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Photo credit: Shin.<\/i><\/p>\n
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Photo credit: Shin.<\/i><\/p>\n
Over at PJ Media<\/i>, where all the cool kids hang out, Kathy Shaidle rattled a few nacelles the other day by posting a piece called \u201cFive Reasons Star Wars Actually Sucks.\u201d<\/a> Although the article was primarily an attack (not entirely unfair, either) on Star Wars fandom, she painted with a wide enough brush to step on a lot of general science fiction fans’ toes. Successful, mature men do not play computer games, attend \u201ccons,\u201d and get excited about overrated science fiction movies from the 1970s.<\/p>\n Come on, all the conservative boys who\u2019ve read this far:<\/p>\n Do you imagine Victor Davis Hanson is some kind of font of boring zombie lore?<\/p>\n Do you think Mark Steyn wastes his spare time playing World of Warcraft? (Trick question. Mark Steyn doesn\u2019t have any spare time.)<\/p>\n No, these men have careers and families, here on planet earth.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n So today Bryan Preston took up the gauntlet at The PJ Tatler<\/i>, with a piece called \u201cWhy Star Wars and Sci-Fi Actually Don’t Suck.\u201d<\/a> But here\u2019s a little known fact about Star Wars: More than just being a series of two very good films, a pair of decent films and a pair of bad films, it bequeathed a whole industry. I\u2019m not talking about the parallel marketing of the toys, many of which I used to own and now wish I still did because they would be worth a pile of money. I\u2019m talking about Photoshop, and the broader digital imaging industry. But here’s where it gets exciting and relevant and important.<\/strong> He goes on to say, Now, if you hate sci-fi it follows that you\u2019ll probably hate both of Lucas\u2019 most successful franchises, but that doesn\u2019t make them bad films and it doesn\u2019t make sci-fi a bad genre. There\u2019s a tendency around to try to force others to stop liking things that we don\u2019t like. Well, I love sci-fi. When I\u2019m not reading up on politics, I\u2019m probably reading either legitimate history or sci-fi\/fantasy. Good sci-fi, like good video games, gets your mind going. Lately I\u2019ve been reading a lot of Jack McDevitt and Lars Walker.<\/strong> (Emphasis mine. lw<\/i>) Both are fine writers with interesting minds who can create a universe and invest that universe with life. I don\u2019t just read sci-fi\/fantasy for the escape. I read it because, right now, it\u2019s where the intellectual action is in fiction. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n Thanks for the plug, Bryan. Photo credit: Shin. Over at PJ Media, where all the cool kids hang out, Kathy Shaidle rattled a few nacelles the other day by posting a piece called \u201cFive Reasons Star Wars Actually Sucks.\u201d Although the article was primarily an attack (not entirely unfair, either) on Star Wars fandom, she painted with a wide enough … Continue reading This is me, in PJs.<\/span>
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