On Thu, 5 Dec 1996, B. D. (Bob) Faw wrote:
> Finally, just to complicate things a little more, I'll short this
> out with a parallel thread (Universe?;-) and ask the question: Is this a
> direct result of the feminization of science fiction? {DUCK, boys!} ;-)
I'm sorry, but is this anything but an attempt to start a flame
war between the men and women on this listserver? I'll give you the
benefit of doubt and assume that you do *not* think that women are
stupider or less educated than men--if you do, just let me know, and I'll
throw lots of facts and figures at you. If, however, you are suggesting
that women are just less subtle, then you must be mixing up the sexes.
The song "Why Can't a Woman Be More Like a Man" (from _My Fair Lady_)
comes to mind, in which Henry Higgins ponders why (among other things) a
woman can't say what she means.
I think this "dumbing down" is just the difference between
comparing *all* the modern sf produced with the classics which have
survived the test of time. All the crap stories have already been weeded
out from the sf "canon" (or is that "cannon"--I can never remember which
version is spelled which way). If you want to compare Hienlein
(sp?--that's the true dumbing down of America; utter loss of the ability
to spell due to spellcheckers <grin>) with a modern author, at least pick
a seminal writer, like, say, David Brin. He's got more subtlety than you
could shake a stick at. And, no offence, but I always found Hienlein a
bit transparent myself. He may not have told the reader his point in
exact words, but he still smacked you upside the head with it
(unfotunately, the only example I can come up with offhand is _The Fifth
Column_, one of his weaker works, and a book with some other serious flaws
as well, like blatant racism).
Sincerely,
Jenny Dante
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