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North Korean science fiction

arstechnica.com

81–90 of 168 posts

Re: North Korean science fiction

#81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And no, you can't just become one of the special superheroes. Two of the most iconic superheroes, Batman and Iron Man, are normal human beings who became superheroes from hard work.

And with Batman, a healthy chunk of inheritance.

Iron man too

Re: North Korean science fiction

#82
post #4

Tangentially related: NG You know, I was in China in 2007, and it was the first ever state-sponsored, Party-approved science-fiction convention. They brought in some people from the west and I was one of them, and I was talking to a number of the older science-fiction writers in China, who told me about how science fiction was not just looked down on, but seen as suspicious and counter-revolutionary, because you coul…

This seems to underlie their problem: if they're only supporting SciFi (and probably other creative outlets) as a means to an end, as a means to encourage innovation, they're doing it wrong . Asimov didn't write because he foresaw all of the tech entrepreneurs who would read his work, he wrote because he wanted to, and because the society where he wrote supported him—and promoted artistic works (though of course ther…

Historically many or even most great works of work have been "compromised" by similar things, whether it's the politics of some King's court or flattering a rich patron or simply dealing with the vagaries of the market.

Re: North Korean science fiction

#83
post #4

Tangentially related: NG You know, I was in China in 2007, and it was the first ever state-sponsored, Party-approved science-fiction convention. They brought in some people from the west and I was one of them, and I was talking to a number of the older science-fiction writers in China, who told me about how science fiction was not just looked down on, but seen as suspicious and counter-revolutionary, because you coul…

This seems to underlie their problem: if they're only supporting SciFi (and probably other creative outlets) as a means to an end, as a means to encourage innovation, they're doing it wrong . Asimov didn't write because he foresaw all of the tech entrepreneurs who would read his work, he wrote because he wanted to, and because the society where he wrote supported him—and promoted artistic works (though of course ther…

Why the CCP supports SciFi is can be detached from motivations of individual authors.

Re: North Korean science fiction

#84
post #2

I look forward to reading some of this. SF is pretty much always about the current day. Soviet SF was quite illuminating to me (back when anybody cared about the USSR). I’ve always wanted to read a couple of the Soviet equivalent of the James Bond novels.

Can you share some examples of Soviet SF? Should be quite exciting.

One example would be "The Invincible" by Stanisław Lem [1].

Worth noting that a video game [2] based on the novel (which looks very well produced) is releasing in November.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Invincible

2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo7Ca6kXz08

Re: North Korean science fiction

#85
post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you share some examples of Soviet SF? Should be quite exciting.

Kurt Vonnegut was accused once of ripping off George Orwell's 1984 with Player Piano. He responded by saying that he and Orwell had both just ripped off Yevgeny Zamyatin's We. Yevgeny Zamyatin was a Soviet author who ran afoul of Stalin and wrote We inspired by his perspective of the revolution.

I saw a We play a year back, and it was highly contemporary with its office-style glass walls, mixed-use spaces and complex rituals around dating.

Re: North Korean science fiction

#86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You watch from what's available.

And in the West what’s available is the product of people making what they want to make with relatively few restrictions.

No, you only are able to watch a tiny part of what is marketed for you.

What doesn't get money doesn't get views.

Re: North Korean science fiction

#87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Everyone who doesn't read my favorite book is just ignorant and not allowed to disagree" is not the argument you think it is.

"Everybody who disagrees with me is a conspiracy theorist, even if they explicit say there is no conspiracy. Also they're biased but of course I'm not."

[deleted]

Re: North Korean science fiction

#88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> My fundamental disagreement is that I don't care about what an obviously biased guy has to say about the media That's not disagreement, that's just covering your ears and going la la la. You're barking up the wrong tree, that book is a good primer for you to find out how, if you don't read it you're still barking up the wrong tree.

"Everyone who doesn't read my favorite book is just ignorant and not allowed to disagree" is not the argument you think it is.

No, it's just you're talking to yourself. You are not interacting with the points raised by the person you reply to, you just twist them into a straw man to beat down on. Which is fine, but doesn't require the presence of anyone but you.

> I assert that the Hollywood system creates movies like this because because of the way it is structured and the nature of making movies.

You respond to that with

> I get that you're trying to pull the popular claim these days about things being "systemic"

And go on to talk to yourself some more. You just aren't equipped to even read that comment, much less that book and others exploring the same issues.

Re: North Korean science fiction

#89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You watch from what's available.

And in the West what’s available is the product of people making what they want to make with relatively few restrictions.

I so wish that that were true. No, a lot more is made than what is available to you.

Re: North Korean science fiction

#90
post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you share some examples of Soviet SF? Should be quite exciting.

The Inhabited Island is an amazing book with a great ending. SF, government conflict/war, weird and fun machinery, etc. Others are suggesting Hard to Be a God by the same authors, which is an okay book, but it's not really SF as most people think of SF IMO.

> it's not really SF as most people think of SF

As well as the Roadside picknick, the Doomed city, A billion years before the end of the world, the Ugly swans, etc etc - really most of their books - it’s a good literature and not a sf in its usual sense.

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