In a message dated 96-11-04 06:35:01 EST, you write:
<< Ah, but getting back to a film like ID-4, in which the science was so
ludicrous or just plain absent, the problem wasn't its "broad" appeal, but
its mind-numbing dumbed-down-ness. Subject matter and level of intelligence
in presenting the subject matter are two different things. >>
I am so glad to hear that someone else thought that movie was dumb. I was
afraid I was alone in that category. My wive and I waited patiently and
braved enormous crowds to see it on opening weekend at the best cinema in
town. And I came out of it wanting to cry. It was so off the charts.
That cavalier attitude toward Science Fiction (and I use the honorable term
only because I love the genre so much) is undoubtedly doing enormous damage
to our society. In these movies there is no such thing as a hard problem.
The "brilliant scientist guy" (I forget his name)<<who plays pretty much the
same character as in Jurassic Park>> has his handy-dandy lap macintosh that
has a wonderful timer that counts down the absolute time until the aliens
take over. And Will Smith (at least I remember his name) is able to
precision fly an alien space craft. Does anyone remember all the hupla about
the Universal Translator - and how much discussion there was about its
feasibility? Would a space craft be any different? More so even??
After seeing so many of these, the public must become so insensitive to
technical issues and problems that real science (let alone sci fi) gets
severely jilted. All in the name of "entertainment and a quick buck."
Is it bad to be a purist and have standards?
Dennis in Phoenix
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