I guess my contention is that if sf/f is more than special effects or worldbuilding, why isn't it popular in theater? Basically, why aren't there more District 9s (or, you know, movies that are like District 9, except they don't suck )? And why are there almost no serious sf/f plays/musicals?
If one of the powerful abilities of sf/f is that by removing preconceptions of our world, it allows us to view certain truths about humanity, why isn't that reflected in other media? Maybe because the effort of removing preconceptions of our world takes so much time and worldbuilding, which isn't conducive to theater. But I'm pretty sure Larry would dispute that if he and I would stop arguing about the importance of theater.
I suppose I'm issuing a challenge of sorts to the stalwart defenders of sf/f. If the best of the genre is more than worldbuilding, if it focuses so heavily on character development, for what reason is it that sf/f doesn't show up in a medium that is primarily dedicated to character development?
There's at least one critically acclaimed sf/f play. I think Waiting for Godot is undeniably fantasy. I want to know why there aren't more Godots.
I could answer this better if I knew more modern plays, I suppose. But take a seminal play like Sartre's Huis Clos (I think in English they call it "No Exit"? the one that spawned the infamous "Hell is other people" line). It's heavily implied, or perhaps even stated explicitly, I don't know, that the characters are not merely in a closed room, but that they are in some kind of limbo or even hell. Clearly there is a supernatural setting of some sort. But it's not fleshed out much - because it's a play, you don't spend too much attention on your setting.
This message last edited by Legolas on 31/01/2010 at 10:39:49 PM
Obviously I have musicals on the brain.
31/01/2010 06:36:33 AM
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Musicals are tricky things to do
31/01/2010 07:57:44 AM
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If sf/f relies on effects, then it doesn't deserve respect.
31/01/2010 08:04:10 AM
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I'm not saying it can be done or relies on effects. I'm just saying it might be tricky
31/01/2010 06:40:44 PM
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There is a musical episode of buffy....
31/01/2010 09:50:22 AM
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The board ends up being about books, but it's actually titled "Sci-Fi & Fantasy."
31/01/2010 07:23:45 PM
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Yes, but the site is read and find out. Maybe you should go to listen and find out? *NM*
31/01/2010 07:28:19 PM
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Tell that to the games board. *NM*
31/01/2010 07:50:53 PM
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Which is an interesting example.
02/02/2010 06:41:08 AM
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Very silly. Less silly, though, when you consider the lack of a Theater/Musicals board. *NM*
02/02/2010 07:00:00 AM
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Adam's Hitchhiker's Guide stories were originally radio plays
31/01/2010 06:16:42 PM
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Which in turn reminds me of the infamous War of the Worlds radio broadcast with Orson Welles... *NM*
31/01/2010 06:36:32 PM
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Nonsense.
31/01/2010 07:22:25 PM
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I feel like I'm a broken record, telling you to re-read what I actually said
31/01/2010 08:40:17 PM
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Yes, well, it was a fairly weak defense when you started using it.
31/01/2010 09:23:49 PM
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I'd have to agree with you - it has become more of a niche.
31/01/2010 10:16:02 PM
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I think cinema has outstripped theater more than theater has declined.
31/01/2010 10:28:06 PM
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I don't know, I've seen a theater adaptation of The Hobbit, for instance...
31/01/2010 10:11:47 PM
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Not quite sure what I was thinking about cinema either. My defense was that it was 3 in the morning.
31/01/2010 10:26:03 PM
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I would definitely count Little Shop of Horrors among some sort of sf/f mold.
01/02/2010 12:56:40 AM
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Definitely. But again, it's campy and ludicrous.
01/02/2010 02:25:00 AM
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Repo! The Genetic Opera, both the play and the film were great. = Rocky-Horror + Bladerunner *NM*
02/02/2010 12:41:31 AM
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