Lazy Sunday CCVII: Stories

18 June 202316 June 2023 The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

This blog loves the arts, but especially the short story as a form. The short story is incredibly versatile, and can explore many of the themes of a novel without the time commitment. Often, less is more.

This Sunday, I thought I’d look back at three genres of short stories: ghost stories, Southern fiction, and science fiction:

“On Ghost Stories” (and “TBT: On Ghost Stories“; “TBT^2: On Ghost Stories“; and “TBT^4: On Ghost Stories“) – One of my favorite blog posts on what is, perhaps, my favorite genre. Ghost stories were quite popular in Victorian England, though they well predate that period. Regardless, ghost stories are timeless, and will be with us as long as humans (and our spectral counterparts) remain.
“Spring Break Short Story Recommendation 2023: ‘Barn Burning’” – A post about a William Faulkner story, part of his larger mythological Mississippi county. It captures the complicated nature of social class in the rural South quite well.
“The Importance of Science Fiction” – I love ghost stories, but a far more important genre is science fiction. No other genre does as much to inform, to teach, to inspire, and to warn as this incredible genre.

Happy Sunday!

—TPP

Other Lazy Sunday Installments:

The Importance of Science Fiction

14 June 202311 June 2023 The Portly Politico13 Comments

Science fiction is amazing. When it comes to fiction, it is probably my favorite genre, second to (but rivaling) only the ghost story. Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction, which—as the name suggests—speculates about future events.

But the best science fiction doesn’t just look into the future—it tells us about ourselves, past, present, and future. That so much of the great science fiction of the twentieth century has come true, to one extent or another, is indicative of the power of the genre to diagnose social developments, if not to predict them precisely.

The latest uproar over artificial intelligence—and the apparent willingness, blind or intentional, to develop it beyond all sensible precautions—is a prime example of the failure to take the warnings of science fiction seriously.

Science fiction is not Scripture—far from it!—but we ignore its warnings at our peril.

Ponty’s Pen: Stranger Things Series Review

17 February 20238 February 2023 The Portly Politico20 Comments

We’re pro-spooky stuff here at The Portly Politico, and perhaps the greatest example of syncretic spookiness is the Netflix series Stranger Things, an amalgamation of 1980s nostalgia, John Carpenter, Stephen King, and every other significant sci-fi horror franchise of that glorious decade (and beyond).

Talk about a lightning-in-a-bottle cultural phenomenon. The series is the kind that is profoundly a product of the age of streaming, yet it hearkens back to the horror miniseries of the 1980s and 1990s—rich, multi-episode arcs; tight story construction; and satisfying pay-offs that reward loyal viewing. I also appreciate that the show doesn’t overstay its welcome with bloated seasons. The Duffer Brothers tell the story they want to tell without stretching their material thin.

Ponty sent me this epic review of the first four seasons of the show (the fifth and, it seems, final season is coming soon), and it’s surely his reviewing magnum opus. Audre Myers wrote her own review of the series last year, which overlaps somewhat with Ponty’s, but they both bring different insights into the show.

I don’t have much left to add that Ponty hasn’t said better. With that, here is Ponty’s series review of Stranger Things:

Monday Morning Movie Review: Ponty’s Top Ten Best Films: #3: Cube (1997)

6 February 20232 February 2023 The Portly Politico10 Comments

Ponty never ceases to surprise me with his thoughtful picks, and I was not expecting a relatively obscure sci-fi horror thriller in his top three. After reading the review, though, it makes sense—and it really makes me want to see this flick.

Sci-fi and horror tend to be the genres that, when done well, explore stories and concepts that stick in one’s mind for weeks, months, and years after viewing. Cramming six volatile personalities into a mysterious death cube sounds a bit hokey, but the opportunity to explore the frailty and the triumph of the human condition makes it an exquisite, albeit devilish, setup.

How would we behave and react in bizarre, lethal situations? Would we keep our cool? Or—more likely—would be panic, virtually guaranteeing our destruction? Ponty’s #3 pick dives into these uncomfortable questions.

With that, here is Ponty’s review of 1997’s Cube:

Son of Sonnet: The Ballad of Forgotten Dreams

19 October 202218 June 2023 The Portly Politico2 Comments

Son of Sonnet is back with a mildly post-apocalyptic poem.

The premise is intriguing; Son tells me the request was for “a poem about being a feminist in a world where you’re the only female human left. Every other human is a male.” That sounds like the premise of a 1970s sci-fi flick!

Naturally, it’s not a great existence, but the feminist seems to realize the error of her ways. These lines were particularly poignant: “I learned a lesson through romance/That man may build for woman’s sake.” How very true—I’ve accomplished a great deal in my life simply because I wanted to impress women. I think that’s probably true for most men.

With that, here is Son of Sonnet’s “The Ballad of Forgotten Dreams”:

Monday Morning Movie Review: Portly’s Top Ten Best Films: #7: Krull (1983)

17 October 202214 October 2022 The Portly Politico8 Comments

While we’re still outside of the Top Five—where the rubber really hits the road, and the picks have to correspond to actual, objective quality, and not just the passing whims of two amateur film reviewers—I’ve got to squeeze in another personal favorite. To say this week’s pick is one of the “best” films is, perhaps, a stretch.

Really, no “perhaps” about it—it was a box office bomb and, while it has attained a certain cult status, it has not risen to the heights of many films with that dubious distinction. Many “cult classics” are viewed overly fondly, as if to counteract the overly negative reviews at the time of the film’s release. My #7 pick has enjoyed a bit of an improved reputation since its release, but its reviews are still mixed.

But for me, it’s a great film—a bit of swashbuckling, sci-fi/fantasy fun that bends and blends genres like a wet noodle in a food processor: somehow, the finished product comes out tasting pretty good, even if it doesn’t make any sense.

Should 1983’s adventure Krull go on my honorable mentions post? Probably. Am I placing it higher on my list than the (objectively better) films behind it? You bet.

TBT^2: Phone it in Friday XI: Coronavirus Conundrum, Part IV: Liberty in the Age of The Virus

28 July 202226 July 2022 The Portly Politico3 Comments

The Virus is like a bad movie series that just refuses to die. There was a controversial but impactful first release that everyone was talking about, even if they didn’t see it. Then there was the lackluster sequel, which still enjoyed some popular support, even though ticket sales were down.

Now it feels like we’re on the tired third film, which is a watered-down, ineffectual finale (one hopes) to a premise that is played out. Sure, critics love it, but audiences are tired of its antics.

What still seems to make it into the script of every one of these films is the part where the government bureaucrats lock everything down and release a bunch of ghosts into Manhattan (uh, wait, what?). Meanwhile, we all kind of sit by and twiddle our thumbs and put our masks on dutifully.

What happened to the band of merry wastrels who tossed tea into Boston Harbor, rather than comply with an odious monopolization of the tea trade? Or the plucky scofflaws who made it impossible to enforce the Stamp Act? I’d rather disguise myself as an Indian (feather, not dot) and caffeinate the water supply than put a mask on again (but that would be cultural appropriation, of course).

In short, why don’t we get a backbone, instead of cowering behind masks and locking ourselves indoors? We’re literally cowering before an invisible enemy with a 99%+ survival rate.

Well, liberty is never easy. Better to stay inside watching movies and disconnecting from reality, eh?

With that, here is 29 July 2021’s “TBT: Phone it in Friday XI: Coronavirus Conundrum, Part IV: Liberty in the Age of The Virus“:

Monday Morning Movie Review: Portly’s Top Ten Worst Films: #5: Color Out of Space (2019)

20 June 202215 June 2022 The Portly Politico21 Comments

We’re really getting into the dregs with these worst movies. This point is where it starts getting hard for me, too—it’s easy to write about any movie, but having to think about the worst ones is surprisingly difficult.

As I had to travel out of town this weekend for a late family member’s memorial service, I decided to use the tactic to which all bloggers must, at times, resort: reusing an older post.

The film is legitimately bad, and I really would place it on this list. So, why not kill two birds with one bad film?

Last June, my blogger buddy photog over at Orion’s Cold Fire and I both published reviews of 2019’s The Color Out of Space simultaneously (you can read his screed against this cinematic butchering of the the Lovecraft story here: https://orionscoldfire.com/index.php/2021/06/14/color-out-of-space-2019-a-science-fiction-and-fantasy-movie-review/).

He’d written a brief blog post comparing Nicolas Cage to William Shatner. In it, he announced that Nicolas Cage starred in an adaptation of an H.P. Lovecraft story, “The Colour Out of Space.”

Naturally, I immediately went to RedBox and (with a coupon code, of course) and rented The Color Out of Space on-demand. As a fan of Lovecraft’s weird tales and Nicolas Cage’s weird acting, I had to see this film.

Spring Break Short Story Recommendation 2022: “The Machine Stops”

19 April 202218 April 2022 The Portly Politico38 Comments

As is my custom, I dedicate a few days each Spring Break to recommending and reviewing various short stories. Typically, I read through an anthology of short stories over break and highlight three or four of the best stories from them.

However, I neglected to take an anthology with me when I left town for Easter weekend, and I didn’t have the time to pluck one from my parents’ substantial library. So, I’m doing a one-off today (and possibly for other Spring Break Shorty Story Recommendation 2022 installments this week), although I am sure this story has appeared in many anthologies.

The story is E.M. Forster’s “The Machine Stops,” which I wrote about in brief in another post in April 2020, during the early days of The Age of The Virus. The Z Man wrote about it in one of his posts from the time, which intrigued me enough to read the story.

It is, I believe, one of the great works of prophetic science fiction. There’s a great deal of that from the mid-twentieth century; Forster was predicting things like FaceTime and social media in 1909.

Monday Morning Movie Review: Bicentennial Man (1999)

7 February 20226 February 2022 The Portly Politico27 Comments

After many requests—from Audre Myers, not lots of different people—I am finally reviewing Bicentennial Man (1999), the film in which Robert Williams plays a robot, Andrew Martin, who wishes to become a human. I picked up this flick on-demand on RedBox for about $4—a small price to pay to make Audre happy (and/or to appease her, depending upon one’s perspective).

When I announced I’d be reviewing this film last Monday, it engendered some controversy in the comments. Regular reader and contributor Pontiac Dreamer 39 (now going by “Always a Kid for Today”) wrote:

Bicentennial man?! Crikey, Tyler, you’re going to need a lot of booze. I like Robin Williams but that film is dross. If you can get through to the end sober, I’ll be impressed. Personally, I’d have made Audre rewatch that film!

Audre predictably came to the film’s defense, citing its relevance in an age in which robots and artificial intelligence are growing increasingly sophisticated. Ponty/AaKfT argued better films on the topic exist, such as Paul Verhoeven’s 1987 masterpiece RoboCop.

You can read the comment thread for yourself, but after viewing the film (stone cold sober), I am ready to render my judgment on Bicentennial Man.

The Portly Politico

One Southerner's unique, erudite, conservative perspective in a hectic world

Tag: science fiction