Please Don’t Molest The Alligators

While touring the Florida Botanical Gardens, we remembered seeing alligators on our previous visit.  Finally we found one, lounging in the weeds beside the water.  We leaned on the railing of the observation deck, but it was just laying there, so we took a few photographs and continued on our way.  Later, we saw this sign.

My first thought was “Why would anyone molest an alligator?”  My second thought was “How can you molest an alligator?”  With their long teeth and snap-tight jaws, alligators can take care of themselves.  But then I remembered an attack at a zoo a few years back, and the allegations that the humans had provoked the animal, leading it to perform some extraordinary feats to escape its enclosure and seek revenge upon its tormentors.  

After I watched “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor,” I looked up Jon Spaihts on Wikipedia.  Yes, I had remembered correctly.  After his work on “Prometheus,” he had joined Universal to write the reboot of The Mummy movie franchise.  While I was happy they were making a fourth movie, I was surprised at the notion of a reboot.  I had enjoyed all three movies, and would have liked following Rick and Evelyn off to Peru, in search of Evelyn's brother Jonathan and South American mummies, as “Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” promised.  The movie made a lot of money, everyone interviewed seemed to enjoy making it, and the director, Rob Cohen, praised the cast and said he’d love to do a sequel.

Intrigued, I searched online for anything I could find about Mummy 4.  One site suggested that everyone involved hated “Tomb,” including martial arts star Jet Li.  Another slammed star Brendan Fraser.  It was also said Universal didn’t want Rob Cohen to direct the fourth one.  When I looked on one forum, it seemed as though the fans were criticizing virtually every aspect of the movie.  

This reminded me of something writer Kevin J. Anderson said at a Science Fiction convention.  Several young writers had made scathing criticisms of some of his stories.  Yet when they heard he was editing an anthology, they submitted their stories to him for inclusion.  Now, I’m not suggesting that he took their previous criticisms to heart, but editors always receive more stories of sufficient quality than they can possibly publish.   His warning: If you wish to become a published writer, be careful what you say about others.

None of us are capable of being truly objective.  So many factors influence our judgment.  Just because you didn't like a particular aspect of a story doesn't mean that it didn't resonate with others.  After three successful movies, I'm guessing that Universal executives probably calculated that a reboot version, with a new story and actors, can attract more viewers than a fourth movie dependent upon the history and family dynamics of the previous cast.  So, sadly, I may never learn of Jonathan's adventures in Peru.

I’m not suggesting that posting criticisms online is comparable to molesting an alligator.  The chances are slim that anything you say about the Mummy movies could reanimate a mummy who will go to extraordinary lengths to hurt you.  But why take the risk?  Isn’t it safer to be respectful and complimentary to everyone who contributed to the Mummy movies?  After all, everyone who works to craft compelling Fiction, in any form, is attempting to create something out of nothing. And they're doing it with the sole intent of entertaining you.

Better yet, why not be respectful and complimentary about others' efforts because you want to see the best in them, not because you fear some kind of reprisal.

Dragon Dave

Adam, Eve, and Prometheus

With “Prometheus,” Ridley Scott set out to do a prequel to “Alien.”  But as Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof helped him craft the story, he used the movie to explore beliefs on the origin of the human species.  While many of the actors were drawn to work with Scott because of his reputation, or because they loved “Alien,” some grew excited by the “Science versus Religion” aspects of the story.  This proved the case for Noomi Rapace and Logan Marshall-Green, who played the researchers Elizabeth Shaw and Charlie Holloway, and Michael Fassbender, who played the android David. 

For those who have not seen the movie, Shaw and Holloway are archeologists who have observed the same star configuration in cave paintings from different cultures all over the Earth.  When Peter Weyland agrees to fund their expedition to an Earthlike planet circling one of the stars, he sends along David, an expert in ancient languages, to make contact with any sentient beings they may encounter.  As an android, David holds no religious beliefs, and feels no excitement over a potential meeting with a race that might have initiated or influenced mankind’s development.  The only discovery that matters to Charlie Holloway is that he can communicate with the aliens he believes created humanity.  Elizabeth Shaw, who refuses to abandon her Christian upbringing, confounds Holloway and David.  “How can you cling to your religion when your research leads you to believe that aliens created you?” they ask.  “Yes, but who created them?” she replies.

People of all religious persuasions can be stern with those who attempt to reinterpret their beliefs.  Yet all too often, when I mention to a Christian that I’m writing Science Fiction and Fantasy, I’m told “I’ve got a great idea for a story.”  Invariably, their great story involves a spaceship crashing on a planet, and the survivors, a man and a woman, end up populating this world, which usually turns out to be Earth.  (On such occasions, I’ve learned to nod, and say “Wow, what a powerful idea!”) 

While people outside the genre may not be aware of this, Science Fiction has reinterpreted the Adam and Eve story many times.  My 2011 series on “The Cage,” in which the Talosians kidnap Captain Christopher Pike, and attempt to repopulate their dead planet through him and Vena, reminded me how fascinated Gene Roddenberry was by the origin of man.  When the studio rejected “The Cage,” he wrote a second Star Trek pilot, “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” in which Lieutenant Gary Mitchell and Dr. Elizabeth Dehner are granted psionic powers, and plan on breeding a race with such godlike abilities.  Occasionally, someone like Roddenberry will reinterpret the Origin of Man stories in a new way that resonates with society, but such occasions are rare.  As we appear to be endlessly fascinated by this topic, most magazine and book publishers list “Adam & Eve” among those types of stories that they definitely do not want.  

I find it interesting that so many people of sincere religious belief are drawn to Science Fictional variants of the Adam and Eve story.  I find it equally interesting that every human culture and society has developed its own myths about the origins of humanity.  On the other hand, I find it boring and tiresome when we frame such discussions in terms of This versus That, as if a single person, group, or system could fully define Ultimate Truth.  Science, Mythology, Religion, Art, Music: none can fully capture, envision, or explain It.  All have their place in helping us understand and perceive the Truth about our origins, our planet, and ourselves.

As Jon Spaihts, Damon Lindelof, and Ridley Scott demonstrated with “Prometheus,” Fiction can also serve as an aid to enlightenment.  At least, to quote Elizabeth Shaw, “that’s what I choose to believe.”

Dragon Dave

Related Internet Links
Prometheus News & Discussion site

The Crafting of Prometheus

When my wife asked me if I might like the Blu-ray version of “Prometheus” for Christmas, I shrugged and said “Sure.”  I normally give her a few ideas to spur her Christmas shopping, but had not put the movie on my list.  If I’m honest (and I always am), I hadn’t been that impressed with the movie when I saw it in the theater.  While I found it interesting, I cannot say that I truly enjoyed the experience.  But watching a movie at home is different from seeing it in the theater.  And repeated viewings are different from seeing a movie for the first time.

I found watching the movie at home a liberating experience.  Instead of going to the theater, and wondering if the movie was going to live up to the hype, or prove too intense for my wife, I could sit back on my own and enjoy it.  I noticed a lot about the characters, settings, and the story that I missed the first time around.  The first viewing was like following a guide through a museum, my journey dictated by those items that most intrigued my host, before he left me in the museum gift shop and picked up a new tour group.  On my second viewing, I had no preconceptions, and I knew the basic story, having received my initial tour at the cinema.  So I could just sit back, immerse myself in the world, and drink in the story.

The wealth of extras included in the 4-disc Blu-ray set helped me appreciate the tremendous backstory that undergirded the narrative.  Jon Spaihts, the first screenwriter to work on the movie, shared many of the ideas and elements that he developed with Ridley Scott.  Many of these were discarded, but countless others became embedded in the story’s foundation.  Spaihts even designed his own "Prometheus" game, including board and pieces, to help him work out the logistics of how each character interacted within the narrative.  The more experienced Damon Lindelof then came on board, honed Spaihts’ narrative, and strengthened its three-act dramatic structure.  Ridley guided each writer’s efforts with comments and sketches (affectionately called “Ridleygrams”) that showed them how he could visually interpret their words.  All these ideas and concepts, arising from words and rough images, inspired the production team to interpret the world through more detailed drawings and sculptures.

Art involves not just what the artist puts into his creation, but also what he leaves out.  It was interesting to hear Ridley Scott echo Roger Zelazny’s philosophy (in “Steven Brust: The Complete Package”), speaking repeatedly in regards to communicating everything he wanted to say, while not explaining too much.  Through watching “Prometheus” again, and studying the extras, what becomes apparent is that Ridley Scott and company created a rich tapestry of people, technology, and worlds that enrich their story.  Elizabeth Shaw and Charlie Holloway's adventures fashioned them into interesting and compelling characters.  The elaborate space stations Peter Weyland constructed capture the best dreams of Science Fiction.  The Weyland base on Mars, glimpsed in the background during the crew briefing, likewise beckons.  The fictional universe Ridley Scott, Dan O'Bannon, and Ronald Shusett created for “Alien” spawned numerous sequels, comic books, novels, toys, and other tie-in products.  I can only imagine all that “Prometheus” may eventually give birth to.

Even after watching it several times, I look forward to watching the movie again.  Not because "Prometheus" is cool, fun, scary, or exciting (although it's all those things), but also because it’s so rich in ideas, and makes me wonder about the questions it asks.  But then, what else should I expect from a movie named after the Greek god credited with the creation of man, and who represents our best efforts to learn more, to achieve more, and to become more.

Dragon Dave

Related Dragon Cache entries

Steven Brust: The Complete Package

Related Internet Links

Jon Spaihts

Damon Lindelof