmas of insurgency." (Boston Globe)
-" One of TV's most invigorating and intellectually stimulating series.... provocative television that transcends its genre." (San Jose Mercury News)
-"Over the past three years, the provocative future shock odyssey has transcended the science fiction genre to become one of the best drama series on TV...." (Detroit Free Press)
-"Though I am no fan of allegories (or space-based science fiction for that matter), I have to admit that "Battlestar" is many cuts above the usual outer-space shoot-'em-up." (New York Post)
Notice a trend? In their full context, these are all very positive reviews, too.
I read somewhere--and I wish I knew where--how postmodern society basically ditched the idea that legitimate storytelling could come from "genre" art. This is because that once parodies of the genre art became more popular in the '60s and '70s, an entire generation growing up with these parodies accepted them and not the basis for the comedy. And so on with each generation. This is a broad generalization, but I think it's accurate: most people my age or younger can't conceive the idea that a western--in book or film form--could be even remotely interesting. As if.
This is a trend that I've been focusing on more and more, and it really troubles me. It's OK if you don't like a certain genre; discounting it outright, though, is completely foolish and irresponsible. Change the minor details and you get something like this: "I don't like contemporary dramas for <>," or, "Comedies are such a waste of time." Say those sorts of things and people will assume you're nuts.
So, good for "Battlestar Galactica;" boo for the critics. Maybe the show will get some viewers that don't "normally like that sort of sci-fi stuff." If only "Firefly" would've gotten the attention it deserved.
posted, with grace and poise, by Jason @ 10/10/2006 11:39:00 PM,
2 Comments:
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At 1:32 PM,
RVWarren said...
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I can just imagine "Amusement Church Tycoon", where the tithe is the admissions fee, the roller coaster is a traditional liturgy (kneel, stand, sit, stand, kneel, kneel, stand, sit), and the concessions stand...well...you know (you never really have a full meal at a real amusement park either).
Talk about genre jumping... -
At 9:24 PM,
RVWarren said...
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Theology of Battlestar Galactica
Looks interesting...
