Friday, April 30, 2004

Gosh, Mr. Peabody, I didn't know the 70s were so happenin'!

Had a good night of writing last night. Not so good a night of sleep. I produced a 1,300-word article titled Four groovy flicks from the 70s wayback machine. It was fun to do. Fun to write, and fun to research. All of which I did last night instead of working on the Europa story rewrite or interview transcriptions. You know, paying gigs. The article begins thusly:
I was born in September of 1969. Less than a month earlier, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin touched down on the Sea of Tranquility aboard the lunar lander Eagle. Quite literally, I have never lived in a world where humans have not walked on the moon. That’s something of a heady thought for someone who’s main calling in life is to write science fiction.

So you can forgive me, perhaps, for lapses in which I assume the universe revolves around me, and that my perspective is analogous to that of others. It’s not. I know that, but sometimes conversations I have with members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Society of Texas State drive that point home harder than most. Most of the students in the club have never lived in a world sans Star Wars. Whoo. That’s something to consider, since Star Wars altered the perception of cinematic SF for not just my generation, but also those that came before and after.

From there I continue on for another thousand-plus words or so, giving background info, useless trivia and quick-and-dirty synopses of four SF films from the 1970s I think SFFS students would benefit from seeing. And enjoy, too. An entirely different class of SF films were produced in that decade, an after-effect of the New Wave of the 60s I'm sure.

The piece has been offered to Elizabeth Lowe for her fanzine project, and we'll see what happens with it from here. First person to correctly guess which four 70s films I put under the microscope for this article gets 50¢ and a red bananna...

Now Playing: Jewel 0304

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