Recommended Viewing: The Sleep Dealer
Filed Under: Recommended Media, SF Films, creativity
I have often thought that the future of science fiction isn’t in tales of first world nations like the United States. The future stories we should be exploring and contemplating more are the ones involving (and told by residents of) life on the fringes, in the favelas and the border towns, in the developing world, where raw humanity bumps up against the shiny and antiseptic American capitalist way.
Most do not live the lives of relative luxury we do, but one of the promises of globalism has been said to be an elevation of those who are in poverty. Will those living in Brazil, Mexico, Kenya, or China one day know lives with better amenities,health care, and basic nutrition? Or will the same web of post-colonialism, transnational banking dealing from decks stacked against the poor, and corrupt government regimes keep third world countries rooted in poverty?
The Sleep Dealer is an examination of American globalization as it impacts our lives today, where resentment to illegal immigration in America is as high as it ever has been, but where there are still jobs to be had for those who brave the crossing (at least, prior to our economic woes). The world of the Sleep Dealer is not so different from our own, except in a few very important ways.
The United States of the sleep dealer is mostly seen indirectly, through the lenses of telepresence drones, or in the cramped confines of virtual operator stations where soldiers pilot drones to protect corporatized water in places like Mexico. America appears to be sealed off completely to immigration, at least from Mexico. A wall has been built, and it’s guarded by remote-controlled cameras with heavy machine guns. A future that seemed much less implausible 2 years ago when the anti-immigration sentiment seemed to reach its peak.
The U.S. of this future still requires cheap labor, even if it cannot abide the physical presence of immigrants, legal or otherwise. In this near future, virtual reality technology, portrayed in a way that would fit in with any cyberpunk novel (a series of plugs along the arms and shoulders that allow a kind of neural interface), allows the poor to work within the States. It’s best not to think too hard about the portrayal of the equipment here, which seems more tailored toward a particular visual aesthetic than making logical sense. What was with the gas masks piping in oxygen? Nevertheless–
The backdrop of the world in the Sleep Dealer feels lived in, well worn, and not implausible. Our protagonist is an intelligent young man with an interest in escaping his tiny, water-impoverished farmstead. He tinkers with hacking telecommunications satellites as a means of escape, but soon he overhears something that he should not, and the events of the story are set into motion.
In the aftermath of a tragedy, Memo (a very Gibsonian name, I thought) travels to Tijuana to receive the implants that will allow him to work in the virtual labor factories. He meets a woman, a writer who sells her memories uploaded to the network, who takes an interest in his painful past and whose stories about Memo are funded by a mysterious buyer.
I’ll say no more about the plot, except to say that while this is a science fiction film, it is also an independent film in that sense that it is not the tightly shot, leave-nothing-unanswered big studio style of storytelling. The cinematography is often dreamlike, and the story’s gentle narration reinforce this. The story in some ways feels like a character’s lucid dream.
It’s a contemplative film in its pacing as well. Those expecting a tightly plotted thriller or action film should look elsewhere. This is a film that is more interested in letting the audience come to its own conclusions than lecturing morally (or otherwise).
This was something different than what we are used to seeing. While some of its ideas may not seem so fresh to long-time readers of science fiction, I don’t think this is something we’ve ever seen portrayed this way on the silver screen. It’s worth picking up on DVD or renting at the very least.
Write a Complimentary Note to a Writer or Editor Day
Filed Under: Recommended Media, Speculative Fiction, creativity
I am declaring today one of those non-holiday holiday days. You must all put this day in your calendar, and spread the word far and wide.
We all consume a tremendous amount of media these days, whether it be books, tv, magazines, or blogs. But how often do we really express our gratitude and appreciation to the creators of these things?
I’ve long tried to make a point of writing notes to writers in my own field when I read a piece of work that I really enjoy. I know how great it feels to receive such notes. When you don’t make a lot of money in your creative pursuits, the appreciation from other human beings can really make it all worthwhile.
So, I declare today “Write a Complimentary Note to a Writer or Editor” Day. Has someone done a wonderful job with a story, or putting together an issue of a zine? Tell them. You’ll feel good, they will feel good, and a little more happiness in these dark times can only be a good thing.
So how often should “Write a Complimentary Note to a Writer or Editor” day come about? I’m thinking weekly… Hey, it’s not like Administrative Assistant Appreciation Day where you have to buy gifts. This is just a few minutes of your time to dig up an e-mail address and send a message to it.
The peoples of the internets are so quick to say when we don’t like something. Let’s try to balance that out a little bit. Who’s with me?
5 Writing Lessons Learned from Land of the Lost
Filed Under: Film, Writing Advice
This past weekend, I spent my hard-earned money to see the new Land of the Lost movie. In terms of entertainment, I do not feel that I got my money’s worth out of it. So here I sit, trying milking a blog post out of the film in order to get some writing lessons from the thing. I’ll be damned if I am going to actually waste money in these hard economic times!
I guess my childhood appreciation of the original series colored my expectations for the film. No worries, it won’t happen again. At least, until G.I. Joe comes out. And Transformers 2. Ahem.
This post is going to be rife with spoilers, but hey, if you don’t want to see the film (which you shouldn’t), or god forbid, saw it already, then those won’t bother you. Lessons behind the cut. Oh, and yes. I’m discarding my usual “don’t say it if you can’t say something nice” ethos here, because, well, sometimes you wake up on Monday morning and want to tear apart a bad film. Onward!
Read the rest of this entry »
5 Writing Lessons I Learned from Pixar
Filed Under: Film, Recommended Media, Writing Advice
It’s my personal opinion that some of the absolute best storytellers on the planet today work for Pixar. Brad Bird’s The Iron Giant is easily my favorite traditionally animated film. And now, I think Up, the latest Pixar masterpiece, has managed to top all the films that came before it.
I’m rarely as touched and thrilled by an experience as I am by watching their movies.
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Writing doesn’t have to be YA, or for Adults. It can be both.
The book world may have stories divided down lines based on age and level of maturity, but the line between entertainment for adults and entertainment for younger children has never been as blurred as it has been by Pixar’s films. It’s indisputable that their films are popular with children. The sheer volume of Nemo merchandise I see to this day backs up that assertion. At the aquarium, no kid could see the fish from that film without shouting out their names. “Look mommy, Dory!” I listend to variations of this for two hours.
I think Pixar is the very model of family entertainment–films that can be enjoyed by everyone. And the more I think about it, the more I realize that much of children or YA literature is the same way. There’s a kind of subconcious stigma for adults reading YA fiction in my experience. I saw this often when Harry Potter was popular. Some could not get past the idea that “Harry Potter is for kids.” It’s not. It’s for people who enjoy stories. Just like Pixar’s films. I have a lot of respect for someone who can tell a story so broadly appealing, and personally, I want to learn how to do it too.
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Don’t Be Afraid to Put Heavy Stuff in a Light-Hearted Story
This lesson has never been driven home so well as by Up. The protagonist is a widower, and we spend the first 20 minutes getting to know his free-spirited wife. We see their lives pass before our eyes, and when she passes, we feel it deeply. I had a hard time keeping my eyes dry, I admit it.
Funny without bite is like a fluffy cake. It lacks substance and gravity. The undertones created by the loss of a loved one, absentee fathers, and lifes not lived, those are the things that take an enjoyable story from being fun but forgettable to being great and unforgettable. Make us laugh. Make us cry. Make us laugh and cry in the same breath. If Pixar can do it, we can do it in our stories and novels too.
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A character’s first interactions can often tell you everything you need to know about them.
In Wall-E, the first interactions with another creature we see are between the robot and a cockroach. Does Wall-E smash the bug, disgusted? Of course not. He befriends it. The essence of his character is revealed in that simple scene, and we fall for him.
Pixar’s characters appearances often reflect their personality, something that cannot so easily be done in fiction itself. But it’s not just their appearance. Watch each one of the films. In a few brief moments, we learn that Marlin will do anything for Nemo, that Woody is a leader and likes helping other toys, that Mr. Incredible is a bit full of himself and dismissive of others, but loves his wife, and then, his family, very much, and that Remy loves food. Often, the central conflict of the story arises from this characterization as well. Wall-E needs to love someone, and follows EVE into space itself. Woody butts heads with Buzz. Mr. Incredible makes his own arch-nemesis because of his rudeness. And so on.
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The work is found in the process of rewriting. Also, write for yourself.
In this interview with some of Pixar’s writers, a couple of comments really struck home with me, aligning with things I had noticed from watching the Behind-the-Scenes extras on their DVDs. Pixar doesn’t do focus groups. They write what they love. And they rewrite and rewrite until they get it the way they want. The story often changes dramatically in the course of revisions. Sometimes, we get obsessed with our first drafts, and our hopes rise or sink with the relative success of it. I am particularly guilty of giving up on stories when the first draft doesn’t turn out as well as I imagined it.
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Amazing characters can be born from the simplest of ideas.
The genesis of the protagonist Walter in Up was a simple sketch of a grumpy old man holding a balloon. “Grumpy old man” is a hoary stereotype, but stereotypes in and of themselves aren’t wrong. It’s stopping with a stereotype is a mistake. From that simple sketch, Pixar build a fully realized and appealing character. They took someone and made him both unpleasant and lovable at the same time.
Russell, seen right, is designed as a character to counterpoint everything about Walter. He’s round where Walter is angles. He’s kind and innocent and youthful. The contradiction of the essence of these two characters generates much of the humor and the conflict to drive the story.
